When I Need You
| "When I Need You" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:Leo-Sayer-When-I-Need-You.jpg Portuguese vinyl single | ||||
| Single by Leo Sayer | ||||
| from the album Endless Flight | ||||
| B-side | "I Think We Fell in Love Too Fast" | |||
| Released | February 1977 | |||
| Genre | Soft rock[1][2] | |||
| Length | 4:09 | |||
| Label |
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| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | Richard Perry | |||
| Leo Sayer singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"When I Need You" is a song written by Albert Hammond and Carole Bayer Sager. Its first appearance was as the title track of Hammond's 1976 album When I Need You. Leo Sayer's version, produced by Richard Perry, was a massive hit worldwide, reaching number 1 on the UK Singles Chart for three weeks in February 1977 after three of his earlier singles had stalled at number 2.[3] It also reached number 1 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 for a single week in May 1977;[4] and the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks.[5] Billboard ranked it as the No. 24 song of 1977. Sayer performed it on the second show of the third season of The Muppet Show.
Melody comparison
[edit | edit source]The melody of the "hook" line, or chorus of "When I Need You" is identical to the part of the Leonard Cohen song "Famous Blue Raincoat", where the lyrics are as follows: "Jane came by with a lock of your hair, she said that you gave it to her that night, that you planned to go clear". The melody of these lyrics matches the lyrics of "When I Need You" as follows: "(When I) need you, I just close my eyes and I'm with you, and all that I so want to give you, is only a heart beat away".
In a 2006 interview with The Globe and Mail Cohen said:
I once had that nicking happen with Leo Sayer. Do you remember that song 'When I Need You'?" Cohen sings the chorus of Sayer's number one hit from 1977, then segues into 'And Jane came by with a lock of your hair', a lyric from 'Famous Blue Raincoat'. 'Somebody sued them on my behalf ... and they did settle', even though, he laughs, 'they hired a musicologist, who said, that particular motif was in the public domain and, in fact, could be traced back as far as Schubert.[6]
Personnel
[edit | edit source]- Leo Sayer – vocals
- John Barnes - electric piano
- James Newton Howard – synthesizer
- Bobby Keys – saxophone[7]
- Michael Omartian – electric piano
- Dean Parks – electric guitar
- Jeff Porcaro – drums
- Willie Weeks – bass
Charts
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Weekly charts[edit | edit source]
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Year-end charts[edit | edit source]
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Other versions
[edit | edit source]- The song was covered in Malaysian by Black Dog Bone in 1977 as Bila Rindu.
Julio Iglesias version
[edit | edit source]Julio Iglesias released the song as the third and final single from his 1990 album of covers, Starry Night.[32] It peaked at number 59 on the UK Airplay Chart.[33]
Rod Stewart version
[edit | edit source]Rod Stewart recorded the song for his 1996 ballad compilation album If We Fall in Love Tonight. This version was produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis and was released as the second single from the album, and reached number 55 in Canada.[34]
Celine Dion version
[edit | edit source]"When I Need You" is a promotional single from Celine Dion's Let's Talk About Love album, released on 7 September 1998 in Brazil only.[35] Entertainment Weekly editor David Browne called the cover, "an obligatory remake (a precisely enunciated version of Leo Sayer's When I Need You)".[36] The New York Observer editor Jonathan Bernstein: "A sliver of redemption is found in the passable version of Leo Sayer's “When I Need You”".[37]
Alpha Blondy version
[edit | edit source]Alpha Blondy covered the song for his 1999 album Elohim.
Randy Crawford & Joe Sample version
[edit | edit source]Singer Randy Crawford and keyboardist Joe Sample included their version of "When I Need You" on their 2006 album Feeling Good. Personnel included fellow acclaimed jazz artists, bassist Christian McBride and drummer Steve Gadd.
Cliff Richard version
[edit | edit source]On 29 October 2007, Cliff Richard released "When I Need You" as a single in the UK.[38] It reached number 38 on the UK Singles Chart.[39] It is one of five new recordings on his album Love... The Album.
Tumse Milke
[edit | edit source]The Indian music composer R.D. Burman used the music of the song for his song, "Tumse Milke", used in the 1989 movie, Parinda.
Lani Hall version
[edit | edit source]Lani Hall recorded a Spanish version of the song, retitled "Si me amaras (If you Loved Me)," for her 1985 album Es Fácil Amar, produced by Albert Hammond.
References
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- ^ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of #1 Hits, 5th Edition (Billboard Publications)
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (1996). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 6th Edition (Billboard Publications)
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ 3 December 2014: Leo Sayer has paid tribute to his friend Bobby Keys who died at the age of 70. Keys, the sax player for the Rolling Stones since 1969, also played on Sayer's global hit ‘When I Need You’. In a statement Sayer said, “R.I.P. Bobby Keys. Bobby played the solo on “When I Need You”, 20 secs of tenor sax that no other player has ever been able to emulate. We toured together in the mid 70s, and Bobby was always fun to work with, a great musician everybody now knows as the sax man with the Rolling Stones. I'm so proud to have known you ‘Texas’!”[citation needed]
- ^ "Leo Sayer – When I Need You" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ "Leo Sayer – When I Need You" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – When I Need You". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
- ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 8, 1977" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ "Leo Sayer – When I Need You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ "Leo Sayer – When I Need You". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ "Leo Sayer: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ "Leo Sayer Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ "Leo Sayer Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ "Leo Sayer Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ * Zimbabwe. Kimberley, C. Zimbabwe: singles chart book. Harare: C. Kimberley, 2000
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External links
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- 1976 songs
- 1977 singles
- 1998 singles
- 2007 singles
- Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
- Cashbox number-one singles
- Celine Dion songs
- Cliff Richard songs
- European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles
- Irish Singles Chart number-one singles
- Leo Sayer songs
- Rod Stewart songs
- Pop ballads
- RPM Top Singles number-one singles
- Song recordings produced by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis
- Song recordings produced by Richard Perry
- Songs written by Albert Hammond
- Songs written by Carole Bayer Sager
- UK singles chart number-one singles
- Warner Records singles
- Chrysalis Records singles
- Columbia Records singles
- Epic Records singles
- EMI Records singles
- 1970s ballads