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 by The Rocket Record Company. The song is a mournful ballad about a romantic relationship which is falling apart.

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 in Greatest Hits 1970–2002, as well as a number of other compilations.

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

In December 2015, the song was used in a US holiday-themed commercial for Temptation cat treats.

Personnel

 * Elton John - piano, vocals
 * Ray Cooper - vibraphone
 * Carl Fortina - accordion
 * James Newton Howard - electric piano, strings arrangement
 * Kenny Passarelli - bass

Commercial performance and certifications
The song was a Top 20 hit, reaching No. 11 in the United Kingdom, No. 6 in the United States and No. 3 in Canada. In addition, the song went to No. 1 on the US and Canadian Adult Contemporary charts. In the US, it was certified Gold on 25 January 1977 by the RIAA.

Blue version
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 the UK Singles Chart on 15 December 2002.

In many countries of the world (as well as in the UK) this version was much more popular than original version. Because of that, in many sources, it is credited to Elton John only, but it's a Blue version with Elton's collaboration. It failed to popularize in the U.S. and has much lesser chart performance in Australia, here the original version is more common.

Track listing

 * 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

Other versions
"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.

In 1977, Florence Henderson covered the song on The Brady Bunch Hour.

Frank Sinatra also covered the song during concerts for a short time in 1977.

Dee Dee Bridgewater recorded "Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word" for her 1977 album Just Family.

In 1991, Joe Cocker covered this song.

In 1992, Argentine singer Pedro Aznar used the music to Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word and wrote his own lyrics to record a Spanish version with the title Ya no hay forma de pedir perdón ("There isn't a way to ask for forgiveness").

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.

In 1999, Jimmy Scott covered this song on the "Holding Back The Years" album.

In 2004, Elton John and Ray Charles performed the song on Charles' duet album, Genius Loves Company. It would turn out to be the last recording Charles ever did before his death that June. The duet was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals.

Also in 2004, Mary J. Blige covered the song as part of the Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason movie soundtrack.

In 2004, Kenny G and Richard Marx covered the song on Kenny G's At Last...The Duets Album.

In 2004, Karrin Allyson recorded the song for her album Wild For You.

In 2015, Diana Krall recorded a piano jazz cover and included on her covers album Wallflower.

R&B singer Mary J. Blige recorded a cover of the song for the 2018 tribute album Revamp: Reimagining the Songs of Elton John & Bernie Taupin.

Sampling by Pnau
In 2012, the Australian electron pop duo Pnau, signed by Elton John to his own management company, Rocket Music, 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".

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.

The "so sad" lyric, alongside elements of previous hits, was merged into Elton John's single "Sad", which was released in the UK on 20 July 2012.