Faith (George Michael song)

"Faith" is a song written and performed by George Michael, from his 1987 debut solo album of the same name. It held the number-one position on Billboard Hot 100 chart for four weeks and, according to Billboard magazine, it was the number-one single of the year in the United States in 1988. The song also reached number one in Australia and Canada and number two on the UK Singles Chart. In 2001, it placed at number 322 on the Songs of the Century list.[2]

"Faith"
Single by George Michael
from the album Faith
B-side"Hand to Mouth"
Released12 October 1987
RecordedMay 1987 at PUK Studios, Denmark (tracking);
1-2 September 1987 at Sarm West Studio 2, London (guitar solo & middle section, mixing)[1]
GenrePop
Length3:16
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)George Michael
Producer(s)George Michael
George Michael singles chronology
"I Want Your Sex"
(1987)		 "Faith"
(1987)		 "Hard Day"
(1987)
Music video
"Faith" on YouTube

Writing & Recording

As with the rest of the album, the track was written, arranged, and produced by Michael.[3] It is claimed that the idea came from publisher Dick Leahy's suggestion that Michael write a rock and roll pastiche.[4] The song began life in May 1987 at PUK Studios, Denmark with Michael doing a 2-bar LinnDrum loop and Hugh Burns playing the Bo Diddley-style acoustic rhythm guitar part on a nameless metal-bodied acoustic,[5] the latter of which engineer Chris Porter recorded with a Neumann KM84 microphone and double-tracked, along with an electric tremolo part doubling the rhythm.[1] Long-time bassist Deon Estus laid down a DI'd bass part, while the cathedral organ part was recorded with a Yamaha DX7 (although it's otherwise thought to be from a Roland D-50).[1][6] Porter recorded Michael's vocals using a Neumann M49 microphone (which the former soon bought from PUK) - throughout the Faith album and other subsequent solo albums, the latter would usually write lyrics in front of the mic, and build the lead by singing a line, and having Porter rewind the tape so he could drop in at certain points to create the right emotional effect with his voice.[1] For this song, George wanted the vocals to be "dry and in-your-face", like on Prince's songs at the time, which Porter noted "had a very tight delay on the vocals, making him sound very growly but dry and aggressive" - it was that kind of effect they managed to recreate with an AMS DMX 15-80S digital delay, with 35 milliseconds panned slightly to the left and 45 milliseconds panned slightly to the right.[1]

After the PUK sessions, the song wasn't developed any further until 1 September 1987, when a new bridge added and a 50s-inspired guitar solo by Burns - played on a Geffen custom Stratocaster[5] - were added at Sarm West Studio 2 in London.[1] According to Porter, the solo was constructed bar-by-bar over a period of 4 hours in much the same way as George's vocals.[1]

Michael explained why it was never envisioned as a single in an interview with Countdown in 1988:

"Faith was never actually intended as a single when I first recorded it. And then I listened to it more and more and... 'cause in fact, originally it was two minutes long. Originally there was no guitar solo. There was no real guitar sound on it or anything. And everyone said it's great, it's great but it's too short, you know. And everyone kept saying that 'I love Faith, I love Faith'. So I thought, well maybe I should put it out as a single when it came to that. I said, I think a two-minute long single is a bit, you know... so I went in and extended it. But it was originally never intended as a single. It was just gonna be a small track on the album, a really short track."[7]

History

The song incorporates the famous Bo Diddley beat, a classic rock and roll rhythm.[8] It begins with organ played by Chris Cameron, referencing Wham's song "Freedom", followed by guitar strumming, finger clicking, hand-claps, tambourine and hi-hat.[4]

The song was featured in the film Bitter Moon, directed by Roman Polanski.[9]

Music video

The official music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan.[10] It features Michael, with noticeable stubble on his face, wearing a black leather jacket with 'Rockers Revenge' and BSA logo, Ray-Ban Aviator sunglasses and a pair of Levi's blue jeans with cowboy boots, playing a guitar near a classic-design Wurlitzer jukebox. Writers Bob Batchelor and Scott Stoddart say the music video positions him as a "masculine sex object", breaking him up into individual body parts such as "stubbled" [sic] chin and butt.[11]

The music video also features parts of two other songs by Michael. The jukebox starts by playing "I Want Your Sex", and then is interrupted by a church organ version of Wham!'s "Freedom" before starting into the song.

Chart performance

The song reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and number two on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in late October and early November 1987. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number 10 but was kept off the top spot by "You Win Again" from the Bee Gees.[12]

On the Billboard Hot 100 chart, "Faith" went from number 54 to number 37, the week of 31 October 1987. It reached number one on 12 December 1987 and remained there for four consecutive weeks. Altogether, "Faith" stayed in the top 10 for nine weeks, the top 20 for 11 weeks and the top 40 for 15 weeks.

Track listing

7": UK / Epic EMU 2

  1. "Faith" – 3:16
  2. "Hand To Mouth" – 4:36

12": UK / Epic EMU T2

  1. "Faith" – 3:16
  2. "Faith" (Instrumental) – 3:07
  3. "Hand to Mouth" – 4:36

Mixes
  1. Album version – 3:16
  2. Instrumental – 3:07

Personnel
  • Vocals, programming, percussion – George Michael
  • Bass – Deon Estus
  • Guitars – Hugh Burns
  • Cathedral organ – Chris Cameron

Charts and certifications

Limp Bizkit cover
"Faith"
Single by Limp Bizkit
from the album Three Dollar Bill, Yall$
Released31 October 1998
Recorded1997 at Indigo Ranch Studio in Malibu, California
GenreNu metal
Length2:26
Label
Songwriter(s)George Michael
Producer(s)
Limp Bizkit singles chronology
"Counterfeit"
(1997)		 "Faith"
(1998)		 "Nookie"
(1999)

