Without You
Encyclopedia
"Without You" is a song written by Pete Ham and Tom Evans of British rock group Badfinger
, and first released on their 1970 album No Dice
. The song has been recorded by over 180 artists, and versions released as singles by Harry Nilsson
(1971) and Mariah Carey
(1994) became international best-sellers. Beatle
Paul McCartney
once described the ballad as "...the killer song of all time."
, the song was composed by two of its members. Two streams, referring to real events in the songwriters' lives flowed together to create the song. Pete Ham had written a song originally titled "If It's Love" but it had lacked a strong chorus. At the time of writing the band shared residence with the Mojos at 7 Park Avenue
in Golders Green
. One evening, in the midst of the parties, songwriting, touring, in Golders Green, Ham and his girlfriend Beverly Tucker were about to go out for the evening. But just as they were leaving Tom Evans said he had an idea for a song - Ham said, 'Not tonight, I've promised Bev.' But she thought he would be wondering if he had done the right thing later, if he went out, - she told him - 'Go into the studio, I'm fine about it..' He said, " Your mouth is smiling, but your eyes are sad." The song Ham wrote that night was called 'If its Love' and has the verse "Well I can't forget tomorrow, when I think of all my sorrow, I had you there but then I let you go, and now it's only fair that I should let you know..if it's love.." But Pete wasn't happy with the chorus."
Events in Evans' love life would lead to the completion of the track. While Evans was touring in Cologne
he had met the woman who would become his future wife, Marianne. She moved to London. It was a sparky relationship. "One evening he went to her friend Karen and told Karen, 'She's left me. I need her back. I can't live without her.' He flew to Bonn
to find her - he wrote a song called 'I Can't Live'. Its chorus; "I can't live, if living is without you, I can't live, I can't give any more." And so the merging of the two songs, Ham and Evans created the hit. Ham's verse, 'warm, sweet, sentimental' and Evans' chorus, - 'intense , dramatic, heartbreaking.' " Both Ham and Evans said they did not consider the song to have much potential at the time Badfinger recorded it, and the track was slotted to close Side A of their 1970 No Dice album. Badfinger's recording of the song, which is more brusque than its successors' versions, was not released as a single in Europe or North America. In parallel to the song lyrics, both Ham and Evans later committed suicide. "Without You" was released backed by "We're For The Dark" in The Philippines on Apple Records, Catalogue number APPLE-025, "Without You" was also finally released as a 3" CD single in Japan in March 1993 along with the track "No Matter What".
, at the time best known for his hit "Everybody's Talkin'
" and for composing such hits as Three Dog Night
's "One
", heard Badfinger's recording of "Without You" at a party, and mistook it for a Beatles'
song. After realizing it was not, he decided to cover
the song for his album Nilsson Schmilsson
in 1971; it stayed at number 1 on the U.S. pop chart
for four weeks, from February 13 to March 11, 1972. The song also spent five weeks atop the U.S. adult contemporary chart
. In the UK, the song spent five weeks at number 1 on the British pop chart
, beginning on March 11, and sold almost 800,000 copies. It went to Number One in several other countries, including Australia (for 5 weeks), Ireland (3 weeks) and New Zealand (2 weeks).
The single was produced by Richard Perry
, who later explained, "It was a different record for its time. It was a big ballad with a heavy backbeat, and although many artists have cut songs like it since, no one was doing it then." Gary Wright
, then known as a member of the British group Spooky Tooth
, and later a successful solo artist in his own right, played piano on the recording, they also play in the song Klaus Voormann
(in bass), Jim Keltner
(in drums) Tom Plovanic (in acoustic guitar) and Paul Buckmaster makes the string and horn arrangements. In 1973, Nilsson won the "Best Male Pop Vocal" Grammy award for the song. While Nilsson rarely gave live concerts, he did perform the song with Ringo Starr
and his All-Starr Band
at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas
in September 1992.
EP (Portugal)
's version was released as the third single of Music Box in the first quarter of 1994, and in the United States it was released on 24 January 1994, just over a week after Nilsson had died following a heart attack on January 15, 1994. In the U.S. it was promoted as a double A-side with "Never Forget You
". In the song Carey dips into her lower register and is accompanied by backup singers (including herself) magnified to sound like a gospel chorus. Carey said that she decided to cover the song when she heard it in a restaurant (although when performing the song in Tokyo, she said she listened to it when she was a little girl). Her version has been considered very popular on talent shows. "Without You" was later included on some non-U.S. pressings of her compilation album #1's
(1998).
, remaining in the top forty for twenty-one weeks and on the chart for twenty-three. It reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay and number 3 on the Hot 100 Singles Sales
. Both radio airplay and sales were strong, and it was certified gold by the RIAA
. It was ranked 16 on the Hot 100 1994 year-end charts.
