Az Yet is a contemporary r&b group that was born on the wake of Boyz 2 Men’s success in the nineties. They debuted in 1996 on the LaFace label with Babyface as producer and their first two singles climbed immediately the charts. “Last Night” (written by Babyface) was a #1 r&b hit on Billboard while their tasteful cover of the David Foster/Chicago classic, “Hard To Say I’m Sorry”, became a multiformat hit, in 1997, reaching the top twenty on the r&b and adult contemporary charts and was a top ten on the Hot 100.

What’s interesting is that the song was remixed for its single release by David Foster himself who perfectly tailored it for radio playing and, as a bonus, he asked Peter Cetera to sing the song’s finale on his remix, giving it a classic echo and adding a nostalgic feel to it. Here’s how Az Yet remember the meeting: “ David Foster approached us. He said, “Man, I love that. What do you guys think about me re-mixing it?” And we thought about it for like a millisecond before we screamed Yes!”.

Peter Cetera after the great success of this remake asked Az Yet to return the favour and had the r&b group guesting on his new cover of another great Foster/Cetera classic of the Chicago era, “You’re The Inspiration”, that was included on his, “You’re The Inspiration: A Collection”, released in 1997. The song reached #77 on the Hot 100.

Listen

[audio:https://www.fozfan.com/archives/clips/hard_to_say_i_m_sorry.mp3|titles=Hard to say i’m sorry|artists=Az Yet]

Lead Vocals: Az Yet with Peter Cetera
Keyboards: David Foster
Remix produced and arranged by David Foster

Lyrics

Everybody needs a little time away, I heard her say, from each other.
Even lovers need a holiday far away from each other.
Hold me now. It’s hard for me to say I’m sorry. I just want you to stay.

After all that we’ve been through, I will make it up to you. I promise to.
And after all that’s been said and done,
You’re just the part of me I can’t let go.

Couldn’t stand to be kept away just for the day from your body.
Wouldn’t wanna be swept away, far away from the one that I love.
Hold me now. It’s hard for me to say I’m sorry. I just want you to know.
Hold me now. I really want to tell you I’m sorry. I could never let you go.

After all that we’ve been through, I will make it up to you. I promise to.
And after all that’s been said and done,
You’re just the part of me I can’t let go.

After all that we’ve been through, I will make it up to you. I promise to.

You’re gonna be the lucky one