Careless Whisper (Acoustic) by levipatrick

levipatrick - Careless Whisper (Acoustic)

levipatrick

Sep 10, 2025 08:16pm

"Careless Whisper"<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Careless_Whisper_UK_single.jpg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);"><img src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/10/Careless_Whisper_UK_single.jpg/220px-Careless_Whisper_UK_single.jpg" height="220" width="220"></a> UK 7″ vinyl picture sleeve (also used for various international releases)<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_(music)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">Single</a> by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Michael" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">George Michael</a> from the album <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_It_Big" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">Make It Big</a>Released23 July 1984 <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recording_studio" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">Studio</a><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarm_Studios" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">Sarm West</a> (London) "Careless Whisper" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Michael" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">George Michael</a>. Released as the second single from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wham!" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">Wham!</a>'s second studio album <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_It_Big" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">Make It Big</a> (1984), it was written by Michael and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Ridgeley" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">Andrew Ridgeley</a>, with Michael producing the song. Although the song was released as part of Make It Big, the single release is credited to either Wham! featuring George Michael (in North America and several other countries) or solely to George Michael (in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and some nations in Europe). The song has been covered by a number of artists since its release, including <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_McKnight" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">Brian McKnight</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seether" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">Seether</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Williams_(pianist)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">Roger Williams</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenny_G" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">Kenny G</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julio_Iglesias" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">Julio Iglesias</a>, among others. A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contemporary_pop" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">contemporary pop</a> song with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhythm_and_blues" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">R&B</a> and soul influences, it features a prominent <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saxophone" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">saxophone</a> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riff" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">riff</a> composed by Michael and played by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Gregory" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">Steve Gregory</a>. It became a commercial success, topping record charts in at least ten countries and selling about 6 million copies worldwide—2 million of them in the United States. The song later achieved popularity on <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">social media</a>, mainly due to the saxophone riff being used as a popular <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_meme" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">internet meme</a>. <h2>Background</h2> <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Careless_Whisper_-_Wham!.ogg" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">"Careless Whisper"</a> The composition features a distinctive tenor sax solo performed by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Gregory" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">Steve Gregory</a>. <h3>Composition and writing</h3> In 1981, Michael was working as a DJ at the Bel Air Restaurant in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northwood,_London" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">Northwood, London</a> near <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bushey" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">Bushey</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hertfordshire" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">Hertfordshire</a>. Michael explained in his autobiography, Bare, that he conceptualised "Careless Whisper" based on events from his childhood. Michael wrote, "I was on my way to DJ at the Bel Air when I wrote 'Careless Whisper'. I have always written on buses, trains and in cars. It always happens on journeys... With 'Careless Whisper' I remember exactly where it first came to me, where I came up with the sax line... I remember I was handing the money over to the guy on the bus and I got this line, the sax line... I wrote it totally in my head. I worked on it for about three months in my head." Sheet music for "Careless Whisper" sets the key of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D_minor" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">D minor</a>. "When I was twelve, thirteen, I used to have to <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chaperone_(social)" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">chaperone</a> my sister, who was two years older, to an ice rink at <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensway,_London" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 102, 204);">Queensway</a> in London," he explained. "There was a girl there with long blonde hair whose name was Jane. I was a fat boy in glasses and I had a big crush on her—though I didn't stand a chance. My sister used to go and do what she wanted when we got to the skating rink and I would spend the afternoon swooning over this girl Jane." "A few years later, when I was sixteen, I had my first relationship with a girl called Helen," Michael continued.<blockquote>It had just started to cool off a bit when I discovered that the blonde girl from Queensway had moved in just around the corner from my school. She had moved in right next to where I used to stand and wait for my next-door neighbour, who used to give me a lift home from school. And one day I saw her walk down the path next to me and I thought – now where did SHE come from? She didn't know it was me. It was a few years later and I looked a lot different. Then we played a school disco with the Executive and she saw me singing and decided she fancied me. By this time she was that much older and a big buxom thing – and eventually I started seeing her. She invited me in one day when I was waiting for my lift and I was... in heaven.</blockquote> Michael observed that after he stopped wearing glasses, he began getting invited to parties. "And the girl who didn't even see me when I was twelve invited me in," he noted.<blockquote>So I went out with her for a couple of months but I didn't stop seeing Helen. I thought I was being smart – I had gone from being a total loser to being a two-timer.</blockquote>