George Michael - I Can't Make You Love Me "I Can't Make You Love Me" is a 1991 popular song, written by Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin and recorded by Bonnie Raitt (her version available on this Cnannel) on her Luck of the Draw album from that year. In August 2000, Mojo magazine voted "I Can't Make You Love Me" #8 on its The 100 Greatest Songs Of All Time list. The idea for the song came to Reid while reading an article about a man arrested for getting drunk and shooting at his girlfriend's car. The judge asked him if he had learned anything, to which he replied, "I learned, Your Honor, that you can't make a woman love you if she don't." Reid and Shamblin were both country music songwriters, who according to some accounts originally wrote the song as a fast, bluegrass number. Upon slowing down the tempo considerably, they realized the song gained considerable power. It then made its way to Raitt and ultimately George Michael. It was not until he formed the duo Wham! together with Andrew Ridgeley in 1981 that success came for Michael. The band's first album, Fantastic, was released going to number 1 in the UK, and within a year, they had released their classic debut single, "Wham Rap! (Enjoy What You Do?)". Their second single, "Young Guns (Go For It!)", became the first in a string of Top 10 hits in the UK singles chart. They followed with titles such as "Bad Boys", and "Club Tropicana". Their second album Make It Big was their breakthrough, eventually selling 6 million copies in the US alone and made them international superstars. Singles from that album included "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "Freedom", "Last Christmas/Everything She Wants", and "Careless Whisper", which was released as a Michael solo effort. "Careless Whisper", written when Michael was 17, became one of the most played songs of the decade and was voted favourite record of all time by Londoners in January 1995 in a competition run by the capital's leading evening newspaper and radio station. He was also voted Best Male Singer that year by the same radio station's listeners and by the readers of a national newspaper. George also sang on the original Band Aid recording of "Do They Know It's Christmas" and donated the profits from "Last Christmas/Everything She Wants" to the charity. In addition, he added background vocals to David Cassidy's 1985 hit "The Last Kiss", as well as Elton John's 1985 hits "Nikita" and "Wrap Her Up". Georgios Kyriacos Panayiotou (born June 25, 1963), best known as George Michael, is a two-time Grammy Award winning English singer-songwriter. Whether half of the duo Wham! or a solo artist, Michael has enjoyed massive global success with his unique brand of soul-influenced pop. He has sold over 85 million records worldwide, encompassing 12 British #1 singles, 9 British #1 albums, 10 US #1 singles, and 2 US #1 albums. His 1987 debut solo album, Faith, has sold over 20 million copies to date. This success has made George Michael the most played artist on British radio over the past two decades. Lyrics Turn down the lights, turn down the bed Turn down these voices inside my head Lay down with me, tell me no lies Just hold me close, don't patronize Don't patronize me 'Cause I can't make you love me If you don't You can't make your heart feel something it won't Here in the dark in these final hours I will lay down my heart, and I'll feel the power But you won't, no you won't And I can't make you love me If you don't I'll close my eyes and then I won't see The love you do not feel, when you're holding me Morning will come, and I'll do what's right Just give me till then, to give up this fight And I will give up this fight And I can't make you love me if you don't You can't make your heart feel something it won't And here in the dark in these final hours I will lay down my heart and I'll feel the power But you won't, no, you won't And I can't make you love me If you don't Ain't no use in you trying It's no good for me baby without love All my tears, all these years, everything I believed in Baby Oh yeah Someone's gonna love me