"Without You" remains Carey's biggest hit outside the U.S., being largely successful across Europe. It became her first UK number 1 single, and still remains her only number 1 there as a solo artist. It debuted at number 1 on the chart and stayed at number 1 for four weeks. It was also her first chart-topper in Italy, but was most successful in Switzerland (with ten non-consecutive weeks at number 1) 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 also topped the Swedish Singles Chart for eight weeks, was number 1 in Ireland for five weeks and in New Zealand for one week. It was able to make the top three in Canada, France, Norway and Australia. It was certified platinum in Australia by ARIA
and in Germany and Austria by IFPI. It was also certified gold in New Zealand by RIANZ
and in France by SNEP
.
The song is one of only two Carey singles certified Gold in the UK with sales of 445,000.
European maxi-CD single #1
European maxi-CD single #2
covered the song twice, once for the album And I Love You So
in 1972, and again in Spanish as "Sin Ti" for the 1989 album La Mujer. This Spanish version of the ballad has also been recorded by Paloma San Basilio
. A salsa style has been recorded by Antonio Cartagena, Tito Nieves
, and Orquesta Corinto. A meringue version of "Sin ti" was recorded by Klasse Aparte in 1996. Abraham Mateo
, an 11-year-old Spanish boy, and Caroline Costa, a 13-year-old French girl, released a Spanish version for the album Abraham Mateo
. A different Spanish translation, "Desde el dia que te fuiste" ("From the Day You Went Away"), was a #1 hit for Pandora
on Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks in 1992. This version was covered by operatic pop band Il Divo
for the album Siempre, in 2006.
The London Symphony Orchestra included the song on their 1977 album Classic Rock
. Cilla Black
included the song on her January 1973 record, Day by Day With Cilla. Heart
included their cover on the album Magazine, in 1978. Melissa Manchester
included the song on her album For The Working Girl, in 1980. Pop group Brotherhood of Man
recorded a version for their 20 Love Songs
album in 1981. T.G. Sheppard included the song on his Greatest Hits album in 1983. Elaine Paige
recorded a version on her 1985 album Love Hurts
. Air Supply
included the song on The Earth Is...
in 1991.
A version by Ham on the Golders Green
album, released posthumously in 1999, contains Ham's original "if it's love, that you're needing" bridge, and is only 2:16 in length. Bobby Conn
recorded it for the Llovessonngs
EP, in 1999. Donny Osmond
recorded the song for the album Somewhere in Time, released in November 2002. In 2003 the song was released by Natalia, on the album This Time, and Jade Kwan
, on the album Jade-2 Special Edition. Hall & Oates
released a cover of this song on their album, Our Kind of Soul
in 2004, a year that also saw covers by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy (Will Oldham
) with Bob Marley
's Babylon System for the EP Pebbles and Ripples, and Weezer
front man Rivers Cuomo
, who posted his cover on his MySpace page. Wing
featured the song on the album One Voice in 2007.
In 2008 Chris de Burgh
included the song on the album Footsteps
and Swedish artist Timo Räisänen
released a cover on his album And Then There Was Timo. Covers in 2009 came from Collin Raye
on his album Never Going Back, and by
The song is often covered by TV talent show contestants, appearing on Clay Aiken
's album A Thousand Different Ways
in 2006 and as a b-side of Burke's "Hallelujah" single after her performance of it on the fifth series of The X Factor. A version was sung by Carly Smithson
on the seventh season of American Idol the week Mariah Carey
mentored the contestants. The song was released. As well, season 10 finalist James Durbin
covered the song during the Top 5 'Then and Now' Week. Valentina Hasan, a season two contestant of Music Idol
, sang her own version in Engrish
. Soon dubbed "Ken Lee" after her mispronunciation of "Can't Live," the video of Hasan's performance became a YouTube
hit, parodied and remixed by many fans as featured in Sign of the Times on ABC
's Nightline in March 2009.
Mina
performed the song with Johnny Dorelli
in the Italian translation, "Per chi" (1978), a version that has also been released by Gens
. Angela Aki
rewrote most of the lyrics in Japanese loosely based on the original words with the final verse in English, released as a b-side on her 2010 single Kagayaku Hito
.. Stryper
lead singer Michael Sweet
performed the song on his 2007 solo album Truth
.
, the Nilsson version is playing during one of Ginger's manic episodes. In the film The Rules of Attraction
, a college girl commits suicide in a bathtub while this song plays on the soundtrack.
In June 2010 the Harry Nilsson version of the song was used in television advertising for the UK brand Soda Stream.
Badfinger
Badfinger were a British rock band consisting originally of Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Tom Evans, active from 1968 to 1983, and evolving from The Iveys, formed by Ham, Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. Joey Molland joined the group in 1969,...
, and first released on their 1970 album No Dice
No Dice
No Dice is a pop album by Badfinger, issued by Apple Records and released on 9 November 1970. Their second album under the Badfinger name and third album overall, No Dice significantly expanded the British group's popularity, especially abroad...
