Missing (Everything but the Girl song)


"Missing" is a song by British popular music duo Everything but the Girl, taken from their eighth studio album Amplified Heart. It was written by the two band members, Tracey Thorn and Ben Watt, and was produced by Watt. It was taken as the second single off the album on 8 August 1994 by Atlantic Records and Blanco Y Negro Records. It initially did not achieve much success until it was remixed by Todd Terry and re-released in 1995, resulting in worldwide success, peaking at or near the top of the charts in many countries. The release of the remixed version of "Missing" gave an indication of the band's future experimentation with more electronic dance music on subsequent albums.
Musically the song takes in multiple genres. The original version from the album is a more low-tempo influenced song, while the popular Todd Terry remix version is a more up-tempo dance-pop song. Lyrically the song talks about one person missing the other because they have moved away. "Missing" was critically acclaimed by the majority of music critics, who praised the composition and generally considered it a highlight on the album.

Background

Prior to "Missing", Everything but the Girl was most known as an indie band; as with many UK bands of the era, their music had folk and jazz leanings. They had released eight albums prior to Amplified Heart and had a number-three UK singles chart success in 1988, but were relatively unknown in the United States. "Missing" was recorded as a relaxed-sounding guitar-based popular music song that had earned modest broadcasting airplay on US Adult Contemporary radio. The duo gave the track to house music producer Todd Terry to remix for nightclubs.
Tracey Thorn later explained to Rolling Stone that the song was originally intended as a dance-oriented track:

Composition

According to the music sheet published at Musicnotes.com by Sony/ATV Music Publishing, "Missing" is written in the key of A Minor. In vocal range, Thorn's vocals span from the key note of E4 to the key note of G5. The song is set in common time and has a beat of 128 beats per minute. Lauren Barnett from The Guardian recalled the style of music as "monochrome electronic beats." Toponehitwonders.com had said the remix "Add a pulsing disco beat that sounds equally at home."

Critical reception

"Missing" was generally acclaimed by most music critics. Bill Lamb from About.com said that "there has never been a more powerful expression of emotional and sexual longing in pop music than that at the core of "Missing"." Allmusic was also very positive, highlighting the song as an album standout and rated the song 4 stars out of 5. Larry Flick from Billboard wrote that "this forlorn love song is bolstered by a springy retro-pop arrangement that is brilliantly tweaked into a credible dance confection by post-producer Todd Terry. Singer Tracey Thorn's performance is a study in affecting, but restrained emotion, and the chorus instantly sticks to the brain." Matt Stopera and Brian Galindo from BuzzFeed commented, "Have you ever sat and really thought about if the desert actually misses the rain? Like any good song, it makes you think." Douglas Wolk from CMJ said it is "a first-rate pairing of songwriting and technology". He wrote that "the 12" pairs a torch song and techno-inflected backing tracks" and "neither the song nor the grooves are all that hot on their own, but in combination they're great—the kind of heartfelt but not histrionic dancefloor simmer that's been too rare since, say, Lisa Stansfield's heyday a few years ago." Complex noted that the remix "set the world ablaze". Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report commented, "What a difference a few months and a remix can make. Miami is where "Missing" has busted big, and where requests tell the story of how broad the appeal of the song really is. Track two, the remix edit, is the one to check out." Stephen Sears from Idolator called the song a "noir-ish study in wistful longing, with a hint of lonely-but-relatable stalker in the lyric." Muzik described it as a "miracle". The Network Forty called it a "very exciting uptempo groover from this debut artist." James Hunter from Vibe noted that Terry's remix "allows singer Tracey Thorn to grace stateside radios with her rare English soul." He added that "Thorn's voice is untouchable".
In 2011, Fedde le Grand remixed the song and DJ Ron Slomowicz from About.com listed the song as Song of the Day. He said "Tracey's mournful voice fit perfectly over Todd's house beats to become a club classic and a pop hit around the world." Bill Lamb from the same publication ranked the song at top spot on his Top 10 Best Songs of 1996. He later reviewed the remix saying "pumps up the tempo, adds some beats but thankfully stays true to the original." Toponehitwonders.com. was very positive stating ""Missing" is a tremendous pop song. One of the best of the 1990s. In fact, I would place it in the same company as "You Get What You Give" by New Radicals as a nearly perfect pop song." They later complimented the chorus, catchy hook and vocal performance by Thorn.

