Did you know that one time, five or six of the songs in the top 30 were all using the exact same drum beat? George Michael noticed this. He kept hearing the “Funky Drummer” sample from a James Brown song. He decided he wanted to use that beat too, but in a completely different way. This was the start of his song “Waiting for That Day.”
He did not want to make another song that sounded like everything else. He had a creative idea to take that famous drum track, slow it down, and place something completely unexpected over the top. To build this new sound, he added a simple folk guitar line, which he described as “about as un-black as you can get.” This contrast was the whole point, mixing the folk sound with the James Brown rhythm for a unique musical fusion.
George Michael Waiting for that day (South Bank Show / 1990)
Fans hearing this story are often amazed by his creative process. One person said it shows how much of a genius he was, to hear a sound everyone else was using and completely flip it. Another viewer mentioned they never even noticed the sample. People love learning how he built the song from such different pieces.
After getting the rhythm and guitar right, the song was still growing. He started playing around on the keyboards. He found a couple of chords that fit, but it was the sound of the keyboard that sparked a new idea. That specific sound made him think about taking the song in a totally different direction than he first planned.
George Michael – Waiting for That Day (Audio)
The keyboard sound he found was very, very sixties. He said it reminded him of the band Procol Harum. When he combined this old-style keyboard sound with the other parts, the song took on a whole different feeling. In the final mix, he even kept the guitars low. The most important part was this new feeling he had discovered.
This song really shows how George Michael built his music. He often started with just a mood and a beat, piecing things together like a puzzle until it felt right. He was not afraid to mix sounds that felt different. Follow George Michael on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. His music always tells such an interesting story.