Songoftheday 6/1/18 - I watch your fingers working overtime, I've got to thinking that they should be mine...
from the album Red Hot + Dance (1992)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #10 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 12
Today's song of the day comes from British popster George Michael, who had landed a #1 pop hit in the U.S. in the beginning of 1991 with his cover of "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" with the song's original artist Elton John. However, George's career was in turmoil, with the artist fighting with his record company (Sony) over the promotion of his previous album Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1. While that was going on, he scrapped the release of a Volume 2 of that work, and instead put three of the songs intended for the record on a benefit album for HIV/AIDS awareness. Entitled Red Hot + Dance, it was the sequel to the Cole Porter tribute set Red Hot + Blue, and sported tracks fro Madonna, Seal, Lisa Stansfield, and more. One of George's three songs on the set, "Too Funky", was released as a radio and physical single. Written and produced by the singer, it was a simple down and dirty slow-house track, and the video echoed his clip for "Freedom '90", featuring supermodels like Tyra Banks and Linda Evangelista strutting their stuff, this time as George acts as "director". Even Julie Newmar takes a turn on the runway, as drag star Lypsinka looks on...
"Too Funky" became George's eleventh solo (non-duet) top ten pop hit in America in August of 1992. And apparently the song was too funky, only rising to #20 on Billboard's Dance Club Play chart. Internationally, the single topped the chart in Denmark, and reached the top ten in Italy (#2), Belgium (#2), Norway (#2), Greece (#2), Australia (#3), the Netherlands (#3), the UK (#4), Ireland (#5), France (#5), New Zealand (#5), Canada (#6), Switzerland (#6), Sweden (#7), and Austria (#9). (It stopped at #12 in Germany.)
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The director's cut of the video, also done by fashion icon Thierry Mugler, recuts the piece with Newmar going last and a bevy of buff boys in the mix as well...
Here's the jazzy "Happy Mix" that helped the song go to #20 on the dance chart...
And George performing the song live in 2008...
And lastly, a little clip of the making of the video...
Up tomorrow: Finally, a dance music singer passes on by.
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