You're the First, the Last, My Everything
| "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Barry White | ||||
| from the album Can't Get Enough | ||||
| A-side | "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" | |||
| B-side | "More Than Anything, You're My Everything" | |||
| Released | October 25, 1974 (UK)[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1974 | |||
| Genre | Rhythm and blues, disco | |||
| Length |
4:33 3:30 (7" version) | |||
| Label | 20th Century Records | |||
| Writer(s) | Peter Radcliffe, Tony Sepe, Barry White | |||
| Producer(s) | Barry White | |||
| Barry White singles chronology | ||||
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"You're the First, the Last, My Everything" is a popular song recorded by Barry White. Written by White, Tony Sepe and Peter Radcliffe and produced by White, "You're the First, The Last, My Everything" was White's fourth top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, reaching #2; it spent a week at #1 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart.[2] The early disco classic made it to number two on the disco/dance charts.[3] In the UK Singles Chart it fared even better, spending two weeks at the top in December 1974.[4] It appeared on White's 1974 album Can't Get Enough.
Radcliffe originally wrote "You're the First, The Last, My Everything" as a country song with the title "You're My First, You're My Last, My In-Between", which went unrecorded for 21 years. White recorded it as a disco song, keeping most of the structure and two-thirds of the title, but he rewrote the lyrics.
In popular culture
The song is featured in the films Money Talks (1997; also on its CD soundtrack album, where White had recorded an alternative version, as simply "My Everything" as a duet with Faith Evans), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004; also on its CD soundtrack album), Zookeeper (2011), and anachronistically in Tim Burton's film Dark Shadows (2012; also on its CD soundtrack album) as the film was set in 1972, two years before the song was released.
It was also in several episodes of the Fox series Ally McBeal, accompanying John Cage (Peter MacNicol) during his life most of the time. Whenever he gets into a difficult situation, he withdraws and concentrates on the song, hearing it and dancing to it, to regain strength and concentrate on whatever comes along.
The song is featured in the music video game Just Dance 4 (2012) for PlayStation 3, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360.
Chart positions
| Charts (1974-75) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
| US Billboard Hot Soul Singles | 1 |
| United Kingdom (UK Singles Chart) | 1 |
| France (IFOP)[5] | 7 |
| Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] | 6 |
| Netherlands (Single Top 100)[7] | 13 |
Other notable recordings
A cover version of the song performed by Howard Brown was released in 2005 in the UK as a charity single. It peaked at #13 in the UK singles chart. Prior to its release it had been adapted for a popular television commercial for Halifax Bank in which Brown could be seen singing and dancing.
References
- ↑ "Barry White - You're The First, The Last, My Everything / More Than Anything, You're My Everything - 20th Century - UK - BTC 2133". 45cat. 2012-10-30. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 620.
- ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 279.
- ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 307–8. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
- ↑ http://www.infodisc.fr/Bilan_W.php
- ↑ "Ultratop.be – Barry White – You're The First, The Last, My Everything" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2015-04-17.
- ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Barry White – You're The First, The Last, My Everything" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 2015-04-17.
External links
- Song Review from Allmusic
| Preceded by "Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas and Biddu |
Billboard's Hot Soul number one single January 18, 1975 |
Succeeded by "Fire" by The Ohio Players |
| Preceded by "Gonna Make You a Star" by David Essex |
UK Singles Chart number one single December 7, 1974 (2 weeks) |
Succeeded by "Lonely This Christmas" by Mud |
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