Wishing Well (Terence Trent D'Arby song)

For other uses, see Wishing well (disambiguation).
"Wishing Well"
Single by Terence Trent D'Arby
from the album Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby
B-side "Elevators & Hearts"
Released 1987
Format
Genre
Length 3:33
Label CBS
Writer(s)
Producer(s)
Terence Trent D'Arby singles chronology
"If You Let Me Stay"
(1987)		 "Wishing Well"
(1987)		 "Dance Little Sister"
(1987)

"Wishing Well" is a song by Terence Trent D'Arby. The second single from the 1987 album Introducing the Hardline According to Terence Trent D'Arby, the song reached number one on both the Soul Singles Chart and the Billboard Hot 100 on May 7, 1988.[1] "Wishing Well" was certified "Gold", indicating sales of 500,000, by the Recording Industry Association of America in October 1991. Written by D'Arby and Sean Oliver, D'Arby said "Wishing Well" was written "when I was in a half-asleep, half-awake state of mind", and that he "liked the feel of the words".[2] Martyn Ware of Heaven 17 paired with D'Arby in production of the song, which was released on CBS Records.[2][3] Once released, "Wishing Well", along with D'Arby's debut single "If You Let Me Stay", went into "heavy rotation" on MTV.[4] D'Arby performed the song live at the 30th Annual Grammy Awards, where he lost the Grammy Award for Best New Artist to Jody Watley. When the single reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, it had charted for 17 weeks, which made it the slowest song to reach number one since "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" in 1983.[5]

Ben Greenman of The New Yorker credits "Wishing Well", along with other D'Arby songs, with "[bringing] soul music into the eighties".[6] Writing about D'Arby for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine called the song "sparse funk", and noted how "Wishing Well" was his first major hit in the United States.[7] Kathi Whalen of The Washington Post credited the song's chart success to D'Arby's combination of "'60s soul and pop on top", and called "Wishing Well" "bouncy".[8]

The song appears in Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City's fictional radio station Vice City FM.[9]

Track listings

7" single
  1. "Wishing Well" (3:33)
  2. "Elevators & Hearts" (4:41)
12" maxi
  1. "Wishing Well" (Three Coins in a Fountain mix) (6:14)
  2. "Elevators & Hearts" (4:41)
  3. "Wishing Well" (The Cool in the Shade mix) (7:50)
  4. "Wonderful World" (3:56)
12" maxi
  1. "Wishing Well" (The Cool in the Shade mix) (7:50)
  2. "Wonderful World" (3:56)
  3. "Elevators & Hearts" (4:04)
Cassette
  1. "Wishing Well" (3:33)
  2. "Elevators & Hearts" (4:04)

Charts and sales

Peak positions

Chart (1987–88) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[10] 9
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[11] 10
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[12] 1
France (SNEP)[13] 14
Germany (Official German Charts)[14] 18
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[15] 4
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] 5
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[17] 4
US Billboard Hot 100[18] 1
US Dance Club Songs (Billboard)[19] 7
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[20] 1

Year-end charts

Chart (1987) Position
Dutch Top 40[21] 27

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
United States (RIAA)[22] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–2004. Record Research. p. 145.
  2. 1 2 Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. Random House LLC. p. 697. ISBN 978-0-8230-7677-2.
  3. ↑ Hogan, Ed. "Wishing Well". AllMusic.
  4. ↑ Corcoran, Michael (June 1988). "In the Ring with Terence Trent D'Arby". Spin. Spin Media LLC. 4 (3): 45–46. ISSN 0886-3032.
  5. ↑ DeKnock, Jan (May 6, 1988). "'Wishing Well' Finally Pays Off". Chicago Tribune. Tribune Company.
  6. ↑ Greenman, Ben (June 4, 2013). "What Ever Happened to Terence Trent D'Arby?". The New Yorker. Condé Nast Publications.
  7. ↑ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. All Music Guide to Soul: The Definitive Guide to R&B and Soul. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 177. ISBN 978-0-87930-744-8.
  8. ↑ Whalen, Kathi (December 21, 1989). "Terence Trent D'Arby". The Washington Post. Nash Holdings LLC.
  9. ↑ Rockstar Games (April 13, 2013). Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City. PlayStation 3.
  10. ↑ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (Illustrated ed.). St. Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 82. ISBN 0-646-11917-6. N.B. the Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid 1983 and 19 June 1988.
  11. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Terence Trent D'Arby – Wishing Well" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40.
  12. ↑ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 39, 1987" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40
  13. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Terence Trent D'Arby – Wishing Well" (in French). Les classement single.
  14. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Terence Trent D'Arby – Wishing Well". GfK Entertainment Charts.
  15. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Terence Trent D'Arby – Wishing Well". Top 40 Singles.
  16. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Terence Trent D'Arby – Wishing Well". Swiss Singles Chart.
  17. ↑ "Archive Chart: 1987-07-11" UK Singles Chart.
  18. ↑ "Terence Trent D'Arby – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Terence Trent D'Arby.
  19. ↑ "Terence Trent D'Arby – Chart history" Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs for Terence Trent D'Arby.
  20. ↑ "Terence Trent D'Arby – Chart history" Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for Terence Trent D'Arby.
  21. ↑ "Single top 100 over 1987" (pdf) (in Dutch). Top40. Retrieved 21 September 2010.
  22. ↑ "American single certifications – Terence Trent D'Arby – Wishing Well". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Single, then click SEARCH
Preceded by
"Man in the Mirror" by Michael Jackson		 Billboard Hot Black Singles number-one single
April 2, 1988 		Succeeded by
"Ooo La La La" by Teena Marie
Preceded by
"Where Do Broken Hearts Go" by Whitney Houston		 Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
May 1, 1988 - May 7, 1988 		Succeeded by
"Anything for You" by Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine
Preceded by
"Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car" by Billy Ocean		 Canadian RPM Singles Chart number-one single
May 7, 1988 - May 14, 1988 		Succeeded by
"Always on My Mind" by Pet Shop Boys
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