U2 and the Harlem gospel choir New Voices of Freedom recorded the song at the Greater Calvary Church, 50-50 West 124th Street (between 7th and 8th Avenues) in Central Harlem. There are many versions of “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, but this version appeared on the Rattle and Hum album from the September 28, 1987 concert at Madison Square Garden.
The group joined U2 onstage to perform the song. The choir would later record their own version of the song for their album Rockspel.
The single “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” appeared on The Joshua Tree and Rattle and Hum albums and Best of 1980-1990/B-sides compilation. The working title of the song was originally Under The Weather and initially had a different melody. It was played for the first time live in Tempe, Arizona on April 2, 1987 in The Joshua Tree tour opener: Bono added snippets of Bob Marley’s Exodus and Three Little Birds.
Here’s rare footage of the group discussing chord changes, the microphone adjustments and more logistics before the recording:
The version that appeared on the Rattle and Hum album is from the September 28, 1987 concert at Madison Square Garden. The Harlem gospel choir New Voices of Freedom joined U2 onstage to perform the song. The choir would later record their own version of the song for their album Rockspel.
Their version appears on the album Songs and Visions. The single became U2’s second No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and peaked at No. 6 on the UK singles chart. It was placed third in the 1987 Rolling Stone Magazine Readers Picks for Best Single and was nominated for two Grammys as Best Single of the Year and Best Record of the Year.
Here’s complete video of the recording of the song:
Producers Daniel Lanois and Brian Eno.
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