Without You

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"Without You"

Song by Badfinger
from the album No Dice
Released	November 9, 1970 (U.S.)
Genre	Rock/Power pop
Length	4:43
Label	Apple
Composer(s)	Peter Ham, Tom Evans
Producer(s)	Geoff Emerick

"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". The song was written for Ham's then girlfriend Beverley Tucker. 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.

"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);

[edit] 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)
Chart positions
#1 (Austria, Brazil, Finland, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, UK) #2 (Canada, France) #3 (Australia, Norway, U.S.)
Mariah Carey singles chronology
"Hero" (1993)	"Without You"/"Never Forget You" (1994)	"Anytime You Need a Friend" (1994)

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).

Beverley Tucker, the subject matter of the song, was reported to have been horrified by Mariah's version.

[edit] Charts

Country	Chart	Peak position	Certification	Sales
USA	Billboard Hot100	3^[1]	Gold	500,000^[2]
UK	BPI	1	Gold	400,000^[3]
Australia	ARIA	3	Platinum	70,000^[4]
Austria	IFPI Austria	1	Platinum	40,000^[5]

Chart (1994)	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 ¹	3
U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream	2
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	4
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks ¹	7
U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40	9
U.S. ARC Weekly Top 40	1
Dutch Singles Chart	1
Swiss Singles Chart	1
Brazilian Singles Chart	1
Israeli Singles Chart	1
UK Singles Chart	1
Sweden Singles Chart	1
Finnish Singles Chart	1
German Singles Chart	1
Italian Singles Chart	1
Canadian Singles Chart	2
French Singles Chart	2
Australian ARIA Singles Chart	3
Norwegian Singles Chart	3

¹ "Without You"/"Never Forget You".

Preceded by "Let's Stay Together" by Al Green	Billboard Hot 100 number-one single (Nilsson version) February 19, 1972	Succeeded by "Heart of Gold" by Neil Young
Preceded by "Son of my Father" by Chicory Tip	UK number one single (Nilsson version) March 7, 1972	Succeeded by "Amazing Grace" by The Pipes & Drums of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards
Preceded by "Things Can Only Get Better" by D:Ream	UK number one single (Mariah Carey version) February 13, 1994	Succeeded by "Doop" by Doop