Aretha Franklin, I Knew You Were Waiting | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

Reading Time: 3 min read

In the 68^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2023), we recollect and reflect on “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” by Aretha Franklin & George Michael.

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez ! Throwback Vibez is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past. The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils ! All genres of music are welcome. In the 68^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2023), we recollect and reflect on “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)”, performed by Aretha Franklin & George Michael.

“Like a warrior that fights and wins the battle / I know the taste of victory.” WOO ! Aretha Franklin and George Michael. Two utterly brilliant artists. Both of them deceased . Think about that. Both artists would win a Grammy for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal in 1987 for the dynamic “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)”, which was written by Dennis Morgan and Simon Climie and produced by Narada Michael Walden.

“When the river was deep, I didn’t falter

When the mountain was high, I still believed

When the valley was low, it didn’t stop me, no, no

I knew you were waiting, I knew you were waiting for me.”

classic It should come as no surprise that “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)” was a big hit – it spent two weeks at no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1987. Sure, vintage Aretha Franklin is the best Aretha Franklin but on this gem, the soul icon shows continued versatility as a pop artist in the mid 80s. “I Knew You Were Waiting” exhibits a starkly different sound from the past but finds Franklin continues cut through with those powerful, untouchable pipes. She performs the verses with Michael performing the pre-choruses (“Somehow I made it through the heartache, yes, I did / Oh, I escaped / I found my way out of the darkness / I kept my faith”), and both collaborating on the chorus and later, the bridge and outro. The powerful duet appears on her 1986 album, Aretha, which was awarded the Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Female (Note: The Recording Academy does not award categories like this anymore).