Hard to Say I'm Sorry
Encyclopedia
"Hard to Say I'm Sorry" is a 1982 Billboard Hot 100 #1 hit ballad
performed by American rock
group Chicago
, written by band member Peter Cetera
and producer David Foster
from the album Chicago 16
, released in 1982. The song hit number one for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100
chart on September 11 of that year. It was their first top 50 hit since "No Tell Lover
" in 1978.
-driven sound, taking on a more polished and modern feel. There were minimal horns on the track, instead featuring more layered synthesizers and heavier distorted electric guitar
s in a more updated 1980s fashion. This was done to revitalize the band that was considered by some to be past its commercial prime at the time.
The album version of "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" segued into a second song titled "Get Away," which was closer to the older horn-driven Chicago sound. Most adult contemporary radio stations at the time did not play the entire album track, however, choosing to cut it off just before "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" segued into "Get Away." About half the Top 40 radio stations played the longer version with "Get Away".
Deviating from Chicago's practice of having mostly band members playing on their albums, "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" featured several session musician
s. The song featured producer David Foster
on the piano, as well as three members of the American rock band Toto
: Steve Lukather
on guitar, while David Paich
and Steve Porcaro
both contributed synthesizers. The song's vocals were performed by Cetera and new member Bill Champlin
.
band Az Yet
, included a cover version on their self-titled debut album. The single, which featured cameo vocals by Peter Cetera
, was produced by legendary songwriter Babyface
and reached the Top-ten on the Billboard Hot 100
. The single reached platinum status and was nominated for a Grammy Award (Best Performance by an R&B Group or Duo).
Ballad
A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
performed by American rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
group Chicago
Chicago (band)
Chicago is an American rock band formed in 1967 in Chicago, Illinois. The self-described "rock and roll band with horns" began as a politically charged, sometimes experimental, rock band and later moved to a predominantly softer sound, becoming famous for producing a number of hit ballads. They had...
, written by band member Peter Cetera
Peter Cetera
Peter Paul Cetera is an American singer, songwriter, bassist and producer best known for being an original member of the rock band Chicago, before launching a successful solo career...
and producer David Foster
David Foster
David Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
from the album Chicago 16
Chicago 16
Chicago 16 is the 16th album by American rock band Chicago and was released in 1982. The album marks the beginning of a new era for Chicago. It is the first album in a decade-long association with new label Warner Bros...
, released in 1982. The song hit number one for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
chart on September 11 of that year. It was their first top 50 hit since "No Tell Lover
No Tell Lover
"No Tell Lover" is a song written by Peter Cetera, Lee Loughnane, and Danny Seraphine for the group Chicago and recorded for their album Hot Streets , with Cetera and Donnie Dacus singing lead vocals. The second single released from that album, it reached #14 on the U.S...
" in 1978.
History
The song, as well as the album on which it is featured, was a marked departure from Chicago's traditional soft rock, hornsHorn section
In music, a horn section can refer to several groups of musicians. It can refer to the musicians in a symphony orchestra who play the horn . In a British-style brass band it refers to the tenor horn players. In popular music, it can also refer to a small group of wind instrumentalists who augment a...
-driven sound, taking on a more polished and modern feel. There were minimal horns on the track, instead featuring more layered synthesizers and heavier distorted electric guitar
Electric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
s in a more updated 1980s fashion. This was done to revitalize the band that was considered by some to be past its commercial prime at the time.
The album version of "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" segued into a second song titled "Get Away," which was closer to the older horn-driven Chicago sound. Most adult contemporary radio stations at the time did not play the entire album track, however, choosing to cut it off just before "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" segued into "Get Away." About half the Top 40 radio stations played the longer version with "Get Away".
Deviating from Chicago's practice of having mostly band members playing on their albums, "Hard to Say I'm Sorry" featured several session musician
Session musician
Session musicians are instrumental and vocal performers, musicians, who are available to work with others at live performances or recording sessions. Usually such musicians are not permanent members of a musical ensemble and often do not achieve fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders...
s. The song featured producer David Foster
David Foster
David Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
on the piano, as well as three members of the American rock band Toto
Toto (band)
Toto is an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1977. The group currently consists of Joseph Williams , David Paich , Steve Porcaro , Steve Lukather , Mike Porcaro , and Simon Phillips . Toto is known for a musical style that combines elements of pop, rock, soul, funk, progressive rock, hard...
: Steve Lukather
Steve Lukather
Steve "Luke" Lukather is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger, and record producer best known for his work with the rock band Toto. Lukather has played with many artists, released several solo albums, and worked as a composer, arranger, and session guitarist on more than 1,500 albums...
on guitar, while David Paich
David Paich
David Frank Paich is a session musician, keyboard player, recording producer, arranger, vocalist and main composer of the Los Angeles-based rock/pop band Toto. David is the son of the late jazz composer, musician, and arranger Marty Paich...
and Steve Porcaro
Steve Porcaro
Steven Maxwell "Steve" Porcaro is an American keyboardist and composer, who was an original member of the rock/pop band Toto....
both contributed synthesizers. The song's vocals were performed by Cetera and new member Bill Champlin
Bill Champlin
William Bradford "Bill" Champlin is an American singer, guitarist, keyboard player, arranger, producer, and songwriter. His performance work is principally associated with the bands Chicago and the Sons of Champlin...
.
