"Without You" | |
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Song by Badfinger | |
from the album No Dice | |
Released | 9 November 1970 |
Recorded | 15 & 29 July 1970 |
Studio | Abbey Road, London |
Length | 4:43 |
Label | Apple |
Songwriter(s) | Pete Ham, Tom Evans |
Producer(s) | Geoff Emerick |
Music video | |
"Without You" (audio) on YouTube |
"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 power ballad [1] has been recorded by over 180 artists, [2] and versions released as singles by Harry Nilsson (1971) and Mariah Carey (1994) became international number one hits. The Nilsson version was included in 2021's Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. [3] Paul McCartney once described it as "the killer song of all time". [4]
In 1972, writers Ham and Evans received the British Academy's Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. [5]
First recorded by the rock group Badfinger, the song was composed by two of its members. Pete Ham wrote 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 replied, "Your mouth is smiling, but your eyes are sad." The song Ham wrote that night was called "If it's 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 Ham wasn't happy with the chorus. [6] [7]
Evans' relationship with his future wife Marianne influenced his lyrics:
One evening he [Evans] went to her [Marianne's] 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 included "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, [8] [7] Ham and Evans created the hit [with] Ham's verse, "warm, sweet, sentimental" and Evans' chorus, "intense, dramatic, heartbreaking." [9]
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 the first side of their 1970 album No Dice. 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.
Stereogum reviewer Tom Breihan said of Badfinger's version that it "is strummy and direct, but it also sounds like a blueprint, not a final version. They could’ve turned it into a showstopping ballad, but they didn’t." [7]
Ultimate Classic Rock critic Michael Gallucci rated it as Badfinger's 4th-best song, calling it a "quiet gem" that "hits all the right emotional notes." [10] Classic Rock critic Rob Hughes rated it Badfinger's 6th-best song, saying it is "less saccharine and more understated [than the Nilsson and Carey versions], delivered with a genuine sense of anguish." [11] Paul McCartney called it "the killer song of all time." [11]
The two writers of the song, Ham and Evans, later died by suicide due to legal and financial issues. In Evans' case, it was a dispute over songwriting royalties for "Without You" that precipitated his action. Songwriting royalties had become the subject of constant legal wrangling for Evans, and in 1983, following an acrimonious argument with his bandmate Joey Molland over the royalties for the song, Evans hanged himself. [12] [13]
"Without You" | ||||
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Single by Harry Nilsson | ||||
from the album Nilsson Schmilsson | ||||
B-side | "Gotta Get Up" | |||
Released | 11 October 1971 | |||
Recorded | 1971 | |||
Studio | Island, London [14] | |||
Genre | Soft rock [15] | |||
Length | 3:17 | |||
Label | RCA | |||
Songwriter(s) | Pete Ham, Tom Evans | |||
Producer(s) | Richard Perry | |||
Harry Nilsson singles chronology | ||||
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Harry Nilsson, at the time best known for his hit "Everybody's Talkin'" and for composing "One", recorded by Three Dog Night, heard Badfinger's recording of "Without You" at a party, [16] and mistook it for a Beatles song. [7]
After realising it was not, he decided to cover the song for his 1971 album Nilsson Schmilsson . According to Breihan, "He wanted his version of the song to be a stark, heavy solo-piano thing, but [producer Richard] Perry convinced him to turn it into a grand, crashing, theatrical monster-ballad, complete with orchestra." [7] Gary Wright, who worked with Badfinger on George Harrison's projects, played the piano. Also featured are Klaus Voormann (bass), Jim Keltner (drums) and John Uribe (acoustic guitar). The string and horn arrangements are by Paul Buckmaster.
The single was released by RCA in the autumn of 1971, and it first charted on radio stations across the US in early December. "Without You" debuted at number 99 on the Billboard Hot 100 on 18 December 1971, and on its tenth week, in the chart dated 19 February 1972, started its four-week run at number one, as his only song to peak at that position. Billboard ranked it as the number-four single of 1972. The record topped Billboard's Easy Listening chart for five weeks.
The record spent five weeks at number one on the UK singles chart, beginning on 11 March, eventually selling almost 800,000 copies. [17] It went to number one in several other countries, including Australia (for five weeks), Ireland (two weeks) and New Zealand (two weeks).