American rap rock group Limp Bizkit covered the song "Faith" in their live performances, using the cover to attract attention to the band. Word of mouth attendance and energetic live performances in which guitarist Wes Borland appeared in bizarre costumes increased the band's cult following. Audiences, in particular, were attracted to Borland's guitar playing and appearance.[52]

Despite the success of the song in Limp Bizkit's live performances, producer Ross Robinson was opposed to recording the cover for their debut album, Three Dollar Bill, Y'all, and tried to persuade the band not to play it on the album. However, the final recording, which incorporated heavier guitar playing and drumming, as well as DJ scratching, impressed Robinson.[52] "I love George Michael and decided to cover 'Faith' for fun. We like to do really aggressive versions of cheesy pop hits," lead singer Fred Durst told Billboard. "I didn't expect him to get busted in that bathroom but his misfortune actually helped us. We couldn't ask for more of a buzz."[53]

Peter Berg directed a music video featuring a bizarre wedding monologue for the song in promotion for its appearance in his film Very Bad Things,[54] but Fred Durst was unsatisfied with it and directed a second video which paid tribute to tourmates like Primus, Deftones and Mötley Crüe, who appeared in the video.[55] Borland stated in an interview that George Michael, the writer of the song, hated the cover and "hates us for doing it".[55]

Other covers

References
  1. Buskin, Richard (March 2013). "Classic Tracks: George Michael 'Faith'". Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  2. "The RIAA/NEA's Top 365 Songs of the 20th Century". Music Database. Retrieved 5 November 2018
  3. Simpson, Paul (2003). The Rough Guide to Cult Pop. Rough Guides. p. 144.
  4. Lucy Ellis, Bryony Sutherland (1998). The Complete Guide to the Music of George Michael & Wham!. Music Sales Group. pp. 38–39. ISBN 9780711968226.
  5. "Interview with Hugh Burns".
  6. "Roland D-50 Famous Examples".
  7. "George Michael Interview on Countdown (1988)".
  8. Huey, Steve. "Faith (album review)". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  9. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104779/soundtrack
  10. Garcia, Alex S. "mvdbase.com - George Michael - "Faith"". Music Video DataBase. Retrieved 1 November 2015.
  11. Bob Batchelor, Scott Stoddart (2007). The 1980s. Greenwood. p. 125.
  12. "Official Singles Chart". Official Charts Company. 31 October 1987. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  13. "Australian ARIA Top 50 Singles Chart – Week Ending 24th January, 1988". ARIA, via Imgur.com. Retrieved 12 December 2019. N.B. ARIA licensed the Australian Music Report chart between mid-1983 and 12 June 1988.
  14. "Austriancharts.at – George Michael – Faith" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  15. "Ultratop.be – George Michael – Faith" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  16. "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. 5 December 1987. p. 62. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  17. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 8678." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  18. "Top RPM Adult Contemporary: Issue 8742." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  19. Danish Singles Chart 13 November 1987
  20. "Hits of the World" (PDF). Billboard. 19 December 1987. p. 60. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  21. "Singlet 1987-10 lokakuu" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  22. "Lescharts.com – George Michael – Faith" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  23. "Offiziellecharts.de – George Michael – Faith". GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  24. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Single (track) Top 40 lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
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  28. ジョージ・マイケルのランキング (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  29. "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 46, 1987" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40 Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  30. "Dutchcharts.nl – George Michael – Faith" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  31. "Charts.nz – George Michael – Faith". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  32. "Norwegiancharts.com – George Michael – Faith". VG-lista. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  33. "Portuguesecharts.com – George Michael – Faith". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  34. Fernando Salaverri (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  35. "Swedishcharts.com – George Michael – Faith". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  36. "Swisscharts.com – George Michael – Faith". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  37. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  38. "George Michael Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  39. "George Michael Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  40. "George Michael Chart History (Dance Club Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
  41. "Australian Music Report No 701 – 28 December 1987 > National Top 100 Singles for 1987". Australian Music Report, via Imgur.com. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  42. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1987". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  43. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1987". Single Top 100. Retrieved 5 September 2020.
  44. "1988 ARIA Singles Chart". ARIA. Retrieved 12 December 2019. N.B. This page is missing some ARIA certifications.
  45. "Top 100 Singles of 1988 in Canada". RPM. 5 December 1987. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  46. "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved 10 December 2018.
  47. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2016 Singles". Australian Recording Industry Association. Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  48. "Canadian single certifications – George Michael – Faith". Music Canada. Retrieved 15 August 2016.
  49. "Dutch single certifications – George Michael – Faith" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 16 February 2020. Enter Faith in the "Artiest of titel" box.
  50. "British single certifications – George Michael – Faith". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 6 October 2020. Select singles in the Format field. Select Platinum in the Certification field. Type Faith in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  51. "American single certifications – George Michael – Faith". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 15 August 2016. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH. 
  52. Devenish, Colin (2000). Limp Bizkit. St. Martin's. pp. 21–49. ISBN 0-312-26349-X.
  53. Bell, Carrie (13 February 1999). "The Modern Age". Billboard. Retrieved 27 September 2015.
  54. DeSalvo, Kathy (25 September 1998). "Tool of North America signs Peter Berg". Shoot. 39 (39). ISSN 1074-5297.
  55. Devenish, Colin (2000). Limp Bizkit. St. Martin's. pp. 51–78. ISBN 0-312-26349-X.
  56. "Harris Jayaraj - A Kollywood Copycat?". SS Music. 23 March 2013. Retrieved 20 January 2014.
  57. "George Michael: When George Michael inspired tunes in Indian films". The Times of India. 27 December 2016. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
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