Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word
| "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 | Vinyl record (7") | |||
| Recorded | Eastern Sound, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, March 1976 | |||
| Genre | Soft rock | |||
| Length | 3:48 | |||
| Label |
Rocket (UK) MCA (US) | |||
| Writer(s) |
Elton John Bernie Taupin | |||
| Producer(s) | Gus Dudgeon | |||
| Certification | Gold (RIAA) | |||
| Elton John singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"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 John's second single released by The Rocket Record Company. The song is a mournful ballad about a romantic relationship which is falling apart. The song is in the key of G melodic minor.[1]
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.
In December 2015, the song was used in a US holiday-themed commercial for Temptation cat treats.
Personnel
- Ray Cooper – vibraphone
- Carl Fortina – accordion
- James Newton Howard – electric piano, strings arrangement
- Elton John – piano, vocals
- Kenny Passarelli – bass
Commercial performance and certifications
Commercial performance
The song was a Top 20 hit, reaching No. 11 in the United Kingdom and No. 6 in the United States. In addition, the song went to No. 1 on the Easy Listening chart. In the US, it was certified Gold on 25 January 1977 by the RIAA.[2]
Sales and certifications
| Region | Certification | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|
| Canada (Music Canada)[3] | Gold | 75,000^ |
| United States (RIAA)[4] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
|
*sales figures based on certification alone | ||
Blue and Elton John version
| "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Blue featuring Elton John | ||||
| from the album One Love | ||||
| B-side | "Sweet Thing" | |||
| Released | 9 December 2002 | |||
| Format | CD single, audio cassette | |||
| Genre | Pop, R&B | |||
| Length |
3:41 (album version) 3.31 (radio edit) | |||
| Label | Universal | |||
| Writer(s) | Elton John, Bernie Taupin | |||
| Producer(s) | Stargate | |||
| Blue singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
The song was covered in 2002 by English boy band Blue for their second studio album, One Love (2002). The song was recorded as a collaboration with Elton John, and was the second single from the album. It peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart on 15 December 2002.
Track listing
- UK CD1
- "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (Radio Edit) – 3:31
- "Lonely This Christmas" – 2:08
- "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (Ruffin Ready Soul Mix) – 3:51
- "Recording Studio Footage" – 3:30
- UK CD2
- "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (Radio Edit) – 3:31
- "Album Medley" – 5:44
- "Sweet Thing" – 3:38
- "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (Video) – 3:31
- UK Cassette
- "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" (Radio Edit) – 3:31
- "Album Medley" – 5:44
- "Sweet Thing" – 3:38
Charts and certifications
Chart performance
|
Sales and certifications
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other versions
"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.
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 No. 1 in the UK, where it received a Silver sales certification and sold 315,000 copies.
Sampling by Pnau
In 2012, the Australian electron pop duo Pnau, signed by Elton John to his own management company, Rocket Music,[27] produced a remix album of eight Elton tracks. The lead single of this album was Sad, which sampled Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word.
The single was the lead single for the eight-track remix compilation Good Morning to the Night in collaboration with Australian remixer Pnau, which came out on 16 July 2012.
The "so sad" lyric, alongside with elements of previous hits was merged into Elton John's new single "Sad", which had its first play on Magic 105.4 on 9 July 2012.
References
- ↑ Stephenson, Ken (2002). What to Listen for in Rock: A Stylistic Analysis, p.41. ISBN 978-0-300-09239-4.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–2001. Record Research. p. 128.
- ↑ "Canadian single certifications – Elton John – Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word". Music Canada. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ↑ "American single certifications – John, Elton – Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 22 November 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
- ↑ "Australian-charts.com – Blue feat. Elton John – Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Blue feat. Elton John – Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Blue feat. Elton John – Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Blue feat. Elton John – Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ↑ "Blue feat. Elton John – Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word Hitlisten.nu" (in Danish). Tracklisten. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ↑ "Hits of the World – Eurochart Hot 100". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 5 April 2003. p. 49. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
- ↑ "Lescharts.com – Blue feat. Elton John – Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ↑ "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Rádiós Top 40 játszási lista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége.
- ↑ "Chart Track: Week 51, 2002". Irish Singles Chart.
- ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Blue – Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word". Top Digital Download. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 6, 2003" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40
- ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Blue feat. Elton John – Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Blue feat. Elton John – Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word". VG-lista. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ↑ Romanian Top 100 at the Wayback Machine (archived February 18, 2005)
- ↑ "Archive Chart: 2002-12-21". Scottish Singles Top 40.
- ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Blue feat. Elton John – Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" Canciones Top 50.
- ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Blue feat. Elton John – Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Blue feat. Elton John – Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 July 2010.
- ↑ "December 2002/ Archive Chart: 21 December 2002" UK Singles Chart.
- ↑ "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – 2003". Ultratop & Hung Medien / hitparade.ch. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Blue feat. Elton John; 'Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word')". Hung Medien. Retrieved 22 November 2012.
- ↑ "British single certifications – Blue ft Elton John – Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 22 November 2012. Enter Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select single in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
- ↑ HI! Magazine » Review: Elton John vs. Pnau – Good morning to the night
External links
| Preceded by "After the Lovin'" by Engelbert Humperdinck |
Billboard Easy Listening Singles No. 1 single (Elton John version) 18 December 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 No.1 single (Blue version) 15 December 2002 – 21 December 2002 (1 week) |
Succeeded by "Sound of the Underground" by Girls Aloud |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
