I Won't Last a Day Without You

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"I Won't Last a Day Without You"
I Won't Last a Day Without You.jpg
Single by Carpenters
from the album A Song for You
B-side "One Love" (US) / "Goodbye to Love" (UK double A-side)
ReleasedMarch 25, 1974 (1974-03-25) (USA) / September 1972 (1972-09) (UK)
Recorded1972
Genre Pop
Length3:52
Label A&M
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s) Karen Carpenter, Richard Carpenter, Jack Daugherty
Carpenters singles chronology
"Jambalaya (On the Bayou)"
(1974)		"I Won't Last a Day Without You"
(1974)		"Please Mr. Postman"
(1974)
A Song for You track listing
13 tracks
Side one
  1. "A Song for You"
  2. "Top of the World"
  3. "Hurting Each Other"
  4. "It's Going to Take Some Time"
  5. "Goodbye to Love"
  6. "Intermission"
Side two
  1. "Bless the Beasts and Children"
  2. "Flat Baroque"
  3. "Piano Picker"
  4. "I Won't Last a Day Without You"
  5. "Crystal Lullaby"
  6. "Road Ode"
  7. "A Song for You (Reprise)"

"I Won't Last a Day Without You" is a song by The Carpenters with lyrics written by Paul Williams and music composed by Roger Nichols. The writing duo had previously contributed "We've Only Just Begun" and "Rainy Days and Mondays" to the Carpenters.

Contents

Composition and recording

The song was written by Paul Williams (lyrics) and Roger Nichols (music) who also wrote two previous hits for The Carpenters – "We've Only Just Begun" and "Rainy Days and Mondays". [1] According to the lyricist Paul Williams, the line "when there's no getting over that rainbow" in the chorus is a reference to the song "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz . [1]

Williams said that the song was originally written with just two verses and a chorus, and a demo was submitted to The Carpenters in 1971. However, just before the song was due to be recorded, a request was sent to the songwriters for an additional bridge and a third verse to be added. The songwriters managed to comply with this last-minute request, and they recorded a demo the day before the recording, to the displeasure The Carpenters who felt the song was not sent to them soon enough. Richard Carpenter also changed the bridge and chord structure, changes Williams felt detracted from the song and he believed that The Carpenters would have greater success if they had recorded the song unchanged. [2]

The song was recorded as a tract for The Carpenters' album A Song for You , and was released two years later as a single in the US. [1] Williams himself later recorded the song as it was written, as did Barbra Streisand and Diana Ross. [2]

Release

The song was released in the U.K. in September 1972, paired with "Goodbye to Love" as a double-A side single for A Song for You .[ citation needed ] The single reached No. 9 and spent 15 weeks on the chart. [3]

It was later released in the U.S. and became a hit single for them in 1974, reaching No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart No. 1 one on the easy listening chart, [4] the ninth No. 1 for Carpenters.

Chart performance

Personnel

Other versions

Many artists have released other versions of "I Won't Last a Day Without You". Among the most notable are:

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of Number One Adult Contemporary Hits. Billboard Books. p. 141. ISBN   0823076938.
  2. 1 2 Schmidt, Randy (2012). Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter. Omnibus Press. ISBN   9780857127693.
  3. ↑ "Goodbye to Love by The Carpenters". The Official Charts Company.
  4. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits: Eighth Edition. Record Research. p. 107.
  5. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Singles - June 1, 1974" (PDF).
  6. ↑ "RPM Top AC Singles - June 15, 1972" (PDF).
  7. ↑ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  8. ↑ David Kent (1993). Australian Charts Book 1970—1992. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN   0-646-11917-6.
  9. ↑ "Carpenters".
  10. ↑ "Carpenters Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Carpenters Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  12. ↑ "Cash Box Top 100 Singles" (PDF). Cash Box. June 1, 1974. p. 4.
  13. ↑ "Cash Box Radio Active" (PDF). Cash Box. April 13, 1974. p. 32.
  14. ↑ "RPM 1974 Wrap Up - December 28, 1974" (PDF).
  15. ↑ "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1974". Cashbox Magazine . Archived from the original on September 27, 2012. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  16. ↑ Joel Whitburn's Bubbling Under the Billboard Hot 100 1959-2004
  17. ↑ "Diana Ross: Billboard Hot 100". Billboard.
  18. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. "Butterfly: Barbra Streisand". AllMusic.
  19. ↑ Griffith, JT. "Darin 1936–1973,-Bobby%20Darin". AllMusic.
  20. ↑ RPM Adult Contemporary, November 30, 1973
  21. ↑ "Al Wilson: Adult Contemporary". Billboard.
  22. ↑ "Al Wilson: Billboard Hot 100". Billboard.
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