Songoftheday 6/12/18 - How many times do I have to try to tell you, that I'm sorry for the things I've done...

"Why" - Annie Lennox
from the album Diva (1992)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #34 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 3

Today's song of the day comes from Scottish songstress Annie Lennox, who gained fame being one-half of the seminal electro-pop act Eurythmics, who landed a handful of hits on the American chart, included their #1 debut "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" in 1983. Although the pair didn't officially split, Annie took her first step into the solo spotlight at the start of 1989 with her duet with Al Green, "Put A Little Love In Your Heart", which reached the top ten (although it's a little bit of a cheat, since Eurythmics-mate David Stewart produced the track). In 1992, Lennox released her first true solo album Diva, with the brooding and building single "Why" as the first release from the record. Written by Annie and produced by Stephen Lipson, this look into the psyche of a lover who is breaking down from the dissolution of a relationship was nothing short of stunning...

"Why" became Annie's first solo top-40 pop hit in the U.S. in July of 1992. The single climbed all the way to #6 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio chart, while crossing over to #12 on their Modern Rock radio list. Internationally, the single went to #1 in Italy, and reached the top ten in Belgium (#4), the UK (#5), Ireland (#5), Switzerland (#6), Norway (#6), Canada (#7), The Netherlands (#8), Denmark (#9), and Sweden (#10). The track also hit #11 in Spain and Austria, #12 in Germany, #15 in New Zealand, and #17 in Australia. The Diva album would be nominated for two Grammy awards in 1993, losing Album of the Year to Eric Clapton's Unplugged, and Pop Female Vocal Performance to k.d. lang's "Constant Craving".

(Click below to see the rest of the post)

Here's Annie appearing on Dennis Miller's long-gone late night show to promote the single...