Waiting for a Girl Like You

"Waiting for a Girl Like You"
Single cover
Single by Foreigner
from the album 4
B-side "I'm Gonna Win"
Released October 1981
Format 7-inch
Recorded 1981
Genre Soft rock[1]
Length 4:35 (single)
4:49 (album)
Label Atlantic
Songwriter(s) Mick Jones, Lou Gramm
Producer(s) Robert John "Mutt" Lange, Mick Jones
Foreigner singles chronology
"Urgent"
(1981)		 "Waiting for a Girl Like You"
(1981)		 "Juke Box Hero"
(1982)

"Urgent"
(1981)		 "Waiting for a Girl Like You"
(1981)		 "Juke Box Hero"
(1982)

"Waiting for a Girl Like You" is a 1981 power ballad[1] by the British-American rock band Foreigner. The distinctive synthesizer theme was performed by the then-little-known Thomas Dolby, this song also marked a major departure from their earlier singles because their previous singles were mid to upper tempo rock songs while this song was a softer love song with the energy of a power ballad.

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 successful songs worldwide, peaking at number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on Billboard's Rock Tracks chart.[2] On the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, the song reached number 5.[3] The song peaked at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart.

"Waiting for a Girl Like You" achieved a chart distinction by spending its record-setting 10 weeks in the number 2 position of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, without ever reaching the top. It debuted on the Hot 100 chart dated October 10, 1981. It reached the number 2 position in the week of November 28, where it was held off the number 1 spot by Olivia Newton-John's single "Physical" for nine consecutive weeks, and then by Hall & Oates' "I Can't Go for That (No Can Do)" for a tenth week on January 30, 1982.[4] Because of its chart longevity, it ended up being the number 19 song on the Top 100 singles of 1982. The song was the band's biggest hit until "I Want to Know What Love Is" hit number 1 in 1985.

The song lists at number 100 on "Billboard's Greatest Songs of All Time".[5]

Personnel

Foreigner

Additional personnel

Chart performance

In other media

Films

(Chronological)

  • In the original Footloose (1984), Ren and Ariel slow dance to this song in a bar.
  • The song was used in Nickelodeon movie Snow Day (2000) and was featured on the soundtrack.
  • In the movie Swades (2004), Shahrukh Khan sings this song while taking a bath.

Games

(Alphabetical by game title)

Music

(Alphabetical by artist)

Stage productions

  • The song is included in the rock/jukebox musical Rock of Ages and its 2009 original Broadway cast recording.

Television

(Alphabetical by series)

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Gig review: Journey/Foreigner/Styx". The Scotsman. 10 June 2011. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  2. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 234.
  3. ↑ Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications), page 333.
  4. ↑ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Hits, 5th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 601.
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-10-01. Retrieved 2018-08-01.
  6. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  7. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1981-12-12. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  8. ↑ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1981-11-26. Retrieved 2018-10-01.
  9. ↑ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Waiting for a Girl Like You". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved September 22, 2018.
  10. ↑ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  11. ↑ "Top 100 Hits for 1981". The Longbored Surfer. Retrieved 4 April 2017.
  12. ↑ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – 1982". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
  13. ↑ "Top 100 Hits of 1982/Top 100 Songs of 1982". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-25.
  14. ↑ "Hot 100 turns 60". Billboard. Retrieved August 6, 2018.
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