Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word

"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 byThe 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 inGreatest Hits 1970–2002, as well as a number of other compilations.

The song is also featured prominently in the 1977 movie Slap Shot.



Contents
[hide]  *1 Personnel  ==Personnel[ edit] == ==Commercial performance and certifications[ edit] == ===Commercial performance[ edit] === 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.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-2" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[2] ===Sales and certifications<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ==Blue & Elton John version<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">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 theUK Singles Chart on 15 December 2002. ===Tracklisting<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ===Charts and certifications<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ==Other versions<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">"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.
 * 2 Commercial performance and certifications
 * 2.1 Commercial performance
 * 2.2 Sales and certifications
 * 3 Blue & Elton John version
 * 3.1 Tracklisting
 * 3.2 Charts and certifications
 * 3.2.1 Chart performance
 * 3.2.2 Sales and certifications
 * 4 Other versions
 * 5 Sampling by Pnau
 * 6 References
 * 7 External links
 * Ray Cooper – vibraphone
 * Carl Fortina – accordion
 * James Newton Howard – electric piano, strings arrangement
 * Elton John – piano, vocals
 * Kenny Passarelli – bass
 * UK CD1
 * 1) "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" (Radio Edit) – 3:31
 * 2) "Lonely This Christmas" – 2:08
 * 3) "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" (Ruffin Ready Soul Mix) – 3:51
 * 4) "Recording Studio Footage" – 3:30
 * UK CD2
 * 1) "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" (Radio Edit) – 3:31
 * 2) "Album Medley" – 5:44
 * 3) "Sweet Thing" – 3:38
 * 4) "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" (Video) – 3:31
 * UK Cassette
 * 1) "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word" (Radio Edit) – 3:31
 * 2) "Album Medley" – 5:44
 * 3) "Sweet Thing" – 3:38

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Dottie West recorded the song for her 1981 release Wild West.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Italian singer Mina covered the song on the album Rane supreme, in 1987.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">In 1991 Joe Cocker covered the song on the Elton John/Bernie Taupin tribute album, Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">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. A year later, Argentine singer/songwriter, Pedro Aznar, covered the song in Spanish with the translated title, "Ya no hay forma de pedir perdón", for the album David y Goliath.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">In the same year, Anne Haigis covered the song, in German (Nacht aus Glas).

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Another cover, using more of a dance/techno backing track, was created by Scatman John.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">In 1997, the song was featured on Steven Houghton's self-titled album.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">In 1998, Jimmy Scott covered the song on his "Holding Back The Years" album (the back cover lists the song as "Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest").

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">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 Ruffinand 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.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Ana Bettz did a cover of the song for her 2003 debut album, Freedom, and it was also released as a one-track-only promotional single.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-26" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[26]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">In 2004, three more versions were released. First, Ray Charles and Elton John recorded this song as a "duet" in Charles's 2004 posthumous release Genius Loves Company. According to the album's liner notes, the song's recording marked the last session of the "Genius" project and one of the last (if not the very last) recorded vocal performance by the music legend. Then, Mary J. Blige covered the song for the soundtrack to the film, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Finally, Kenny Grecorded it with Richard Marx for his covers/duets album, At Last...The Duets Album.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">In 2006, former American Idol contestant Clay Aiken covered the song on his album, A Thousand Different Ways, and X Factor winner Leona Lewis's recording of the song was a B-side to her No. 1 debut single, "A Moment Like This".

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">In 2006, saxophonist Michael Lington covered the song from his renditions album "A Song for You."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-27" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[27] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-28" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[28]  Tose Proeski covered the song during his concerts and on his 2011 album so Ljubav Ot Tose.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Sarah Darling covered the song in 2011 for her second studio album Angels & Devils, released by Black River Music Group.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">Kim Wilde and her father Marty Wilde performed this song at the AIDS benefit concert Live AIDS on Wembley 1 April 1987. Twenty years later in 2007, they recorded a version of the song for Marty Wilde's greatest hits album "Born to rock'n'roll", which he released to celebrate his 50th anniversary in the music business. ==Sampling by Pnau<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == <p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">In 2012, the Australian electron pop duo Pnau, signed by Elton John to his own management company, Rocket Music,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-29" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-size:11.1999998092651px;">[29]  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.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">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.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">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.

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<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:17.9200000762939px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14.3999996185303px;">