. The song has been recorded by over 180 artists, and versions released as singles by Harry Nilsson
Harry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III was an American singer-songwriter who achieved the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. On all but his earliest recordings he is credited as Nilsson...
(1971) and Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
(1994) became international best-sellers. Beatle
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
once described the ballad as "...the killer song of all time."
Badfinger origins
First recorded by the rock group BadfingerBadfinger
Badfinger were a British rock band consisting originally of Pete Ham, Ron Griffiths, Mike Gibbins and Tom Evans, active from 1968 to 1983, and evolving from The Iveys, formed by Ham, Griffiths and David "Dai" Jenkins in Swansea, Wales, in the early 1960s. Joey Molland joined the group in 1969,...
, the song was composed by two of its members. Two streams, referring to real events in the songwriters' lives flowed together to create the song. Pete Ham had written a song originally titled "If It's Love" but it had lacked a strong chorus. At the time of writing the band shared residence with the Mojos at 7 Park Avenue
7 Park Avenue
-External links:***...
in Golders Green
Golders Green
Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in London, England. Although having some earlier history, it is essentially a 19th century suburban development situated about 5.3 miles north west of Charing Cross and centred on the crossroads of Golders Green Road and Finchley Road.In the...
. One evening, in the midst of the parties, songwriting, touring, in Golders Green, Ham and his girlfriend Beverly Tucker were about to go out for the evening. But just as they were leaving Tom Evans said he had an idea for a song - Ham said, 'Not tonight, I've promised Bev.' But she thought he would be wondering if he had done the right thing later, if he went out, - she told him - 'Go into the studio, I'm fine about it..' He said, " Your mouth is smiling, but your eyes are sad." The song Ham wrote that night was called 'If its Love' and has the verse "Well I can't forget tomorrow, when I think of all my sorrow, I had you there but then I let you go, and now it's only fair that I should let you know..if it's love.." But Pete wasn't happy with the chorus."
Events in Evans' love life would lead to the completion of the track. While Evans was touring in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
he had met the woman who would become his future wife, Marianne. She moved to London. It was a sparky relationship. "One evening he went to her friend Karen and told Karen, 'She's left me. I need her back. I can't live without her.' He flew to Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
to find her - he wrote a song called 'I Can't Live'. Its chorus; "I can't live, if living is without you, I can't live, I can't give any more." And so the merging of the two songs, Ham and Evans created the hit. Ham's verse, 'warm, sweet, sentimental' and Evans' chorus, - 'intense , dramatic, heartbreaking.' " Both Ham and Evans said they did not consider the song to have much potential at the time Badfinger recorded it, and the track was slotted to close Side A of their 1970 No Dice album. Badfinger's recording of the song, which is more brusque than its successors' versions, was not released as a single in Europe or North America. In parallel to the song lyrics, both Ham and Evans later committed suicide. "Without You" was released backed by "We're For The Dark" in The Philippines on Apple Records, Catalogue number APPLE-025, "Without You" was also finally released as a 3" CD single in Japan in March 1993 along with the track "No Matter What".
Harry Nilsson version
Harry NilssonHarry Nilsson
Harry Edward Nilsson III was an American singer-songwriter who achieved the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. On all but his earliest recordings he is credited as Nilsson...
, at the time best known for his hit "Everybody's Talkin'
Everybody's Talkin'
"Everybody's Talkin" is a folk rock song released by Fred Neil in 1966 that became a global success for Harry Nilsson in 1969, reaching #2 and #6 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and Pop Singles chart respectively and winning a Grammy after it was featured on the soundtrack for the film...
" and for composing such hits as Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night
Three Dog Night is an American rock band best known for their music from 1968 to 1975. During that time the band charted 21 Billboard top 40 hits in America, three of which reached Number One...
's "One
One (Harry Nilsson song)
"One" is a song written by Harry Nilsson and made famous by Three Dog Night whose cover in 1969 reached number 5 on the Billboard chart. The song is known for its opening line "One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do." It appeared initially on Aerial Ballet, Nilsson's third album.Nilsson...
", heard Badfinger's recording of "Without You" at a party, and mistook it for a Beatles'
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
song. After realizing it was not, he decided to cover
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
the song for his album Nilsson Schmilsson
Nilsson Schmilsson
-Personnel:* Harry Nilsson – piano on 1 5 8 10, vocals, Mellotrons on 2 4, organ on 3, harmonica on 8, electric piano on 9* Jim Gordon – drums on 1 2 5 8 9, percussion on 7 9* Klaus Voormann – bass on 1 5 6 8, rhythm guitar on 2 9, acoustic guitar on 4...
in 1971; it stayed at number 1 on the U.S. pop chart
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
for four weeks, from February 13 to March 11, 1972. The song also spent five weeks atop the U.S. adult contemporary chart
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
. In the UK, the song spent five weeks at number 1 on the British pop chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
, beginning on March 11, and sold almost 800,000 copies. It went to Number One in several other countries, including Australia (for 5 weeks), Ireland (3 weeks) and New Zealand (2 weeks).
