| "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Elton John | ||||
| from the album Blue Moves | ||||
| B-side | "Shoulder Holster" | |||
| Released | 1 November 1976 | |||
| Format | 7" Vinyl | |||
| Recorded | Eastern Sound, Toronto, Ontario, Canada | |||
| Genre | Soft rock | |||
| Length | 3:48 | |||
| Label | Rocket Records MCA Records (US/Canada) |
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| Writer(s) | Elton John Bernie Taupin |
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| Producer | Gus Dudgeon | |||
| Elton John singles chronology | ||||
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"Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" is a song written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin. It was recorded by Elton John and released in 1976, both as a single and as part of the Blue Moves album. It was his second single on Rocket Records. The song is a mournful ballad about a romantic relationship which is falling apart. It was also one of the rare instances where Elton John himself wrote much of the lyric. Whereas most of the John-Taupin songs began with Taupin's lyrics, this one began with John's melody, with some lyrics included. Taupin simply finished them. The song is in the key of G melodic minor.[1]
The song was a UK/US Top 20 hit, reaching number 11 in the UK and number 6 in the US. In addition, the song went to number one on the Easy Listening chart. In the U.S. it was certified Gold on 1/25/1977 by the R.I.A.A.[2]
The song also appeared the following year on Greatest Hits Volume II, though for copyright reasons it no longer appears on the current version of that album. It now appears on Greatest Hits 1976-1986, The Very Best of Elton John and in Greatest Hits 1970-2002, as well as a number of other compilations.
The song is also featured prominently in the 1977 movie Slap Shot.
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"Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" has been covered by a wide variety of artists from country to R&B. It has been recorded as a duet, in Spanish, and has even featured Elton John himself on a couple of versions.
In 1994, country singers Suzy Bogguss and Chet Atkins covered the song on their 1994 Simpatico. It was released as a single but failed to chart. A year later, Argentine singer/songwriter, Pedro Aznar, covered the song in Spanish with the translated title, "Ya no hay forma de pedir perdón", for the album David y Goliath.
In 1997, the song was featured on Steven Houghton's self titled album.
In 1998, Jimmy Scott covered the song on his "Holding Back The Years" album (the back cover lists the song as "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest").
In 2002, the boy band Blue recorded the song with Elton John (who received a featured artist credit). This version was produced by multi-platinum producer Ray Ruffin and was a hit throughout Europe and went to number one in the UK, where it received a Silver sales certification and sold 315,000 copies.
Joe Cocker covered the song on the Elton John/Bernie Taupin tribute album, Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin in 1991. In 2004, three more versions were released. First, Ray Charles and Elton John recorded this song as a "duet" in Charles's 2004 posthumous release Genius Loves Company. According to the album's liner notes, the song's recording marked the last session of the "Genius" project and one of the last (if not the very last) recorded vocal performance by the music legend. Then, Mary J. Blige covered the song for the soundtrack to the film, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Finally, Kenny G recorded it with Richard Marx for his covers/duets album, At Last...The Duets Album.
In 2006, former American Idol contestant Clay Aiken covered the song on his album, A Thousand Different Ways, and X Factor winner Leona Lewis's recording of the song was a B-side to her number-one debut single, "A Moment Like This".
In 2006, saxophonist Michael Lington covered the song from his renditions album "A Song for You."[3][4] Tose Proeski covered the song during his concerts and on his 2011 album so Ljubav Ot Tose.
Sarah Darling covered the song in 2011 for her second studio album Angels & Devils, released by Black River Music Group.
| "Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Blue and Elton John | ||||
| from the album One Love | ||||
| B-side | "Sweet Thing" | |||
| Released | 9 December 2002 | |||
| Format | CD single, Cassette | |||
| Genre | Pop, R&B | |||
| Length | 3:31 | |||
| Label | Universal | |||
| Writer(s) | Elton John, Bernie Taupin | |||
| Producer | Stargate | |||
| Blue and Elton John singles chronology | ||||
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The song was covered in 2002 by English boyband Blue. The song was recorded as a collaboration with Elton John, and was the second single from their second album, One Love. The song peaked at No. 1 on the UK Singles Charts.
| Chart (2002) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland (IRMA)[5] | 3 |
| UK Singles (The Official Charts Company)[6] | 1 |
| Chart (2003) | Peak position |
| Australia (ARIA)[7] | 43 |
| Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 75)[8] | 4 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[9] | 3 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 40 Wallonia)[10] | 4 |
| Canada (Canadian Hot 100) | 7 |
| Denmark (Tracklisten)[11] | 5 |
| France (SNEP)[12] | 6 |
| Germany Singles Chart | 3 |
| Hungary (Rádiós Top 40)[13] | 5 |
| Italy (FIMI)[14] | 4 |
| Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[15] | 1 |
| New Zealand (RIANZ)[16] | 5 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[17] | 2 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[18] | 2 |
| Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[19] | 3 |
| Preceded by "After the Lovin'" by Engelbert Humperdinck |
Billboard Easy Listening Singles number-one single (Elton John version) December 18, 1976 |
Succeeded by "Torn Between Two Lovers" by Mary MacGregor |
| Preceded by "Lose Yourself" by Eminem |
Dutch Singles Chart (Blue version) 8 February 2003 - 8 March 2003 (4 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Anyone of Us (Stupid Mistake)" by Gareth Gates |
| Preceded by "Lose Yourself" by Eminem |
UK number-one single (Blue version) 15 December 2002 - 21 December 2002 (1 week) |
Succeeded by "Sound of the Underground" by Girls Aloud |
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