You Light Up My Life (song)

"You Light Up My Life"
Single by Kasey Cisyk (lip synched by Didi Conn in the film)
from the album You Light Up My Life
Released 1977
Genre Pop
Writer(s) Joe Brooks[1]
Producer(s) Joe Brooks
Certification Platinum

"You Light Up My Life" is a ballad written by Joseph Brooks, and originally recorded by Kasey Cisyk for the soundtrack to the film of the same name.[1] The song was lip synched in the film by its lead, Didi Conn.

Background

Cisyk's original soundtrack recording was released as a single to bolster sales of the soundtrack, after Debby Boone included her version on her first solo album also entitled You Light Up My Life. (Although the soundtrack was certified gold, peaking at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, it never included Boone's version of the song.) Cisyk's single was credited to "Original Cast", not to Cisyk herself, and only reached No. 80 on the Billboard Hot 100. Brooks also released an instrumental version of the song from the soundtrack as a single, but his version failed to chart. Boone's success resulted in Grammy nominations for Best Pop Vocal Performance Female and Record of the Year and won her the 1977 Grammy for Best New Artist and the 1977 American Music Award for Favorite Pop Single. The song earned Brooks the 1977 Song of the Year Grammy (tied with "Love Theme from "A Star Is Born" (Evergreen)") as well as the Best Original Song awards at the 1977 Golden Globe and Academy Awards.[1] The song ranks #7 on Billboard's All Time Top 100.[2]

Controversy

In a 2013 biographical essay about Cisyk,[3] Cisyk's second husband, Ed Rakowicz (who worked as a sound engineer, but not for this song), wrote that Brooks was initially pleased with Cisyk's recording of the song with orchestra (and her version appeared in the movie and soundtrack) but "tried to evade payment by false promises and by asking her to be an incidental actor in his film, implying huge rewards yet to come..." Rackowicz [3] claims that Brooks made improper advances toward Cisyk, and after being rebuffed, didn't speak directly to her again, and continued to evade payments to her while commissioning another recording with Debby Boone. Rakowicz writes,[3] "Besides wanting Boone to copy Kacey’s iconic hit reading of his songs, Brooks needed to cover up Kacey’s vocal leakage in the microphones in the piano recorded at the original demo session on which was overdubbed the orchestral track used in the film. Brooks didn’t want to pay to re-record the piano and orchestra again." In a 2003 interview with Entertainment Weekly,[4] Boone admitted that "I had no freedom whatsoever. Joe told me exactly how to sing it and imitate every inflection from the original recording." Later [3] Kacey retained a lawyer and sued Brooks for the fees she earned for her work on the record and for credit on the soundtrack for which she later received.

Chart performance

Chart (1977) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 80

Debby Boone's cover

"You Light Up My Life"
Single by Debby Boone
from the album You Light Up My Life
B-side Hasta Mañana
Released August 16, 1977
Genre Easy listening, soft rock, adult contemporary
Length 3:35
Label Curb
Writer(s) Joe Brooks[1]
Producer(s) Joe Brooks
Certification Platinum
Debby Boone singles chronology
"You Light Up My Life"
(1977)		 "California"
(1978)

Later, Debby Boone, Pat Boone's daughter, recorded the single, which became an enormous success, topping the Billboard Hot 100 chart for a (then) record-setting ten consecutive weeks. It became the most successful single of the 1970s in the United States, and set a new Hot 100 record for longest reign at No. 1. (Elvis Presley's double-sided "Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog", then recognized as the longest-running No. 1 of the rock era, spent eleven weeks atop the Billboard Best Sellers chart in 1956, before the debut of the Hot 100.) The record was matched in 1982 by Olivia Newton-John's "Physical", but never surpassed until a 1991 change in chart methodology allowed songs to achieve longer reigns at No.1 ("End of the Road" by Boyz II Men set the new record, thirteen weeks). The single, which was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), also hit #1 on the Adult Contemporary chart and reached #4 on the Country chart. The single peaked at #48 in the UK Singles Chart.[1]

Although it was written by Brooks as a love song, the devout Boone interpreted it as inspirational and proclaimed that it was instead God who "lit up her life." This fact was later alluded to when the song appeared in the twelfth episode of the third season of The Simpsons.