The single was produced by Richard Perry
Richard Perry
Richard Perry is an American music producer. Perry began as a performer in his adolescence, but shifted gears after graduating college and rose through the late 1960s and early 1970s to become a highly successful and popular record producer with over a dozen gold records to his credit by 1982...
, who later explained, "It was a different record for its time. It was a big ballad with a heavy backbeat, and although many artists have cut songs like it since, no one was doing it then." Gary Wright
Gary Wright
Gary Malcolm Wright is an American musician, best known for his song, "Dream Weaver". He was the piano player on Harry Nilsson's version of "Without You".-Early life:...
, then known as a member of the British group Spooky Tooth
Spooky Tooth
Spooky Tooth are an English rock band principally active, with intermittent breakups, between 1967 to 1974. In recent years, the band has been reconstituted at various points, and continues to perform occasionally.-Career:...
, and later a successful solo artist in his own right, played piano on the recording, they also play in the song Klaus Voormann
Klaus Voormann
Klaus Voormann is a German Grammy Award-winning artist, noted musician, and record producer. He designed artwork for many bands including The Beatles, The Bee Gees, Wet Wet Wet and Turbonegro. His most notable work as a producer was his work with the band Trio, including their worldwide hit "Da Da...
(in bass), Jim Keltner
Jim Keltner
James Lee "Jim" Keltner is an American drummer known primarily for his session work. He has contributed to the work of many well-known artists...
(in drums) Tom Plovanic (in acoustic guitar) and Paul Buckmaster makes the string and horn arrangements. In 1973, Nilsson won the "Best Male Pop Vocal" Grammy award for the song. While Nilsson rarely gave live concerts, he did perform the song with Ringo Starr
Ringo Starr
Richard Starkey, MBE better known by his stage name Ringo Starr, is an English musician and actor who gained worldwide fame as the drummer for The Beatles. When the band formed in 1960, Starr was a member of another Liverpool band, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes. He became The Beatles' drummer in...
and his All-Starr Band
Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band
To date, Ringo Starr has toured with eleven versions of his All-Starr Band where "everybody on stage is a star in their own right." Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band is a concept that was created by producer David Fishof...
at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
in September 1992.
Harry Nilsson track listing
Worldwide Single- "Without You" – 3:17
- "Gotta Get Up" – 2:24
EP (Portugal)
- "Without You" – 3:17
- "The Moonbeam Song" - 3:18
- "Gotta Get Up" – 2:24
- "Jump Into The Fire" - 3:32
Chart performance
| Chart (1972) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report | 1 |
| Belgian VRT Top 30 | 14 |
| Canadian RPM Top Singles | 1 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 10 |
| French Singles Chart | 46 |
| German Singles Chart | 12 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 1 |
| Italian Singles Chart | 3 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 1 |
| South African Singles Chart | 2 |
| U.K. Singles Chart | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks | 1 |
Mariah Carey version
Mariah CareyMariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
's version was released as the third single of Music Box in the first quarter of 1994, and in the United States it was released on 24 January 1994, just over a week after Nilsson had died following a heart attack on January 15, 1994. In the U.S. it was promoted as a double A-side with "Never Forget You
Never Forget You
"Never Forget You" is a pop/R&B slow jam song written by American singer Mariah Carey and Babyface, produced by Carey, Babyface and Daryl Simmons for Carey's third album Music Box...
". In the song Carey dips into her lower register and is accompanied by backup singers (including herself) magnified to sound like a gospel chorus. Carey said that she decided to cover the song when she heard it in a restaurant (although when performing the song in Tokyo, she said she listened to it when she was a little girl). Her version has been considered very popular on talent shows. "Without You" was later included on some non-U.S. pressings of her compilation album #1's
Number 1's (Mariah Carey album)
#1's is the first compilation album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey, released by Columbia Records on November 17, 1998. The album contained Carey's thirteen number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100, as well as four new songs. In Japan, #1's also included her popular single "All I Want...
(1998).
Chart performance
"Without You" reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
, remaining in the top forty for twenty-one weeks and on the chart for twenty-three. It reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay and number 3 on the Hot 100 Singles Sales
Hot 100 Singles Sales
The Hot Singles Sales chart is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It measures sales of commercial singles and is one of three component charts, along with the Hot 100 Airplay and the Hot Digital Songs, that determine the chart positions of singles on the...
. Both radio airplay and sales were strong, and it was certified gold by the RIAA
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
. It was ranked 16 on the Hot 100 1994 year-end charts.