Music video
The music video, itself using the album version, was shot in Greece. In Chicago performing the act with some studio musicians, the song in the video version with the transition to the track "Get Away" then you can see a Ferris wheel.Charts
| Chart (1982/83) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary | 1 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart | 4 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 1 |
| German Singles Chart | 6 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 5 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 1 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 22 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 1 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 13 |
Az Yet feat. Peter Cetera version
In 1996, the R&BContemporary R&B
Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in...
band Az Yet
Az Yet
Az Yet is an American R&B group from Philadelphia, best known for their hit "Last Night" and their cover of the Chicago song "Hard to Say I'm Sorry."-Formation:...
, included a cover version on their self-titled debut album. The single, which featured cameo vocals by Peter Cetera
Peter Cetera
Peter Paul Cetera is an American singer, songwriter, bassist and producer best known for being an original member of the rock band Chicago, before launching a successful solo career...
, was produced by legendary songwriter Babyface
Babyface
Babyface or Baby Face can refer to:Nicknames:* Baby Face Nelson, an infamous 1930s bank robber* Roosevelt "Baby Face" Willette , an American hard bop and soul-jazz musician...
and reached the Top-ten on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The single reached platinum status and was nominated for a Grammy Award (Best Performance by an R&B Group or Duo).
Track listing
CD-Single- Hard To Say I'm Sorry (David Foster Remix) 3:17
- Hard To Say I'm Sorry (Album Version) 3:14
Charts
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 8 |
| U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40 | 9 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 26 |
| UK Singles Chart | 7 |
| German Singles Chart | 72 |
| Dutch Top 40 | 3 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 59 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 1 |
| Australian Singles Chart | 5 |
Other cover versions
- In 1999, a eurodanceEurodanceEurodance is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s or early 1990s primarily in Europe. It combines many elements from House, Techno, Hi-NRG and especially Italo-Disco...
remix of the song, titled "Hold Me Now", was recorded by DJ Kaos for Dancemania SPEED 3Dancemania SpeedDancemania Speed is a sub-series of Toshiba EMI's Dancemania compilation series. This series features faster, further remixed versions of recordings from previously released Dancemania albums or faster remixed covers of various famous songs...
. - In 2003, the Canadian boy bandBoy bandA boy band is loosely defined as a popular music act consisting of only male singers. The members are expected to dance as well as sing, usually giving highly choreographed performances. More often than not, boy band members do not play musical instruments, either in recording sessions or on...
b4-4B4-4b4-4 later on Before Four was a Canadian boy band from Toronto, Ontario. The band was composed of the twins Ryan and Dan Kowarsky, and Ohad Einbinder. They were signed to Sony Records and achieved commercial success in Canada and later on as Before Four in Germany...
recorded a cover version included as a bonus track on the "limited edition" of their second album In Your Face. - In 2005, Idol 2005Idol 2005The second season of Swedish Idol premiered in August 2005 and continued until its grand finale on 2 December, when 17-year-old Agnes Carlsson from Vänersborg was crowned winner. The series was the first to crown a female Idol and is to date the sole season to be won by either a public or judges'...
contestant Jonah Hallberg covered the song on the compilation released by the show featuring a song covered by each finalist. - In 2007, Irish boy band WestlifeWestlifeWestlife are an Irish boy band established on 3 July 1998. They are to disband in 2012. The group's line-up was Nicky Byrne, Kian Egan, Mark Feehily, Shane Filan, and Brian McFadden . The group are the only act in British and Irish history to have their first seven singles peak at number one...
covered the song on the B-side to their single "Home," the first single from the album Back HomeBack Home (Westlife album)Back Home is the eighth studio album and ninth album overall by Irish boy band Westlife and it was released on 5 November 2007. The album debuted at #1 on the Official UK Album Charts, selling 132,000 copies in its first week of release and remained in the top three spots for eight consecutive weeks...
. - In 2008, Barry ManilowBarry ManilowBarry Manilow is an American singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, producer, conductor, and performer, best known for such recordings as "Could It Be Magic", "Mandy", "Can't Smile Without You", and "Copacabana ."...
covered the song on his album The Greatest Songs of the EightiesThe Greatest Songs of the EightiesThe Greatest Songs of the Eighties is Barry Manilow's 38th album, and follow-up to his 2007 album, The Greatest Songs of the Seventies...
. - In 2010, the song was covered by Keith Harkin from Celtic ThunderCeltic ThunderCeltic Thunder is a singing group composed of male soloists who perform both solo and ensemble numbers. Celtic Thunder debuted in August 2007 at The Helix in Dublin, Ireland...
on his album, It's entertainment. - In 2010, Yuna ItoYuna Itois an American pop singer-songwriter and actress who is active in Japan.She was born in Los Angeles and was raised in Hawaii. Ito made her musical debut in Japan with the single, "Endless Story", which was used as one of the theme songs for the popular 2005 film Nana; she also starred in the film,...
recorded a cover version of the song as a part of her project Yuna Ito ~ Respects, the third cover of the project, released on September 29.
Sampling
- German eurotrance group AquagenAquagenAquagen is a German dance music group, consisting of Gino Montesano and Olaf Dieckmann. They initially achieved success with their single "Ihr Seid So Leise" , which sold more than 250,000 copies in Germany.-Singles:...
sampled the verses of the song (omitting the chorus) on the 2002 album Weekender. The song was also remixed in 2009 as "Hard to Say I'm Sorry 2K9" on Aquagen's 2009 album So Far So Good (The Very Best Of).
See also
- List of RPM number-one singles of 1982
- List of number-one hits of 1982 (Switzerland)
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1982 (U.S.)
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1982 (U.S.)