"
Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" is a song written by
Elton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE is an English singer-songwriter, composer and pianist.In his four-decade career, John has sold more than 200 million records, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. His single, Candle in the Wind 1997, has sold over 37 million copies, becoming the...
and
Bernie TaupinBernie Taupin is an English lyricist, singer, songwriter and poet, most famous for his collaborations with Elton John.-Birth and childhood:...
. It was recorded by Elton John and released in 1976, both as a single and as part of the
Blue MovesBlue Moves is the eleventh studio album by British singer/songwriter Elton John, released in 1976. It was also his second double album, and his first album recorded by his own Rocket Records Ltd...
album. It was his second single on
Rocket RecordsThe Rocket Record Company was a record label founded by Elton John, with Bernie Taupin, Gus Dudgeon and Steve Brown among others, in 1972. The name is from the hit, "Rocket Man"...
. The song is a mournful ballad about unrequited love. 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.
"
Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" is a song written by
Elton JohnSir Elton Hercules John, CBE is an English singer-songwriter, composer and pianist.In his four-decade career, John has sold more than 200 million records, making him one of the most successful artists of all time. His single, Candle in the Wind 1997, has sold over 37 million copies, becoming the...
and
Bernie TaupinBernie Taupin is an English lyricist, singer, songwriter and poet, most famous for his collaborations with Elton John.-Birth and childhood:...
. It was recorded by Elton John and released in 1976, both as a single and as part of the
Blue MovesBlue Moves is the eleventh studio album by British singer/songwriter Elton John, released in 1976. It was also his second double album, and his first album recorded by his own Rocket Records Ltd...
album. It was his second single on
Rocket RecordsThe Rocket Record Company was a record label founded by Elton John, with Bernie Taupin, Gus Dudgeon and Steve Brown among others, in 1972. The name is from the hit, "Rocket Man"...
. The song is a mournful ballad about unrequited love. 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 was a UK/US Top 20 hit, reaching #11 in the UK and #6 in the US.
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 1976-1986Greatest Hits 1976-1986 is a collection of hits by Elton John released in the United States only by MCA Records in 1992. It replaced an earlier compilation, Geffen's 1987 release Greatest Hits Vol. 3 ...
,
The Very Best of Elton JohnThe Very Best of Elton John is a greatest hits compilation album by Elton John, released in October 1990. His first career-retrospective album, and fourth official greatest-hits album overall, it was released in the United Kingdom, and in other countries such Japan and Australia, but not in the...
and in
Greatest Hits 1970-2002Greatest Hits 1970–2002 is a career-spanning collection of Elton John's biggest hits up to 2002. It was released in an alternate 3-CD version and slightly different versions in the United States and the United Kingdom....
, as well as a number of other compilations.
Other versions
"Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word" has been covered by a wide variety of artists from
countryCountry music is a blend of popular musical forms originally found in the Southern United States and the Appalachian Mountains...
to
R&BContemporary R&B is a music genre of western popular music. Although the acronym “R&B” originates from its association with traditional rhythm and blues music, the term R&B is today most often used to define a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in the 1980s...
. It has been recorded as a duet, in Spanish, and has even featured Elton John himself on a couple of versions.
In 2008, American Pianist and Singer
Eli MattsonEli James Mattson is an American pianist and singer. He was the runner-up on the third season of America's Got Talent, beating out over 200,000 contestants. The difference in the votes during the final was less than 0.5%...
sang this as part of the top 10 in the widely known talent show
America's Got TalentAmerica's Got Talent is a British-owned American reality television series on the NBC television network. It is a talent show that features singers, dancers, magicians, comedians and other performers of all ages competing for the advertised top prize of US$1 million. The show debuted in June 2006...
In 1994, country singers
Suzy BoggussSuzy Bogguss is an American country music singer. In the 1980s and 90s she released one platinum and three gold albums and charted six top ten singles, winning the Academy of Country Music's award for Top New Female Vocalist and the Country Music Association's Horizon Award.After taking a brief...
and
Chet AtkinsChester Burton Atkins , better known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who created, along with Owen Bradley, the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.His picking style, inspired by...
covered the song on their 1994
SimpaticoSimpatico is a 1994 album by Suzy Bogguss and Chet Atkins.After the incredible success of her previous two releases, Bogguss shifted gears for her 1994's Simpatico, a very personal, low-key album of duets with long-time friend and guitar legend Chet Atkins...
. It was released as a single but failed to chart. A year later, Argentine singer/songwriter,
Pedro AznarPedro Aznar is an Argentine musician and current solo artist. He is very well-known for giving rock songs a jazz-oriented style, by playing the fretless bass, with a big influence from Jaco Pastorius....
, covered the song in Spanish with the translated title, "Ya no hay forma de pedir perdón", for the album
David y Goliath.
In 2002, the boy band,
BlueBlue are an English boy band, consisting of four members: Lee Ryan, Duncan James, Antony Costa, and Simon Webbe. The band has had success runs with over 15 million records sold globally. The group originally formed in 2001 before parting ways in 2005...
