The Story Behind John Waite’s Blockbuster Single ‘Missing You’

John Waite, a Lancastrian singer-songwriter, produced a gem of a song in the year 1984. Prior to this, he was an active member of the rock band “The Babys” in the 1970s. But the soon to be a star gained popularity when his lead single “Missing You” became an instant hit and gained him fame. Missing you was launched in the singer’s single album “No Brakes”. 

There was something special about the ‘single’ which made it top the Billboard Lists and a favourite in the casinos of 1980s. For top content related to casinos, visit https://www.madaboutlivecasino.com/ 

As the experts say, every special has a story behind it, John Waite’s Missing You also has a story abaft. 

The inspiration comes from anywhere and everywhere

Inspiration for music can come from anywhere – the hit single “Missing You” proves the accuracy of this wide said statement. John Waite admitted to having thought of Glen Campbell’s Wichita Lineman while writing the lyrics. Glen Campbell’s song talks about distance and telegraph. Although, Missing You is in no way connected to distance but the person who wrote the lyrics, John, connected to it. 

John Waite, at the time of writing the song, was going through a tough marriage. The soon to be divorced man was facing genuine trouble connecting to his still growing musical journey and personal life being torn apart. And as it is always said “tragedy inspires music” John fell prey to the saying and produced this masterpiece which proved to be his best song till date. 

While working on his first solo album, John met another girl while he was alone. This New York City girl was his only support and the option to look forward to.

Amidst all the relations, connections, tragedy and hope, the song found its way to the bloom. “Missing You” is a song essentially about three different women, all contributing different emotions and stages to the song.

Discovering the magic

The discovery of the song, which proved to be the Billboard’s topper, was as natural as it could be. John was working on his tape machine. The tape was not the most convenient way of working and finding a song. It required to be fast-forwarded and rewind to find any specific music on the tape. In the midst of the chaos was a set of chords put together. These chords were put there by John Waite’s workmate from his previous works. The chords struck John Waite’s ear and triggered his vocals to rhyme with it and this is how this millennial song came into existence. As John Waite admits, he is an on-spot person who would start spelling out words with the running music.

Drawing spotlight

“Missing You” was the last song to be added to the single album No Brakes by John Waite. The record company was packed up with the singles they already had and John was facing a hard time convincing the company to include this ‘one more’. The record company said, “No that’s it, we’ve spent enough”. This magnificent piece of music could have been lost in the mist.

John was not ready to give up and after giving a few failed attempts to convince the company for his last inclusion, he took the other way to showcase the song’s potential. He walked in, stopped the session and played the song. It was then when the company was convinced of the song and agreed to include it in the album. 

The song that was destined to be a hit, owing to the mesmerising musical notes and heartfelt lyric writing, found the spotlight and became the classic that we know now.