The Plain Dealer

THE PLAIN DEALER
BY JOHN SOEDER MARCH 2 2007

Missing You

JOHN WAITE topped the charts in 1984 with this song, which he co-wrote:

"I've heard bits and pieces of the Rod Stewart album when I've been in the bookstore or something. He does a wonderful version of Missing You.' It's pure Rod, straight to the point, very upbeat. If I'd have been producing it, I might've slowed it down a bit and done it a little less pop.

"That's not to say it's not a brilliant cover. He could probably sing the phone book and make it believable.

"For my new record, me and Alison Krauss got together and cut Missing You' as a duet. It's No. 32 with a bullet on the country charts, and we're in heavy rotation on CMT with the video.

"I prefer it to the original version. Maybe Rod should've done it as a duet, too!

"Alison was the obvious choice, because a lot of my roots are country and English folk and blues. We've become quite close. I can't imagine singing it with anybody else now.

"I've never turned my back on Missing You.' It's always an interesting song to sing. It has that blues phrasing, and it's very personal.

"It was written in such an anguished moment. I was trying to get home to England. I was married at the time, and I was missing my wife. It was about denial, a very tough subject.

"When I got a phone call telling me Rod was doing it, I thought, Well, that's interesting.' When I was about 16, 17, 18, Rod was with the Jeff Beck Group. Truth' and Beck-Ola' were great records.

"The early Rod stuff was hipper than hip. When you become successful, you become mainstream. But when Rod came on the scene, nobody looked like Rod, apart from Keith Richards, and nobody sang like Rod, apart from black people."

Waite's new album, "Downtown -- Journey of a Heart," is out now, including his remake of "Missing You" with Alison Krauss.