Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)

"Can't Give You Anything (But My Love)" was a UK #1 single in August 1975 for three weeks by The Stylistics.^[1]

After splitting from record producer Thom Bell in 1974, songwriters/producers Hugo & Luigi and George David Weiss took over, with arrangements by Van McCoy. Although the split with Bell proved disastrous in the U.S., The Stylistics continued to be popular in the UK and this was their first and only UK #1 single. The track reached #51 in the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, and #18 on the corresponding U.S. R&B chart.^[2]

In 1975, French female singer Nicoletta sang a French version of this song entitled "A Quoi Sert de Vivre Libre". This song appeared in the film 8 Femmes (2002) directed by Francois Ozon. In the film, the song was performed by Fanny Ardant.

In 1991, it was covered by the German singer, Thomas Anders as well as Hong Kong artist, Gloria Yip, who released a Japanese version.

In 1996, the song was covered by Irish boyband OTT.

In 2006, it was used as the base for a Japanese advertisement campaign by Gatsby, to launch their new male hair styling product, 'Moving Rubber'. The campaign was successful due to the tune and that the commercial featured one of Japan's most popular celebrities, Takuya Kimura, of the pop group, SMAP. They were also featured guests on SMAP's television show SMAP×SMAP, one of the highest rated shows in Japan.

See also

• List of number-one singles from the 1970s (UK)

References