How Am I Supposed to Live Without You

"How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" is a song originally recorded by Laura Branigan in 1983. The song was recorded later the same decade by its co-writer, Michael Bolton.

Background

As the second single from Branigan's second solo album Branigan 2 spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and peaked at number twelve on the Hot 100 in early-October 1983. Branigan's single also hit the number-one spot on the Adult Contemporary chart in Canada. This success came without benefit of a music video. Branigan performed the song on the syndicated music countdown show Solid Gold in late 1983 and on the popular holiday special Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve.

Michael Bolton co-wrote the song, and Branigan's record was his first major hit as a songwriter. Bolton, whose own recording career would not take off until 1987, went on to co-write the rock ballad "I Found Someone" for Branigan's Hold Me album in 1985, and she also recorded his song "It's Been Hard Enough Getting Over You" in 1993 for Over My Heart. Though Branigan 2 went out of print in 2004, Branigan's original version appears on the albums The Best of Branigan (1995), The Essentials: Laura Branigan (2002) and The Platinum Collection (2006).

The single's B-side was a newly-written song over the music to the Italian song "Mama", by Giancarlo Bigazzi and Umberto Tozzi. Branigan's first major hit had been with "Gloria", another English song written to an Italian hit by the duo. She would go on to have hits with "Self Control", co-written by Bigazzi, and "Ti Amo", an English song written by Diane Warren over an Italian song by Bigazzi and Tozzi.

Since Branigan introduced "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You", the ballad has been recorded by dozens of artists around the world, in English and Spanish, becoming something of a modern pop standard. Instrumental versions of the song have been recorded featuring variously the piano, guitar, saxophone, pan flute, steel drum, and music box.

Track listings

7" single

1. "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" – 4:29
2. "Mama" – 3:56

7" Promo single

1. "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" (Short version) – 3:57
2. "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" – 4:29

Charts

Michael Bolton version

In 1989, Michael Bolton recorded his own version of the song and it became his biggest hit, reaching number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts in 1990. On the Hot 100, the song became the first #1 single of the 1990s. This marked the second time the song had topped the U.S. AC chart. The song appears on his album Soul Provider and on Michael Bolton: Greatest Hits (1985-1995). In the Episode Live and Let Fry from American Dad! the version was featured.

Music video

At the beginning of the video by Michael Bolton performs the song sitting in a living room. In addition to the action broadcast in fade outs he is about to leave the apartment, including suitcases, but later he thinks of this opinion, and cuddles with his girlfriend. On nights tomorrow he will give her a ring, which he later concealed and camouflaged, he reads a newspaper before his girlfriend comes. Then she surprised him with a breakfast and both cuddle again later there is a dispute. Bolton at the end gets to feel guilty.^[1]

Track listings

7" single

1. "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" – 4:14
2. "Forever Eyes" – 4:23

CD single

1. "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" (LP version) – 4:48
2. "Forever Eyes" – 4:23
3. "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" (7" version) – 4:56
4. "That's What Love Is All About" (Live) – 4:23

Charts

Other cover versions

Other singers to record ballad versions of the song include Charlie Roots, Wayne Denton, and Korean star Se7en. British singer Newton has recorded a dance version of the track. In 2004, J Costa did a dance version of "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" with Mr Mig and DJ Holland doing successful club remixes. Other dance versions include a 2008 version by In Bliss. A salsa version appears on Miguel Martin's 1995 Sony International album Salsa with the Oldies.

A Spanish language translation of the song, "Como he de vivir sin tu cariño", has been recorded by numerous artists. Latin Pop singer Danny Rivera recorded the translation for his 1990 album Canto a La Humanidad. This version peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart.^[3] Other Spanish artists to record the song include Paloma San Basilio, who featured the song on her Sony International album Escorpio in 2001^[4] and Rosa López, who featured the song on her Gold 2008 Universal Music album Promesas. Italian singer Filippa Giordano recorded the Spanish version for her album Prima Donna in 2005.

The ballad was one of several hits covered in the Finnish language, as "Kerro Kuinka Rakkaudesta Toipuu", by Virve Rosti on her Edel Records album Vicky Rock Vol. 1.

Filipina superstar Sharon Cuneta featured the song on her Platinum album When I Love in 1999.^[5] Asian singer Julie Su recorded the song on a 1989 album covers released by Warner Music Taiwan. Other female artists to perform the song include American singer Vicki Carr, and German singers Stephanie de Kowa, who recorded the song with the Filmorchester Babelsberg for her album Two Faces, and Joana Zimmer, on her 2008 Universal Music album Showtime. The song appears on actress/singer Ingrid Saxon's 2004 CD of pop and Broadway standards, A Lot of Livin' to Do. That year, Dutch jazz-pop singer Laura Fygi included the song on her album Song Book: 20 Jazz Greatest Hits.^[6]

Lisa Hartman performed the song in character as a rising pop singer on the nighttime soap opera Knots Landing in an early 1980s episode. Characters played by Elizabeth Berkley and Mario Lopez duetted to the song on an early 1990s episode of the teen sitcom Saved by the Bell.

See also

• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1983 (U.S.)
• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1990 (U.S.)
• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1990 (U.S.)

References