Chart performance

Chart (1977) Peak
position
Canadian RPM Top Singles 1
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks 1
Canadian RPM Country Tracks 6
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks 1
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles 4
Australian Kent Music Report 7
Chart (1977) Peak
position
New Zealand Singles Chart 12
South African Singles Chart 3
UK Singles Chart[1] 48

All-time charts

Chart (1958–2013) Position
US Billboard Hot 100[5] 9

Year-end charts

Chart (1978) Position
US Billboard Hot 100 3

Chart precessions and successions

Order of precedence
Preceded by
"Star Wars Theme/Cantina Band" by Meco		 US Billboard Hot 100 number-one single
October 15, 1977 - December 23, 1977
(ten weeks) 		Succeeded by
"How Deep Is Your Love" by Bee Gees
Preceded by
"We're All Alone" by Rita Coolidge		 US Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one single
November 19, 1977 - November 25, 1977
Preceded by
"That's Rock 'N' Roll" by Shaun Cassidy		 Canadian RPM charts number-one single
November 5, 1977 - December 3, 1977
(two weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue" by Crystal Gayle

LeAnn Rimes cover version

"You Light Up My Life"
Single by LeAnn Rimes
from the album You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs
B-side I Believe
Released August 26, 1997
Format CD single
Recorded 1996
Genre Country
Length 3:37
Label Curb
Writer(s) Joe Brooks
Producer(s) Mike Curb
Chuck Howard
Wilbur C. Rimes
LeAnn Rimes singles chronology
"How Do I Live"
(1997)		 "You Light Up My Life"
(1997)		 "On the Side of Angels"
(1998)

LeAnn Rimes released her version as a single in 1997, 20 years after Boone's version was released and on the same record label (Curb Records). Her version fared modestly by comparison to the original at radio (No. 34 Pop, No. 48 Country). However, her single was certified gold and was the title track to her No. 1 pop and country album, You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs.

Track listing

  1. "You Light Up My Life"* — 3:37
  2. "I Believe"** — 2:22

* Note: Produced by Wilbur C. Rimes, Chuck Howard and Mike Curb.[7]
** Note: Produced by Wilbur C. Rimes.[7]

Chart performance

Chart (1997) Peak
position
Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[8] 57
US Billboard Hot 100[9] 34
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[10] 48

Other versions

Many artists have covered "You Light Up My Life" since 1977. Perry Como performed on Bob Hope's TV special in 1977 (then recorded for CD in 2000). The following year, Johnny Mathis recorded and named his album after the song (released as Single EP). The song has also been recorded by Loleatta Holloway, Jean Carn, Kenny Rogers, Angeline Quinto, José Carreras, Robert Goulet, Whitney Houston (for "Just Whitney..." 2002) and Samantha Cole; a French rendering entitled "Tu Remplis Ma Vie" was recorded by Anne Renée (fr).

Patti Smith performed the song on the ABC television program Kids Are People Too, accompanied by Brooks on piano.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 136. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  2. ↑ Billboard.com
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Kvitka’s Biography by Ed Rakowicz, 2013 Accessed Jan 14, 2014.
  4. ↑ The Light Stuff by Scott Brown Feb 21, 2003, Accessed Jan 10 2014
  5. ↑ Bronson, Fred (2 August 2013). "Hot 100 55th Anniversary: The All-Time Top 100 Songs". Billboard. Retrieved 9 August 2013.
  6. ↑ "You Light Up My Life / I Believe: Leann Rimes: Music". Amazon.com. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 You Light Up My Life / I Believe (CD single). LeAnn Rimes. Curb Records. 1997. D2-73027.
  8. ↑ "Top RPM Country Tracks: Issue 3346." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. October 6, 1997. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
  9. ↑ "LeAnn Rimes Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for LeAnn Rimes.
  10. ↑ "LeAnn Rimes Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot Country Songs for LeAnn Rimes.
  11. ↑ "Video of the Day: Patti Smith Sings "You Light Up My Life" to Kids". Retrieved 24 February 2014.

External links