"Without You" remains Carey's biggest hit outside the U.S., being largely successful across Europe. It became her first UK number 1 single, and still remains her only number 1 there as a solo artist. It debuted at number 1 on the chart and stayed at number 1 for four weeks. It was also her first chart-topper in Italy, but was most successful in Switzerland (with ten non-consecutive weeks at number 1) 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 also topped the Swedish Singles Chart for eight weeks, was number 1 in Ireland for five weeks and in New Zealand for one week. It was able to make the top three in Canada, France, Norway and Australia. It was certified platinum in Australia by ARIA
Australian Recording Industry Association
The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...
and in Germany and Austria by IFPI. It was also certified gold in New Zealand by RIANZ
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand
The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...
and in France by SNEP
Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique
The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry...
.
The song is one of only two Carey singles certified Gold in the UK with sales of 445,000.
Mariah Carey track listing
Worldwide CD single- "Without You" – 3:38
- "Never Forget YouNever Forget You"Never Forget You" is a pop/R&B slow jam song written by American singer Mariah Carey and Babyface, produced by Carey, Babyface and Daryl Simmons for Carey's third album Music Box...
" – 3:45
European maxi-CD single #1
- "Without You" – 3:38
- "Never Forget You" – 3:45
- "Dreamlover (live)" – 4:09
European maxi-CD single #2
- "Without You" – 3:38
- "Vision of LoveVision of Love"Vision of Love" is a song by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It served as Carey's debut single, the first from her self-titled debut album. Written by Carey and Ben Margulies, "Vision of Love" was released on May 15, 1990 by Columbia Records. After being featured on Carey's demo tape for...
" – 3:28 - "I'll Be There" (Featuring Trey Lorenz) – 4:28
- "Love Takes TimeLove Takes Time"Love Takes Time" is a song written by Mariah Carey and Ben Margulies, and produced by Walter Afanasieff for Carey's debut album, Mariah Carey . It was released as the album's second single in the third quarter of 1990...
" – 3:48
Peak positions
| Chart (1994) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Ireland (IRMA Irish Recorded Music Association Irish Recorded Music Association is the Irish record industry association. IRMA is a non-profit association set up to manage and control the music industry in the Republic of Ireland.-Goals and activities:... ) |
1 |
Year-end charts
| Chart (1994) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 16 |
Certifications
| Country (Provider) | Certification Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... (sales thresholds) |
|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956... ) |
Platinum |
| Austria (IFPI IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland... ) |
Platinum |
| France (SNEP Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... ) |
Gold |
| Netherlands (NVPI NVPI The NVPI is the Dutch tradeassociation of the entertainment industry... ) |
Platinum |
| New Zealand (RIANZ) | Platinum |
| Switzerland (SMC Swiss Music Charts The Swiss Music Charts are Switzerland's main music sales charts. The charts are a record of the highest-selling singles and albums in various genres in Switzerland.The Swiss Charts include:* Singles Top 75... ) |
Gold |
| United Kingdom (BPI British Phonographic Industry The British Phonographic Industry is the British record industry's trade association.-Structure:Its membership comprises hundreds of music companies including all four "major" record companies , associate members such as manufacturers and distributors, and hundreds of independent music companies... ) |
Gold |
| United States (RIAA Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... ) |
Gold |
- Note: Most certifications are from old criterion. The sales could be higher than currently listed.
Other cover versions
Shirley BasseyShirley Bassey
Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...
covered the song twice, once for the album And I Love You So
And I Love You So (Shirley Bassey album)
And I Love You So is a 1972 album by Shirley Bassey.Released late in 1972 to positive reviews, this was Bassey's fourth album of the decade and was one of the albums which comprised her 'comeback' period of the 1970s. Unlike the earlier albums, this didn't feature any hit singles and consequently...
in 1972, and again in Spanish as "Sin Ti" for the 1989 album La Mujer. This Spanish version of the ballad has also been recorded by Paloma San Basilio
Paloma San Basilio
Paloma San Basilio is a Spanish singer. Although she was born in Madrid, at the age of 6 months the family moved to Sevilla , where she was raised till the age of 8...
. A salsa style has been recorded by Antonio Cartagena, Tito Nieves
Tito Nieves
Humberto "Tito" Nieves became one of the leading Salsa singers of the 1980s and the early 1990s....
, and Orquesta Corinto. A meringue version of "Sin ti" was recorded by Klasse Aparte in 1996. Abraham Mateo
Abraham Mateo
Abraham Mateo is a Spanish teen actor and pop singer. Abraham was discovered in 2009, when he was ten, by executives of EMI Music Spain, who happened across Abraham's performances in the television show Menuda Noche on the Canal Sur TV of Andalucia, Spain. His self-titled debut album, Abraham...
, an 11-year-old Spanish boy, and Caroline Costa, a 13-year-old French girl, released a Spanish version for the album Abraham Mateo
Abraham Mateo (album)
Abraham Mateo, the debut album of the spanish teen singer Abraham Mateo , was put out by Emi Music Spain on December 4, 2009. Since his first appearances in the television show Menuda Noche on the Canal Sur TV of Andalucia, a friend of Abraham's family posted in Youtube videos of his performances,...
