Monkey (song)

This article is about the George Michael song. For other songs, see Monkey (disambiguation) § Music.

"Monkey" is a US number-one hit song by English singer and songwriter George Michael. It was released as a single in 1988 and reached number-one on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 13 on the UK Singles Chart. "Monkey" debuted at number 42 on 9 July 1988, reaching number-one for two weeks, beginning on 27 August 1988.

"Monkey"
Single by George Michael
from the album Faith
Released	4 July 1988 (1988-07-04)
Recorded	1987
Genre	Dance-pop[1] dance-rock[2]
Length	5:02 (album version) 4:47 (single version)
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	George Michael
Producer(s)	George Michael Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
George Michael singles chronology
"One More Try" (1988) "Monkey" (1988) "Kissing a Fool" (1988)
Music video
"Monkey" on YouTube

"Monkey" became Michael's sixth solo single reaching number-one in the US, and the fourth single to do so from the Faith album. George Michael joined Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston as three artists who all had four or more consecutive number one singles during the 1987–88 era, from one album (Michael Jackson scored five number-one hits from a single album (Bad) while Whitney Houston scored seven consecutive number-one hits from two albums).

"Monkey" also reached number-one in the US Hot Dance Club Play chart for two weeks and became his first dance number-one. When the song was released as a single, the single version was remixed by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis.

Background

In a retrospective interview about the album in 2010, Michael noted that the song was inspired by a friend of his dealing with drug and alcohol addiction but he did not know how to help her. He used the term "monkey" to refer to her addiction. He asked his friend: "Do you love the monkey or do you love me?"^[3]

Critical reception

Pan-European magazine Music & Media wrote, "One of the most overtly funky, disco-oriented tracks on the LP Faith. A hard hitting dance number."^[4]

Music video

The official music video for the song was directed by Andy Morahan^[5] and choreographed by Paula Abdul. It comprises footage from the Faith Tour (including scenes of Michael performing intense choreography) and him performing the song in a simple white T-shirt and black hat against a white background. Some of the scenes are shown in grey scale, with the tour footage being shown with tinted blue lights all over.

Track listing

• 7"

1. "Monkey" (7-inch edit) – 4:47
2. "Monkey" (a'cappella) – 3:40

• US 12" – Columbia 44 07849

1. "Monkey" (extended version) – 8:06
2. "Monkey" (a'cappella) – 3:40
3. "Monkey" (extra beats) – 3:30

• CD

1. "Monkey" (extended version) – 8:06
2. "Monkey" (a'cappella) – 3:40
3. "Monkey" (extra beats) – 3:30
4. "Monkey" (7-inch edit) – 4:47

Charts

Weekly charts Chart (1988) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[6] 12 Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[7] 5 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[8] 22 Canada Top Singles (RPM)[9] 1 Canada Dance/Urban (RPM)[10] 5 Canada (The Record's Retail Singles Chart)[11] 6 Europe (European Hot 100 Singles)[12] 23 Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[13] 4 France (SNEP)[14] 34 Iceland (RÚV)[15] 18 Ireland (IRMA)[16] 8 Japan (Oricon)[17] 90 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[18] 6 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[19] 7 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[20] 9 Spain (PROMUSICAE)[21] 23 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 5 UK Singles (OCC)[23] 13 US Billboard Hot 100[24] 1 US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[25] 1 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[26] 8 West Germany (GfK)[27] 24

Year-end charts Chart (1988) Position Belgium (Ultratop Flanders)[28] 69 Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[29] 93 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[30] 83 US Billboard Hot 100[31][32] 45

See also

• List of number-one dance singles of 1988 (U.S.)