On My Own (song)

"On My Own" was a hit duet by singers Patti LaBelle and Michael McDonald when it was released as a single in 1986. It was released from LaBelle's first platinum album, Winner in You and was written and produced by Burt Bacharach and his former wife Carole Bayer Sager. The song was based on a relationship that had reached its end with both parties going their separate ways in a melancholy state with the occasional option of coming back together again one day.

It was often stated the the two performers were in separate cities when they recorded their individual parts which were then "married" during mastering. This was reflected in the music video produced to promote the song, which depicted LaBelle & McDonald performing the song simultaneously on different coasts. The singers were shown on separate sides of a split screen, each singing the song while walking through apartments which had identical layouts but different decor and furniture. The views from their respective porches, where they finished the song, made clear their separation by the continent.

In 1995, country music singers Reba McEntire featuring Martina McBride, Linda Davis, and Trisha Yearwood covered this song. It appeared on McEntire's 1995 album Starting Over. McEntire's version peaked at #20 on Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart. A music video of '"On My Own" directed by Dominic Orlando was filmed on the Chaplin Stage in Hollywood. The video featured Reba McEntire, with Martina McBride, Linda Davis, and Trisha Yearwood as poker-playing girlfriends giving advice about her lovelorn romance.

[edit] Chart performance

The song became the biggest single ever for both singers, both of whom were members of respective funk/R&B groups in the 1970s: LaBelle and The Doobie Brothers - as it hit number one on the Billboard magazine pop, for 3 weeks. R&B and adult contemporary charts as well as number two in the UK singles chart, going gold. The song was initially not intended to be a duet at all, but LaBelle decided to invite McDonald to help her turn the song into a duet, as she stated: "The song was sent to me and I did a version of it but somehow it just didn't quite work. We were going over things I'd done and we talked about turning in into a duet. Someone asked , 'If you could do it with anyone, who would you sing it with,' and Michael was my first choice..." ^[1]

Preceded by "Live to Tell" by Madonna	Billboard Hot 100 number one single June 14, 1986- June 28, 1986	Succeeded by "There'll Be Sad Songs (To Make You Cry)" by Billy Ocean
Preceded by "I Have Learned to Respect the Power of Love" by Stephanie Mills	Billboard's Hot R&B Singles & Tracks number-one single May 17, 1986	Succeeded by "Nasty" by Janet Jackson