The single was re-released in 1976 where it went back to number one in Ireland for two weeks and peaked at #22 in the UK. [18]
Billboard said it was "by far [Nilsson's] most commercial driving rock ballad in some time." [19] Cashbox said of the single "Couple a winning Badfinger tune with Gary Wright's piano and Nilsson's wideranging voice, and you've got Harry's biggest hit since 'Everybody's Talkin'.'" [20] Record World said that "Nilsson's brilliant rendition of this Badfinger song has more than enough of the stuff of which hits are made." [21] Breihan described the song as "going-for-it schmaltz," compared with Badfinger's "vaguely embarrassed schmaltz", but basically considered it a "big and silly and down-the-middle breakup ballad." [7] SingersRoom critic Erica Henderson rated it as Nilsson's best song, saying that "the song's haunting melody and heartbreaking lyrics about lost love have made it a timeless classic" and that "Nilsson’s rendition features soaring vocals, soaring strings, and a melancholic piano that perfectly complement the song’s mournful tone." [22]
The single, Grammy-nominated for Record of the Year, 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." [23] In 1973, the single won Nilsson the Grammy award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male. [24] 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. [25]
In 1972 Evans said of finding out that Nilsson had recorded the song as a single:
We were in our studios in London. We'd gone through one of those periods where things weren't going too well. This guy came in and said "Are you Badfinger? I'm Harry Nilsson. I've got this song to play for you." It was his version of "Without You." He said he was going to use it as a single. We're thinking about other songs we can lay on him. No one had recorded any of our songs until then. It had been our ambition to write songs other people would record. It's one of the most exciting things that has happened. [26]
In 2021, this version was ranked 496th on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. [27]
Worldwide Single
EP (Portugal)
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
All-time charts
|
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
United Kingdom (BPI) [44] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [45] | Gold | 1,000,000^ |
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone. |
According to the 1971 LP credits: [46]
American singer and songwriter Mariah Carey's version, based on Harry Nilsson's version rather than the Badfinger original, was released as the third single off Music Box in the first quarter of 1994, its US release date of 21 January 1994 by Columbia Records, falling a week after Nilsson had died following a heart attack on 15 January 1994. In the US "Without You" was promoted as a double A-side with "Never Forget You". While she had heard Nilsson's version as a very young girl, Carey's decision to remake his hit was based on a chance hearing during the time she was recording Music Box: "I heard that song in a restaurant and just knew it would be a huge international hit" recalls Carey. [47] Carey's version has been considered very popular on talent shows. [48] "Without You" was later included on some non-US pressings of her compilation albums #1's (1998) and #1 to Infinity (2015), and her 2001 compilation, Greatest Hits . "Without You" was also included on her 2008 compilation The Ballads .
"Without You" reached number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks. "Without You" remains Carey's biggest hit across Europe. In the United Kingdom, where Carey had yet to score a number one hit, "Without You" made its UK chart debut at number one where it remained for four weeks in total, and later ended as the 7th best-selling single of 1994 in the United Kingdom. [49] It topped the European Hot 100 Singles chart for two weeks and reached number one for ten weeks in Switzerland; eight weeks in Austria and Sweden; seven weeks in Belgium; five weeks in Ireland and the Netherlands; four weeks in Germany and Iceland; and two weeks in Scotland.
This section relies largely or entirely on a single source .(May 2018) |
On 15 May 1995, at ASCAP's twelfth annual Pop Music Awards in Beverly Hills, California, "Without You" was recognised 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. [55]
Badfinger were a Welsh rock band formed in Swansea in 1961. Their best-known lineup consisted of Pete Ham (guitar), Mike Gibbins (drums), Tom Evans (bass), and Joey Molland (guitar). They are recognised for their influence on the 1970s power pop genre. It is estimated that the band sold 14 million records.
No Dice is the third studio album by British rock band Badfinger, issued by Apple Records and released on 9 November 1970. Their second album under the Badfinger name, but their first official album under that name, and first to include guitarist Joey Molland, No Dice significantly expanded the British group's popularity, especially abroad. The album included both the hit single "No Matter What" and the song "Without You", which would become a big hit for Harry Nilsson, and later a hit for Mariah Carey.
Straight Up is the fourth studio album by the Welsh rock band Badfinger, released in December 1971 in the United States and February 1972 in Britain. Issued on the Beatles' Apple record label, it includes the hit singles "Day After Day" and "Baby Blue", and the similarly popular "Name of the Game", all of which were written by singer and guitarist Pete Ham. The album marked a departure from the more rock-oriented sound of Badfinger's previous releases, partly as a result of intervention by Apple Records regarding the band's musical direction.
Peter William Ham was a Welsh singer, songwriter and guitarist best known as a lead vocalist of and composer for the 1970s rock band Badfinger, whose hit songs include "No Matter What", "Day After Day" and "Baby Blue". He also co-wrote the ballad "Without You", a worldwide number-one hit for Harry Nilsson that has become a standard covered by hundreds of artists. Ham was granted two Ivor Novello Awards related to the song in 1973.
Ass is the fifth studio album by British rock band Badfinger, and their last album released on Apple Records. The opening track, "Apple of My Eye", refers to the band leaving the label to begin its new contract with Warner Bros. Records.
