"Waiting for a Star to Fall" is a song released by the pop duo Boy Meets Girl in 1988. It was a worldwide hit and became their signature song.
Video Waiting for a Star to Fall
Background
The song was inspired by an actual falling star that Shannon Rubicam had seen at one of Whitney Houston's concerts at the Greek Theatre. Initially, the duo did not consider recording it, and instead submitted the song to Clive Davis hoping he would decide to use it on Houston's next album. He rejected it, alleging that it did not suit her. The song was then offered to and recorded by Belinda Carlisle for her 1987 release, Heaven on Earth, at the insistence of her label, but Carlisle disliked it and refused to include it on the album. It has, however, circulated on an unofficial compilation of that album's outtakes.
Maps Waiting for a Star to Fall
Release and reception
Merrill and Rubicam decided to record the song themselves for their second album Reel Life. Released as a single on June 10, 1988, it became a hit in the United States, slowly climbing the charts and eventually reaching #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart. Released in the UK on November 30, 1988, the song reached #9 in the UK charts during January 1989, having entered the chart in December 1988. It also reached #35 on Australia's ARIA Charts in April 1989.
The song was used as the closing track to the 1990 movie Three Men and a Little Lady, and the single was re-released as a movie tie-in, with a new picture sleeve featuring the actors of the film. It peaked at #76 in the UK.
The video game Grand Theft Auto IV included the song in the playlist for the in-game radio station Vice City FM.
Johnny Loftus of AllMusic remarked that the song was "just classic", and that "the urgency as it drives toward its chorus is a clinic for durable songwriting."
Music video
The video for the song, directed by Australian director Claudia Castle, features scenes of Merrill and Rubicam singing it on a beach and inside a house. Also featured are scenes of a group of children playing with bubbles, one of whom is Merrill and Rubicam's daughter Hilary.
Personnel
- George Merrill: lead vocals, piano, synthesizer, bass guitar, drum programming
- John Goux: guitar
- Denny Fongheiser: drums
- Michael Jochum: additional drums
- Andy Snitzer: saxophone
- Shannon Rubicam, Susan Boyd: vocals
- Joe Mardin: "Crowning Touch" (synthesizer)
Covers and remixes
The song has been remixed three times, resulting each time in new interest in both the original and the Boy Meets Girl duo. The dance outfit Cabin Crew originally remixed the song as "Star to Fall" (a.k.a. "Star2Fall"), but were refused use of sample of the original lyrics by SonyBMG. Liking what Cabin Crew had done, however, George Merrill agreed to re-record the vocals for their version, so it may actually be counted as more of a cover than a remix. Cabin Crew's version made number 4 in the UK charts in March 2005. Meanwhile, SonyBMG had Sunset Strippers remix the original track under the title "Falling Stars," which was released a week after the Cabin Crew version, and made number 3 in the UK charts. This caused some confusion at the time, with two songs being released into the charts around the same time that sounded essentially the same.
- The track "In My Arms" by British electronic musician Mylo sampled the song and was featured on Mylo's album Destroy Rock & Roll. His version also sampled Kim Carnes's "Bette Davis Eyes" and made it to #13 in the UK in 2005.
- In 2007, German hardstyle musician Dan Winter recorded a remix titled "Carry Your Heart".
- In December 2013, a folk cover of the song by Icelandic singer Yohanna surfaced on the Internet.
- In March 2014, a folk cover of the song by English singer Diana Vickers surfaced on the Internet.
Charts
References
External links
- Full lyrics at Boy Meets Girl Music [1]
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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