Waiting for a Girl Like You
| "Waiting for a Girl Like You" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "I'm Gonna Win" |
"Waiting for a Girl Like You" is a song by British-American rock band Foreigner. The distinctive synthesizer theme was performed by the then-unknown Thomas Dolby.
Chart performance
It was the second single released from the album 4 (1981), and was co-written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones. It has become one of the band's most famous songs worldwide, peaking at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for ten weeks and #1 on Billboard's Rock Tracks chart for one week.[1] On the Billboard adult contemporary chart, the song topped out at #5.[2] In the UK, the song peaked at #8 on the UK Singles Chart.
"Waiting for a Girl Like You" achieved an odd chart distinction by spending a record-setting 10 weeks in the #2 position of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, without ever reaching the top. It was held off the #1 spot by Olivia Newton-John's single "Physical" for the first nine of those weeks, and by Hall & Oates' "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" for the remaining week.[3] (In 2002, Missy Elliott matched Foreigner's runner-up accomplishment with her single "Work It".)
Prior to the release of this song as a single, Foreigner was considered a hard rock band getting airplay mostly on rock stations and some Top 40 ones. This song gave the group more exposure on top 40 radio stations. Also because the song was soft, most adult contemporary radio stations played it as well giving this group exposure to an audience they were not really aimed at in general. This song was pivotal in exposing harder rock acts to a broader audience.
In popular culture
- The song is included in the soundtrack from the movie Footloose.
- This song is featured in the video games Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (as part of the power ballads radio station Emotion 98.3), RoadKill and Karaoke Revolution Party.
- Rick Springfield recorded a cover version of this song on his 2005 covers album, The Day After Yesterday.
- Cliff Richard also recorded a cover version of this song on his 2007 album, Love... The Album, which reached #13 on the UK Album Chart.
- Also in 2007, Paul Anka released a cover version on his album Classic Songs, My Way.
- The song is included in the rock/jukebox musical Rock of Ages, and included on the 2009 original Broadway cast recording.
- The songs lists at #80 on the list of "Billboards Greatest Songs of All time".[4]
See also
References
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 234.
- ^ Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of #1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications), page 333.
- ^ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of #1 Hits, 5th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 601.
- ^ Billboard Greatest Songs of the Hot 100