Without You
written and
recorded by
Badfinger
“Every year we welcome great new hits from Fall Out Boy to Green Day, from Paul McCartney to Jay-Z, from Linkin Park to 50 Cent. Movie Soundtracks to Ringtones.
But, what about the greatest hits that have already been recorded. Were the originals hits in their own right … were they just as good artistically … were they missing one piece?
Original Artist
BADFINGER
Released on LP
NO DICE
1970
Cover Remake Hit by
HARRY NILSSON
Released on LP
NILSSON SCMILSSON
# 1 single chart hit 1972
Grammy Award 1972
Cover Remake Hit by
MARIAH CAREY
Released on LP
MUSIC BOX
# 3 single chart hit 1994
Nilsson Notes
”I was at a friend's house in Laurel Canyon and we were playing records. Late at night, we're sitting on the floor, and I heard this thing in the background and it said 'you ....' And I thought it was a Lennon song. The next day I called and said, 'What was that song that went 'you...'? I think it's Lennon and it could be from a Beatles album.' So everybody got fifteen people looking through Beatles albums. They came back to me and said, 'Well, they have a lot of songs with 'you' in them.' Then I thought, 'I know, it's by Grapefruit.' And so we went through all that again. And then someone else came up with Badfinger. So I got the album and it wasn't as good as I remembered it. It was real flat. But I still called up my producer, Richard Perry, and said, 'I think I got one here.' He heard it and agreed with me, so we recorded it."
Mariah Notes
Mariah's second-ever cover song was a sweeping, moving version of "Without you", which had been such a big, enduring hit for Harry Nilsson in the early seventies that it was generally assumed he'd written it. In actuality, it had been penned by Pete Ham and Tommy Evans of the Badfinger. It was Nilsson's hit that Mariah had grown up with and loved, and which she used as a basis for her version.
Without You Tragic Song Notes
The songwriters Pete Ham and Tommy Evans troubled by financial problems would both commit suicide, Pete in 1975 and Tommy in 1983.
While Harry Nilsson wrongfully assumed Without You was a John Lennon song, he later became great friends with John. John had called Harry, “Their (John and Paul’s) Favorite American Singer”. When John died in 1980, Harry tirelessly promoted against handguns and violence.
On the day Mariah's version of "Without you" was released, Harry Nilsson, only in his early fifties, died from heart problems. The record was not withdrawn, but allowed to stand, at least in part as a tribute to the talents of the songwriters and Harry.
Tragic irony indeed … since Without You is considered one of the Top Ten Love Songs of all time!
SuperClassic Features
Best Song Cover Remakes … Badfinger’s Without You
Reflections of Our Times
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