, recorded the song with Elton John (who received a featured artist credit). This version was produced by multi-platinum producer
Ray RuffinRay Ruffin is an American singer, instrumentalist, songwriter, and record producer. The name ‘Ruffin’ is associated with two brothers from the Motown Records label. Jimmy Ruffin, who is Ray's father, and David Ruffin, Ray’s uncle and lead vocalist for The Temptations on the classic song “My Girl”...
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 CockerJohn Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock/blues singer who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
covered the song on his collection of love songs,
Greatest Love SongsGreatest Love Songs is a compilation album by Joe Cocker, released in 2003 .-Track listing:#"Just Like a Woman" - 5:18#"Something" - 3:34#"Darling Be Home Soon" - 4:42#"The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress" - 3:30...
, in 2003. In 2004, there more versions were released. First,
Ray CharlesRay Charles Robinson , known by his stage name Ray Charles, was an American musician. He brought a soulful sound to country music and pop standards through his Modern Sounds recordings, as well as a rendition of "America the Beautiful" that Ed Bradley of 60 Minutes called the "definitive version of...
and Elton John recorded this song as a 'duet' in Charles's 2004 posthumous release
Genius Loves CompanyGenius Loves Company is the final studio album by rhythm and blues and soul musician Ray Charles, released August 31, 2004 posthumously on Concord Records. Recording sessions for the album took place throughout June 2003 to March 2004...
. Then,
Mary J. BligeMary Jane Blige , more commonly known as Mary J. Blige, is an American recording artist, record producer and actress. She has sold more than forty eight million albums worldwide. She has received many Grammy Award nominations for her work, winning ten, and has been awarded the World Music Legends...
covered the song for the soundtrack to the film,
Bridget Jones: The Edge of ReasonBridget Jones: The Edge of Reason is a romantic comedy film directed by Beeban Kidron, based on Helen Fielding's novel of the same name. It stars Renée Zellweger as Bridget Jones, Colin Firth as Mark Darcy and Hugh Grant as Daniel Cleaver. It is the sequel to Bridget Jones's Diary...
. Finally,
Kenny GKenneth Bruce Gorelick , better known by his stage name Kenny G, is a Grammy winning American saxophonist. His fourth album, Duotones, brought him breakthrough success in 1986. Kenny's main instrument is the soprano saxophone, but he also on occasion plays alto and tenor saxophone and flute. He...
recorded it with
Richard MarxRichard Noel Marx is an American adult contemporary and pop/rock singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He had a string of hit singles in the late 1980s and 1990s, including "Endless Summer Nights", "Right Here Waiting", "Now and Forever", and "Hazard"...
for his covers/duets album,
At Last...The Duets AlbumAt Last...The Duets Album is the second cover album by saxophonist Kenny G. It was released by Arista Records in 2004, and reached number 1 on the Contemporary Jazz chart, number 21 on the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number 40 on the Billboard 200....
.
In 2006, former
American IdolAmerican Idol is a reality competition to find new solo musical talent, created by Simon Fuller. It debuted on June 11, 2002 on the Fox network, and has since become one of the most popular shows on American television...
contestant
Clay AikenClay Aiken is an American pop singer who began his rise to fame on the second season of the television program American Idol in 2003. RCA Records offered him a recording contract, and his multi-platinum debut album Measure of a Man was released in October 2003...
covered the song on his album,
A Thousand Different WaysA Thousand Different Ways is the third studio album by Clay Aiken. The album, which was executive produced by Jaymes Foster, consists of ten covers and four new songs. It was released by RCA on September 19, 2006...
, and
X FactorThe X Factor is a British television music talent show, contested by aspiring pop singers drawn from public auditions. It is broadcast on the ITV network in the United Kingdom and on TV3 in Ireland, with spin-off "behind-the-scenes" shows The Xtra Factor and The X Factor 24/7 screened on ITV2 and TV3...
winner,
Leona LewisLeona Louise Lewis is an English pop/R&B singer and songwriter. Lewis rose to fame in 2006 as the winner of the third series of the British television series The X Factor....
's recording of the song was a
B-sideA-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of 7 inch vinyl records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
to her number-one debut single, "A Moment Like This".
Marty and Kim Wilde version
The song was covered in 2007 by
Marty WildeMarty Wilde is an English singer and songwriter. He was among the first generation of British pop stars to emulate American rock and roll, and is the father of pop singer Kim Wilde....
, a rock and roll star who made his name as a singer in the 1950s and 1960s, and during the 1980s co-wrote several hit singles for his daughter,
Kim WildeKim Wilde is an English pop singer.Wilde burst onto the music scene in 1981 with the new wave classic "Kids in America", which hit number two in the UK Singles Chart. Major U.S...
. For his 2007
Greatest Hits compilation album, he recorded some new tracks including this one as a duet with his daughter. The two had previously performed the song together twenty years prior to this at an AIDS benefit concert. The Wildes chose to record this song for the new compilation in honour of Elton John's 60th birthday. It was released as a promotional-only single in the UK.