. A different Spanish translation, "Desde el dia que te fuiste" ("From the Day You Went Away"), was a #1 hit for Pandora
Pandora (musical group)
Pandora is a female Mexican singing trio.The original line-up consisted of sisters Isabel Lascurain and Mayte Lascurain and their cousin Fernanda Meade...
on Billboard's Hot Latin Tracks in 1992. This version was covered by operatic pop band Il Divo
Il Divo
Il Divo is a multinational operatic pop vocal group created by music manager, executive, and reality TV star Simon Cowell. Formed in the United Kingdom, they are also signed to Cowell's record label, Syco Music...
for the album Siempre, in 2006.
The London Symphony Orchestra included the song on their 1977 album Classic Rock
Classic Rock (album)
Classic Rock is the first album in the Classic Rock series by London Symphony Orchestra. It was released in 1977 on K-Tel International. The album was recorded at EMI Abbey Road Studios on 15–16 October 1976.-Side one:...
. Cilla Black
Cilla Black
Cilla Black OBE is an English singer, actress, entertainer and media personality, who has been consistently popular as a light entertainment figure since 1963. She is most famous for her singles Anyone Who Had A Heart, You're My World, and Alfie...
included the song on her January 1973 record, Day by Day With Cilla. Heart
Heart (band)
Heart is an American rock band who first found success in Canada. Throughout several lineup changes, the only two members remaining constant are sisters Ann and Nancy Wilson. The group rose to fame in the 1970s with their music being influenced by hard rock as well as folk music...
included their cover on the album Magazine, in 1978. Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester
Melissa Manchester is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Beginning in the 1970s, she has recorded generally in the adult contemporary genre. She has also appeared as an actress on television, in films, and on stage....
included the song on her album For The Working Girl, in 1980. Pop group Brotherhood of Man
Brotherhood of Man
Brotherhood of Man are a British pop group who achieved success in the 1970s, most notably by winning the 1976 Eurovision Song Contest with "Save Your Kisses for Me"....
recorded a version for their 20 Love Songs
20 Disco Greats / 20 Love Songs
20 Disco Greats / 20 Love Songs is a double album released by British pop group Brotherhood of Man which was released as two separate albums, but sold together as a 'buy one get one free' package, as was the popular trend at the time.- Background :...
album in 1981. T.G. Sheppard included the song on his Greatest Hits album in 1983. Elaine Paige
Elaine Paige
Elaine Paige OBE is an English singer and actress best known for her work in musical theatre. Raised in Barnet, North London, Paige attended the Aida Foster stage school, making her first professional appearance on stage in 1964, at the age of 16...
recorded a version on her 1985 album Love Hurts
Love Hurts (Elaine Paige album)
Love Hurts is the fifth solo album by Elaine Paige, released in 1985, on the Warner Music label. The album peaked at #8 in the UK album chart. The album has also been released on CD....
. Air Supply
Air Supply
Air Supply is an Australian soft rock duo, consisting of Graham Russell as guitarist and singer-songwriter and Russell Hitchcock as lead vocalist. They had a succession of hits worldwide, including eight Top Ten hits in the United States, in the early 1980s...
included the song on The Earth Is...
The Earth Is...
The Earth Is... is the eleventh studio album by Australian soft rock band Air Supply released in 1991. The album was their comeback after having a break from producing music. The album didn't peak at American charts, but it produced a worldwide tour in which the band focused on Asian countries,...
in 1991.
A version by Ham on the Golders Green
Golders Green
Golders Green is an area in the London Borough of Barnet in London, England. Although having some earlier history, it is essentially a 19th century suburban development situated about 5.3 miles north west of Charing Cross and centred on the crossroads of Golders Green Road and Finchley Road.In the...
album, released posthumously in 1999, contains Ham's original "if it's love, that you're needing" bridge, and is only 2:16 in length. Bobby Conn
Bobby Conn
Bobby Conn is an American musician based in Chicago, Illinois, known for his pop-rock. He often collaborates with other artists such as musicians Colby Starck and Jim O'Rourke, and film-maker Usama Alshaibi. In 2003, Conn produced a session for UK punk band The Cribs, whom he met when they were a...
recorded it for the Llovessonngs
Llovessonngs
Llovessonngs is an EP released by Chicago-based musician Bobby Conn, which was released in 1999 on Thrill Jockey-Track listing:All songs by Bobby Conn, except Without You by Pete Ham and Tom Evans, and Maria B by Caetano Veloso...
