Without You
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Without You" is a song originally recorded by Badfinger for their album No Dice (1970), and written by Pete Ham and Tom Evans and produced by Geoff Emerick. Its verse was composed by Ham, originally titled "If It's Love", but had lacked a strong chorus. Evans had written a chorus without a strong verse, so the duo fused the two sections together. The protagonist of this ballad lets a lover know that they "can't live if living is without you". Badfinger's recording of the song, which is more brusque than its successors' versions, languished as an obscure album track until it was noticed a year later by Harry Nilsson. In an ironic twist to the lyrics, both composers later committed suicide.
"Without You" became a hit single after being covered by Nilsson for his album Nilsson Schmilsson in 1971 (see 1971 in music); it stayed at number-one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks, from February 13 to March 11, 1972. It replaced "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green, and was replaced by Neil Young's "Heart of Gold". The song has been covered by several other artists, including:
Shirley Bassey, for the album And I Love You So released in August 1972 (see 1972 in music);
Cilla Black for her January 1973 record, Day By Day With Cilla;
the rock band Heart, for the album Magazine released in April 1978 (see 1978 in music);
the band Air Supply, for the album The Earth Is... released in 1991 (see 1991 in music);
Mariah Carey, for the album Music Box released in 1993 (see 1993 in music);
Jade Kwan, for the album Jade-2 Special Edition released in January 2003 (see 2003 in music);
Clay Aiken, for the album A Thousand Different Ways released in September 2006 (see 2006 in music);
the operatic pop band Il Divo, for the album Siempre released in November 2006 (see 2006 in music) This version was covered in Spanish under the title of "Desde el dia que te fuiste" (From the day you went way);
Tito Nieves : salsa version (another salsa version is done by Orquesta Corinto)
Klasse Aparte (Sin ti, merengue 1996)
Natalia (Natalia Druyts), for the album This Time released in 2003
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Mariah Carey version "Without You"
Single by Mariah Carey
from the album Music Box
B-side(s) "Never Forget You"
Released January 1994
Format CD single, CD maxi single, Cassette single, Cassette maxi single, 7" single, 12" maxi single
Genre Piano pop
Length 3:33
Label Sony
Producer(s) Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff
Certification Gold (RIAA)
Mariah Carey co-produced her cover of the song with Walter Afanasieff, and the production is based on Harry Nilsson's version, making one of Mariah's most soft rock-styled productions. It was released as the album's third single in the first quarter of 1994 (see 1994 in music), and in the United States it was released on January 24, 1994, just over a week after Nilsson had died of heart failure. In the U.S. it was promoted as a double A-side with "Never Forget You" and reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining in the top forty for twenty-one weeks. Both radio airplay and sales were strong, and it was certified gold by the RIAA. It was ranked sixteenth on the Hot 100 1994 year-end charts.
"Without You" was Carey's biggest hit outside the U.S. (until "We Belong Together") and was largely successful across Europe. It became her first UK number-one single, and still remains her only number one there as a solo artist. It stayed at number one for four weeks and became her third number-one single in Brazil. It was also her first chart-topper in Italy, but was most successful in Switzerland (with ten non-consecutive weeks at number one) and the Netherlands (twelve weeks). It also topped the singles chart in Germany for four weeks and Austria for eight weeks, where Carey's success had previously been limited. It was able to make the top three in Canada, France, Norway and Australia. "Without You" was later included on some non-U.S. pressings of her compilation album #1's (1998).
The single's video, directed by Larry Jordan, is derived from Carey's 1993 concert at Proctor Theatre. In addition to "Never Forget You", the UK CD single for "Without You" included a live recording of "Dreamlover" (1993).
