Waiting for a Star to Fall

"Waiting for a Star to Fall" was written by Shannon Rubicam and George Merrill, and was inspired by an actual falling star that Rubicam had seen during a Whitney Houston concert at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. The duo did not initially consider recording the song themselves, instead submitting it to Arista's CEO Clive Davis, in the hope that he would decide to use it on Houston's second studio album, Whitney. Even though Rubicam and Merrill had written Houston's previous hit "How Will I Know", Davis rejected "Waiting for a Star to Fall", suggesting that it did not suit her.[1] This then inspired the creation of Houston's 1987 hit "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)". The song was then offered to and recorded by Belinda Carlisle for her 1987 release Heaven on Earth, at the insistence of her label, but Carlisle disliked it and refused to include it on the album.[2] This version has, however, circulated on an unofficial compilation of that album's outtakes.[3]

The tenor saxophone solo on the Boy Meets Girl version was provided in a session recording early in the career of Andy Snitzer, who later found success as a solo artist.[4]

Merrill and Rubicam decided to record the song themselves for their second album Reel Life. Released as a single on June 10, 1988, it became a hit in the United States, reaching number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and number five on the Billboard Hot 100.[5][6] Issued in the United Kingdom on November 14, 1988, the song reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart during January 1989, having entered the chart in December 1988.[7][8] It remains their sole top-40 hit in the UK.[9] The song also reached number 35 on Australia's ARIA Singles Chart in April 1989.[10] After the song was used as the closing theme to the 1990 movie Three Men and a Little Lady, the single was re-released with a new picture sleeve featuring the actors of the film. The re-release peaked at number 76 in the UK.[9]

Johnny Loftus of AllMusic remarked that the song was "just a classic", and that "the urgency as it drives toward its chorus is a clinic for durable songwriting."[11]

The video for the song, directed by Australian director Claudia Castle, features scenes of Merrill and Rubicam singing it on a beach and inside a house.[12] Also featured are scenes of a group of children playing with bubbles, including the couple's young daughter Hilary.[3]

Personnel are lifted from the Reel Life liner notes.[21]

• George Merrill – writing, lead vocals, acoustic piano, synthesizers, bass, drum programming
• Shannon Rubicam – writing, backing vocals
• Susan Boyd – backing vocals
• John Goux – guitars
• Joe Mardin – synthesizers
• Denny Fongheiser – drums
• Michael Jochum – additional drums
• Andy Snitzer – saxophone

"Star to Fall"
Single by Cabin Crew
Released	2005
Length	2:47 (radio edit)
Label	Data Ultra
Songwriter(s)	Shannon Rubicam George Merrill
Producer(s)	Ben Garden Rob Kittler
Cabin Crew singles chronology
"Star to Fall" (2005) "Can't Stop It" (2008)

"Falling Stars"
Single by Sunset Strippers
Released	February 28, 2005 (2005-02-28)[38]
Length	3:19
Label	Kontor Direction
Songwriter(s)	Shannon Rubicam George Merrill Sunset Strippers
Producer(s)	Sunset Strippers

The song has been covered and remixed several times. The most commercially successful versions came in 2005, when Australian musical group Cabin Crew remixed the song as "Star to Fall" (or "Star2Fall") but were refused the sampling of the original lyrics by Sony BMG. Liking what Cabin Crew had done, however, George Merrill agreed to re-record the vocals.[39] Meanwhile, Sony BMG had British musical group Sunset Strippers remix the original track under the title "Falling Stars". Both versions peaked within the top five of the UK Singles Chart in March 2005.

• Full lyrics at Boy Meets Girl Music Boy Meets Girl Music