EP, in 1999. Donny Osmond
Donny Osmond
Donald Clark "Donny" Osmond is an American singer, musician, actor, dancer, radio personality, and former teen idol. Osmond has also been a talk and game show host, record producer and author. In the mid 1960s, he and four of his elder brothers gained fame as the Osmond Brothers on the long...
recorded the song for the album Somewhere in Time, released in November 2002. In 2003 the song was released by Natalia, on the album This Time, and Jade Kwan
Jade Kwan
- About Jade :Kwan entered the New Talent Singing Awards Vancouver Audition 1999 with the song "Face" and was awarded first runner-up. As such, she represented Vancouver in the New Talent Singing Awards Canada Finals 1999 and won...
, on the album Jade-2 Special Edition. Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates
Hall & Oates are an American musical duo composed of Daryl Hall and John Oates. They achieved their greatest fame in the late 1970s and early to mid-1980s. Both sing and play instruments. They specialized in a fusion of rock and roll and rhythm and blues styles, which they dubbed "rock and soul."...
released a cover of this song on their album, Our Kind of Soul
Our Kind of Soul
Our Kind of Soul was Hall & Oates' seventeenth album of all new material, released in 2004.The album was spawned by Michael McDonald's Motown albums of around the same era. The album contains three original tracks and 14 covers of soul hits of the 1960s, '70s and '80s...
in 2004, a year that also saw covers by Bonnie 'Prince' Billy (Will Oldham
Will Oldham
Will Oldham , better known by the stage name Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded under variations of the Palace name, including the Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and Palace Music...
) with Bob Marley
Bob Marley
Robert Nesta "Bob" Marley, OM was a Jamaican singer-songwriter and musician. He was the rhythm guitarist and lead singer for the ska, rocksteady and reggae band Bob Marley & The Wailers...
's Babylon System for the EP Pebbles and Ripples, and Weezer
Weezer
Weezer is an American alternative rock band. The band currently consists of Rivers Cuomo , Patrick Wilson , Brian Bell , and Scott Shriner . The band has changed lineups three times since its formation in 1992...
front man Rivers Cuomo
Rivers Cuomo
Rivers Cuomo is an American musician, best known as the lead singer, lead guitarist, and principal songwriter of the alternative rock band Weezer. Raised in an Ashram in Connecticut, Cuomo moved to Los Angeles at age 19, where he participated in a number of rock bands before founding Weezer in 1992...
, who posted his cover on his MySpace page. Wing
Wing (singer)
Wing Han Tsang , popularly known simply as Wing, is a New Zealand singer of Hong Kong origin. She is known for her unique, offbeat singing style.-Career:...
featured the song on the album One Voice in 2007.
In 2008 Chris de Burgh
Chris de Burgh
Chris de Burgh is a British/Irish singer-songwriter. He is most famous for his 1986 love song "The Lady in Red".-Early life:...
included the song on the album Footsteps
Footsteps (Chris de Burgh album)
Footsteps is singer/songwriter Chris de Burgh's seventeenth original album, released in 2008. This album includes two songs penned by de Burgh and cover versions of thirteen other songs...
and Swedish artist Timo Räisänen
Timo Räisänen
Timo Räisänen is a Anglo-Indian Swede Indie pop musician, born in Gothenburg on 25 July 1979. He was previously part of Håkan Hellström's band, and has played in the band Her Majesty. In 2004 he started his own career....
released a cover on his album And Then There Was Timo. Covers in 2009 came from Collin Raye
Collin Raye
Floyd Collin Wray Floyd Collin Wray Floyd Collin Wray (born August 22, 1959 or 1960,Although multiple online sources all indicate Raye's date of birth as 1959, Raye's MySpace lists his date of birth as 1960. Furthermore, the 2004 Deseret News article cited in this article indicates the singer as...
on his album Never Going Back, and by
The song is often covered by TV talent show contestants, appearing on Clay Aiken
Clay Aiken
Clayton Holmes "Clay" Aiken is an American singer, songwriter, actor, producer and author who began his rise to fame on the second season of the television program American Idol in 2003. RCA Records offered him a recording contract, and his multi-platinum debut album Measure of a Man was released...
's album A Thousand Different Ways
A Thousand Different Ways
A Thousand Different Ways is the third studio album by Clay Aiken. The album, which was executive produced by Jaymes Foster, consists of ten covers and four new songs. It was released by RCA on September 19, 2006...
in 2006 and as a b-side of Burke's "Hallelujah" single after her performance of it on the fifth series of The X Factor. A version was sung by Carly Smithson
Carly Smithson
Carly Smithson is an Irish soul/pop rock singer-songwriter and actress from San Diego, California who was the sixth place finalist on the seventh season of American Idol. In 2001, Smithson released her first studio album for MCA Records called Ultimate High. Smithson was dropped from the record...
on the seventh season of American Idol the week Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey
Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...
mentored the contestants. The song was released. As well, season 10 finalist James Durbin
James Durbin (singer)
James Durbin is an American rock singer and guitar player from Santa Cruz, California, who finished in fourth place on the tenth season of American Idol.-Early life:...
covered the song during the Top 5 'Then and Now' Week. Valentina Hasan, a season two contestant of Music Idol
Music Idol
Music Idol is the Bulgarian version of the British television hit show Pop Idol. It is a talent contest to determine the superior pop performer and its first season was aired on bTV from February 26 until June 7, 2007. During its third season, the show went international and auditions took place in...