Impact and legacy

In 2003, Q Magazine ranked "Missing" at number 177 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever".
In 2012, the song was listed at number 35 in NME's list of the "50 best-selling tracks of the 90s", adding: "The 1994 version of 'Missing' had at least a foot on the dancefloor - in defiance of EBTG style - but Todd Terry gave it the final push, his deep house beats complementing Tracey Thorn's rich melancholy pine. Slowly burning, it spent five months on the UK chart and an entire year on the Billboard Hot 100. Sold: 870,000"
In 2018, ThoughtCo placed the song at number 1 in their list of "10 Best Pop Songs of 1996".

Chart performance

The resulting Todd Terry remixed dance version of "Missing" became a worldwide success, matching Everything But the Girl's best UK chart score of number three in November 1995 and scoring number one on the German singles chart. The song became the duo's first and only US Top 40 entry on the Billboard Hot 100, entering at number 94 for the week ending August 12, 1995. After a long climb, it peaked at number two during 1996 behind the sixteen-week number-one reign of "One Sweet Day", a duet between Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men. "Missing" eventually logged 55 weeks on the chart. "Missing" was the first ever single to spend an uninterrupted year on the US Hot 100. On Radio & Records magazine's CHR/Pop tracks chart, "Missing" spent four weeks at number one, and was ranked as the number one song of the year for 1996. The original album version of "Missing" also received airplay on adult contemporary and smooth jazz radio stations in the United States.
Even with its success in the mainstream and in nightclubs, ironically with the remix, the song never entered the US Hot Dance Club Play chart. Everything but the Girl would eventually amass four US dance chart number-ones, with singles released after "Missing", one of which, "Wrong," was the duo's only other single to appear on the Billboard Hot 100.
In addition to its US success, "Missing" topped the Canadian RPM Top Singles, Adult Contemporary, and Dance/Urban charts. In the UK it spent over 20 weeks on the UK Singles Chart and earned the duo a Platinum certification denoting shipments of over 600,000. The song was also successful in Australia and New Zealand. It peaked at number two in Australia, staying on the chart for twenty-three weeks. It had similar success in New Zealand, peaking at 14 on the charts and stayed in the charts for fourteen weeks. The song also eventually peaked inside the top ten in many European countries, including Austria, Belgium, France, the Netherland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. To date, it is the group's most successful single in the charts.
The single has sold three million copies worldwide.

Music video

An accompanying music video was shot for the single. It was directed by English director Mark Szaszy. The video features both Thorn and Watt in an apartment, having split up but them missing each other. It also features Thorn walking around Balham and Clapham South.

Accolades

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Track listings

CD Promotional
  1. Remix Edit - 4:09
  2. Album Version - 4:04
CD Maxi
  1. "Missing" – 3:52
  2. "Missing" – 4:58
  3. "Missing" – 7:47
  4. "Missing" – 8:36
  5. "Missing" – 4:04
  6. "Missing" – 4:34
12" Maxi
  1. "Missing" – 4:53
  2. "Missing" – 7:47
  3. "Missing" – 4:05
  4. "Missing" – 2:48
  5. "Missing" – 8:36
CD Maxi – Remixes
  1. "Missing" – 4:04
  2. "Missing" – 5:03
  3. "Missing" – 8:35
  4. "Missing" – 5:26

    Official versions

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Chart Position
Australia 7
Austria 39
Belgium 72
Belgium 17
Canada Top Singles 9
Canada Adult Contemporary 11
Canada Dance/Urban 8
Europe 10
France 29
Germany 11
Sweden 36
Switzerland 24
US Billboard Hot 10012

All-time charts

Certifications and sales

Cover versions