"I'll Be Missing You" is the Grammy Award Winning song and hit single recorded by Puff Daddy and Faith Evans featuring 112, in memory of fellow Bad Boy Records artist Notorious B.I.G. (Evans' estranged husband), who was murdered on March 9, 1997. Released as the second single from Puff Daddy and the Family's No Way Out album, "I'll Be Missing You" sampled the melody of The Police's "Every Breath You Take" from 1983. The song, a rap ballad, had already been completed before permission was granted to use the sample from the 1983 song. As well as these artists, Sting (vocalist from The Police) joined in at the 1997 MTV Video Music Awards. The single however was not written by Puff Daddy but by Sauce Money, a rapper hailing from the Marcy Projects in Brooklyn who received a Grammy for his efforts in 1997.
As well as "Every Breath You Take", the single also borrows the melody of the well-known American spiritual "I'll Fly Away".
There are several different versions of this song. One being an extended version (choir at beginning), another without the choir and an instrumental version.
In the extended version, the song the choir is heard singing in the beginning is "Adagio for Strings" by Samuel Barber.
"I'll Be Missing You" topped many charts across the world. It reached number one in Australia, Canada, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, UK, and the U.S. This song is one of the few to debut at #1 in the U.S. on the Billboard Hot 100.
A slightly altered version of the song was performed by Diddy at the Concert for Diana in Wembley, United Kingdom.
The song re-entered the UK Singles Chart at #32 on July 8, 2007, ten years after it had its full physical release and 10 years after it was #1.