, sang her own version in Engrish
Engrish
refers to unusual forms of English language usage by native speakers of some East Asian languages. The term itself relates to Japanese speakers' tendency to inadvertently substitute the English phonemes "R" and "L" for one another, because the Japanese language has one alveolar consonant in place...
. Soon dubbed "Ken Lee" after her mispronunciation of "Can't Live," the video of Hasan's performance became a YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
hit, parodied and remixed by many fans as featured in Sign of the Times on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Nightline in March 2009.
Mina
Mina (singer)
Anna Maria Quaini, Grand Officer , known as Mina, is an Italian pop singer. She was a staple of Italian television variety shows and a dominant figure in Italian pop music from the mid-1960s to mid-1970s known for her three-octave vocal range, the agility of her soprano voice, and her image as an...
performed the song with Johnny Dorelli
Johnny Dorelli
Johnny Dorelli is an Italian actor, singer and showman.Born as Giorgio Guidi in Meda, he debuted as singer in the late 1950s for CGD label. In 1958 he won the Sanremo Festival in duo with Domenico Modugno, with the songs "Nel blu dipinto di blu" and "Piove "...
in the Italian translation, "Per chi" (1978), a version that has also been released by Gens
Gens
In ancient Rome, a gens , plural gentes, referred to a family, consisting of all those individuals who shared the same nomen and claimed descent from a common ancestor. A branch of a gens was called a stirps . The gens was an important social structure at Rome and throughout Italy during the...
. Angela Aki
Angela Aki
, born Kiyomi Angela Aki on September 15, 1977, is a Japanese pop singer-songwriter, guitarist and pianist from Itano, Tokushima, Japan.-Early life:...
rewrote most of the lyrics in Japanese loosely based on the original words with the final verse in English, released as a b-side on her 2010 single Kagayaku Hito
Kagayaku Hito
-DVD tracklist:# PV# Making Video# Premiere documentary film -Charts:- External links :*...
.. Stryper
Stryper
Stryper is a Christian glam metal band from Orange County, California. The group's lineup consists of Michael Sweet , Oz Fox , Tim Gaines , and Robert Sweet...
lead singer Michael Sweet
Michael Sweet
Michael Sweet is a singer from Whittier, California, United States. Sweet is best known as co-founder, writer and frontman of the Christian glam metal band Stryper. He was also one of the two lead vocalists and one of three guitarists for Boston until August 2011.-Youth:He began his musical career...
performed the song on his 2007 solo album Truth
Truth
Truth has a variety of meanings, such as the state of being in accord with fact or reality. It can also mean having fidelity to an original or to a standard or ideal. In a common usage, it also means constancy or sincerity in action or character...
.
In films and television
Nilsson's version of "Without You" was used as the opening tune to the 1979 feature film Porridge feature film. In the film CasinoCasino (film)
Casino is a 1995 crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Nicholas Pileggi, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film with Scorsese...
, the Nilsson version is playing during one of Ginger's manic episodes. In the film The Rules of Attraction
The Rules of Attraction (film)
The Rules of Attraction is a 2002 satirical dark comedy film directed by Roger Avary, based on the novel of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis. It stars James van der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Ian Somerhalder, Jessica Biel, and Kip Pardue.-Plot:...
, a college girl commits suicide in a bathtub while this song plays on the soundtrack.
In June 2010 the Harry Nilsson version of the song was used in television advertising for the UK brand Soda Stream.
ASCAP and Ivor Novello recognition
On 15 May 1995, at ASCAP's twelfth annual Pop Music Awards in Beverly Hills, California, "Without You" was recognized as one of the 50 most-played songs of 1994 (due largely to Mariah Carey's recording). Discrepancies in ASCAP's books, resulting from a lawsuit against the Ham and Evans estates by their former manager, incorrectly attributed the song as being composed not only by Ham and Evans, but also by Badfinger's other bandmembers, Mike Gibbins and Joey Molland, and their former manager, Bill Collins. This designation and a lack of correction by ASCAP prompted the Ham Estate to boycott the ceremony. The song was also nominated for "Song Of The Year" in London at the Ivor Novello Awards.See also
- List of RPM number-one singles of 1972
- List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1972 (U.S.)
- List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1972 (U.S.)
- List of number-one singles from the 1970s (UK)
- List of number-one hits of 1994 (Austria)
- List of Dutch Top 40 number-one singles of 1994
- List of number-one hits of 1994 (Germany)
- List of number-one singles of 1994 (Ireland)
- List of number-one hits of 1994 (Switzerland)
- List of number-one singles from the 1990s (UK)