Released 8 January 1996 Recorded 1993–95 Length 6:51 | Format CD
cassette Genre Bossa nova | |
B-side "One More Try" (live gospel version) | ||
"Jesus to a Child" is a song by British singer George Michael. The song peaked at number one in the United Kingdom and Australia, and at number 2 in the mainland European charts. The song has also become George Michael's highest-direct entry in the American charts. The song is one of George Michael's best-known songs and was included on the 1996 album Older. It was a melancholy tribute to his lover Anselmo Feleppa.
Contents
"Jesus to a Child" was the first of six singles from the album Older. It was Michael's sixth UK number one, although only the third as an entirely solo performer.
After Michael's death in 2016, Dame Esther Rantzen, founder of the charity ChildLine, revealed that Michael had secretly donated all of the single's royalties to the charity. She said "George helped us to reach out to hundreds of thousands of children through his generosity. I met him a couple of times, he approached us, rather than us going cap in hand to him, but it was an intensely personal gift. He didn’t want it to be known or to be part of his image." She told BBC News that "he really wanted to keep his help secret, it was an intensely personal gift. It meant we could answer more children."
Background
Although it was not officially released until January 1996, Michael unveiled the song in November 1994 during the inaugural MTV Europe Music Awards, where he performed it live in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
The song was Michael's first self-penned hit in his homeland for almost four years, where it also became his first solo single to enter the UK chart at number one. In addition it was his first solo number one from a studio album; all his previous solo number ones had been one-off projects, either during the Wham! years or as a guest or co-vocalist. At almost seven minutes, it was also Michael's longest UK top 40 single.
On the United States' Billboard Hot 100 it became the highest new entry, at number 7, by a British artist for more than 25 years.
Content
The song was a melancholy tribute to Michael's Brazilian lover Anselmo Feleppa, whom he met when performing in Rio de Janeiro in 1991. Feleppa died two years later from an AIDS-related brain haemorrhage. Michael had been unable to write for the next 18 months as a consequence of his grief, but then penned the words to "Jesus to a Child" in little more than an hour, indicating that the time was right to move on with his life. The song is written with a rhythm and harmony that is influenced by the Brazilian bossa nova style.
The exact identity of the song's subject—and the nature of their relationship—was cause for a certain amount of innuendo at the time, as Michael had not confirmed his homosexuality and did not do so until 1998. Until his death on Christmas Day 2016, Michael would consistently dedicate the song to Feleppa before performing it live.
Legacy
Popular Macedonian singer Toše Proeski (1981–2007) covered this song during his concerts, and one of his recordings of it features on his album So Ljubav od Toše (Eng. With Love From Toše), posthumously released in 2011.
Track listings
- "Jesus to a Child" – 6:50
- "One More Try" (live gospel version) – 5:21
- "Older" (instrumental version) – 5:18
- "Jesus to a Child" – 6:50
- "Freedom '94" (live version) – 6:04
- "One More Try" (live gospel version) – 5:21
- "Older" (instrumental version) – 5:18
- "Jesus to a Child" – 6:50
- "One More Try" (live gospel version) – 5:21
- "Older" (instrumental version) – 5:18