Everything She Wants

Single infobox |
Name = Everything She Wants


Artist = Wham!
from Album = Make It Big
Released = December 27,1984
March 17,1985 (US)
Format = 12", 7"
Recorded = 1984
Genre = Pop
Length = 5:01
6:29 (Remix)
(Written by) = George Michael
Label = Columbia Records
Producer = George Michael
Chart position = *#2 (UK Singles Chart)
*#1 (US Billboard Hot 100)
Last single = "Last Christmas" (1984)
This single = "Everything She Wants" (1984)
Next single = "I'm Your Man" (1985)Extra tracklisting
Album = Make It Big
Type = studio
prev_track = "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
prev_no = 1
this_track = "Everything She Wants"
track_no = 2
next_track = "Heartbeat"
next_no = 3Extra tracklisting
Album = Twenty Five
Type = compilation
prev_track = —
prev_no =
this_track = "Everything She Wants"
track_no = 1
next_track = "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go"
next_no = 2

"Everything She Wants" was a song by British pop duo Wham!, released in 1984 on Epic Records on a double A-side with "Last Christmas". It was written by George Michael, one half of the duo.

History

Upon release, "Last Christmas" took the majority of the attention and airplay as it was appropriate in early December as Christmas approached. However, the presence of an equally-billed flip side meant that radio stations had something else to play once "Last Christmas" had lost its topicality.

A five-minute song (there also exists a six-and-a-half-minutes-long version with an added bridge), "Everything She Wants" was written from the angle of a man rapidly approaching desperation at the material demands of his partner which seem to be coming to a head, despite the amount of work he did to keep them. In a twist, the second verse took the story a step further by revealing that the woman was pregnant but the man could not find any happiness in the announcement because of the extra pressure a baby would put upon him.

The presence of the Band Aid project meant that the double A-side peaked at number two in the UK singles chart, although in the process it became the biggest selling record not to get to number one. However, in the USA, the song did reach the summit of the Billboard Hot 100, and became the third number-one song in a row from 1984's "Make It Big" album.

Wham! would go on to have two more number-one hits in the UK before splitting at their height in 1986.

Although Michael bemoaned much of Wham!'s material as he began his solo career, "Everything She Wants" remained a song of which he was proud, and he continued to perform it in his shows. Furthermore, Michael remarked in an interview (to promote 25 Live tour) that "Everything She Wants" is his favourite Wham! song.

The song was remixed and re-released as "Everything She Wants '97" for the greatest hits album "If You Were There" in 1997.

Track listing

7": Epic / QA 4949 (UK)

# "Everything She Wants (7" Remix)" – 5:31
# "Last Christmas" – 4:24

12": Epic / QTA 4949 (UK)

# "Everything She Wants (12" Remix)" – 6:34
# "Last Christmas (Pudding Mix)" – 6:44

* also released in a limited edition with a 1985 calendar (WQTA 4949)

7": Epic / 07-5p-336 (Japan)

# "Everything She Wants (Remix)"
# "Like a Baby"
# "Message From Wham!"

* Track 1 plays 7" remix but is labeled only as "Remix"

Chart performance

Rapper Foxy Brown sampled 'Everything She Wants' on the single 'I Cant' from her number one album 'Chyna Doll'

Legacy

The popular Canadian teen drama , which named each episode after an 80s hit song, named an episode after this song.

Court Case

The song was also mentioned in a landmark 1998 sampling copyright decision in the case of Santrayll v. Burrell [http://samplinglaw.blogspot.com/2006/11/santrayll-v-burrell-1998.html] . Federal Court Judge Peter K. Leisure concluded that MC Hammer had sampled music by another rap group (The Legend). The Legend admitted to sampling Wham!'s "Everything She Wants" (among other songs) and not disclosing the sampled works when filing for copyright registration. In essence, Hammer argued that because The Legend admitted to sampling (i.e. "Everything She Wants"), this constituted a knowing failure to advise the Copyright Office of facts that might have led to the rejection of the copyright application. Meaning: no copyright protection, no lawsuit for infringement against Hammer. The court disagreed and found that: (1) it was possible that a jury might find that the failure to disclose the samples was not deliberate and (2) the samples played such a minor role in The Legend's song that the unauthorized use of samples "could not possibly have led the Copyright Office to reject the copyright applications." [http://samplinglaw.blogspot.com/2006/11/santrayll-v-burrell-1998.html]