Music Box is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It was released by Columbia Records on August 31, 1993. The album comprises ballads primarily written by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, with whom she had previously worked on Emotions (1991), and a few urban dance tracks. During the course of the album's development, Carey wanted to broaden her audience, choosing a more pop/R&B oriented sound. During this time frame, she experimented with different musical instruments, leading the album's sound away from her more contemporary previous two efforts.
"I'll Make Love to You" is a song by American R&B group Boyz II Men for the Motown label. Written by Babyface, it was released in July 1994 as the lead single from their second album, II (1994). The song was a commercial success, spending 14 weeks atop the US Billboard Hot 100. It was also the third best performing song in the 1990s on Billboard, as well as ranking on Billboard Greatest of All-Time chart. "I'll Make Love to You" won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and was nominated for Record of the Year. Its accompanying music video was directed by Lionel C. Martin.
"Endless Love" is a song written by Lionel Richie and originally recorded as a duet between Richie and singer/actress Diana Ross. In this ballad, the singers declare their "endless love" for one another. It was covered by Luther Vandross with R&B-pop singer Mariah Carey, and also by country music singer Shania Twain. Billboard has named the original version as the greatest song duet of all time.
"Open Arms" is a song by American rock band Journey. It was released as a single from the Heavy Metal soundtrack and their 1981 album, Escape. Co-written by band members Steve Perry and Jonathan Cain, the song is a power ballad whose lyrics attempt to renew a drifting relationship. It is one of the band's most recognizable radio hits and their biggest US Billboard Hot 100 hit, reaching number two in February 1982 and holding that position for six weeks. It also reached number two in Canada.
Robert Jackson is an English rock musician most famous for being a member of Badfinger from 1974–75 and 1981–83, and of The Fortunes from 1995–2019. He currently tours under the name Badfinger in the United Kingdom.
Joseph Charles Molland is an English songwriter and rock guitarist whose recording career spans five decades. He is best known as a member of Badfinger, the most successful of the acts he performed with. Since the death of Mike Gibbins in 2005, Molland is the last surviving member from the band's classic line-up.
"Come and Get It" is a song composed by English singer-songwriter Paul McCartney for the 1969 film The Magic Christian. The song was performed by Badfinger, produced by McCartney and issued as a single 5 December 1969 in the UK, and 12 January 1970 in the US, on the Beatles' Apple label. It was the band's first release under the Badfinger name and was their international breakthrough, hitting the top 10 in both the UK and US singles charts.
Badfinger is the sixth studio album by British rock band Badfinger. The album was recorded in autumn 1973 and released in 1974 on Warner Bros. Records. It was the first of two albums released by the band on the Warner label. The cover art for the album shows a woman wearing a riding outfit and hat from the 1920s and smoking a cigarette in a cigarette holder.
"No Matter What" is a song originally recorded by Badfinger for their album No Dice in 1970, written and sung by Pete Ham and produced by Mal Evans.
Thomas Evans was an English musician. He is best known for his work as the bassist of the band Badfinger. He also co-wrote their 1970 song "Without You," which has been recorded by over 180 artists — most notably Harry Nilsson and Mariah Carey. Evans died by suicide in 1983, one of two members to do so.
"Day After Day" is a song by the British rock band Badfinger from their 1971 album Straight Up. It was written by Pete Ham and produced by George Harrison, who also plays slide guitar on the recording. The song was issued as a single and became Badfinger's biggest hit, charting at number 4 in the United States and number 10 in the UK, ultimately earning gold accreditation from the Recording Industry Association of America.
Dan Matovina ) was an American record producer, recording engineer, video producer, publishing agent, author and curator who restored hundreds of hours of tapes by Beatles protegés, Badfinger and its precursor group, The Iveys, along with songwriting demos by Pete Ham and Tom Evans. His 1997 biography of the band, Without You: The Tragic Story of Badfinger, was considered one of the top rock biographies upon its release.
"Baby Blue" is a song by Welsh rock band Badfinger from their fourth studio album, Straight Up (1971). The song was written by Pete Ham, produced by Todd Rundgren, and released on Apple Records. As a single in the US in 1972, it went to #14.
"Apple of My Eye" is a song recorded by the rock/pop band Badfinger for inclusion on their 1973 album, Ass. The song was written and sung by Pete Ham, produced by Chris Thomas and Badfinger, and released on Apple Records.
"Without You" is a song recorded by American singer-songwriter Mariah Carey. It is a cover of the Badfinger song based on the version by Harry Nilsson. It was released as the third single off Music Box in the first quarter of 1994, its US release date of 21 January 1994 by Columbia Records, falling a week after Nilsson had died following a heart attack on 15 January 1994. While she had heard Nilsson's version as a very young girl, Carey's decision to remake his hit was based on a chance hearing during the time she was recording Music Box: "I heard that song in a restaurant and just knew it would be a huge international hit" recalls Carey.
(Courtesy: The Music Bank Report)