Hard To Say I’m Sorry – Az Yet featuring Peter Cetera | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#8) & R&B (#20); 1997
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Az Yet’s brief brush with fame brought them two Top 10 hits on the Pop chart, and only one on the R&B side, a somewhat unusual turn of events for a 1990’s urban group.
The debut single, Last Night, soared all the way to #1 R&B in the fall of 1996 and did movie time as a featured song in The Nutty Professor. Night was written in part by Babyface who had signed the Philadelphia boys to his label in 1995.
Back then they called themselves Az Yet Untitled because of their category-defying range of influences and singing styles. That genre-bending tendency was evident in Az Yet’s choice to cover Hard To Say I’m Sorry, originally by superstar pop group Chicago.
Sorry’s original co-writer and singer, Peter Cetera, also helped out vocally on Az Yet’s rendition. That combination resulted in a stronger response from the pop fans who no doubt remembered Sorry when it originally topped the Hot 100 in 1982.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Babyface
Lyrics Written by:
- Peter Cetera
- David Foster
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).