"" is a song originally recorded by
Badfinger for their album ''
No Dice '' (1970), written by
Peter Ham and
Tom Evans and produced by
Geoff Emerick . It was first composed when Peter Ham had written a ballad called "If It's Love" that lacked a strong chorus. Tom Evans had written a chorus without a strong verse. Sensing the opportunity, the two fused the separate compositions together. The protagonist of this ballad lets a lover know that they "can't live if living is without you". Both Peter Ham and Tom Evans eventually committed suicide by hanging themselves, Ham on
24 April 1975 , and Evans on
19 November 1983 . The suicides were unrelated (see
Badfinger ).
"Without You" became a hit
Single after being
Cover ed by
Harry Nilsson for his album ''
Nilsson Schmilsson '' in
1971 (see
1971 In Music ); it stayed at the U.S.
Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks, from
February 13 to
March 11 1971 . It replaced "
Let's Stay Together " by
Al Green , and was replaced by
Neil Young 's "
Heart Of Gold ". The song has been covered by several other artists, including:
's version of the song.]]
Mariah Carey co-produced her cover of the song with
Walter Afanasieff , and the production is based on Harry Nilsson's version. It was released as the album's third
Single in the first quarter of 1994 (see
1994 In Music ), and in the
United States it was released on
January 15 1994 , the day that Nilsson died of heart failure. In the U.S., it was promoted as a
Double A-side with "
Never Forget You " and reached number three on the
Billboard Hot 100 , remaining in the top forty for twenty-one weeks. Both radio airplay and sales were strong, and it was certified
Gold by the
RIAA . It was ranked sixteenth on the Hot 100 1994 year-end charts.
"Without You" is Carey's biggest hit outside the U.S. (until
Belong Together ) and was largely successful across
Europe . It became her first
UK number-one single, and
As Of 2006 it is her only number one there as a solo artist. It stayed at number one for four weeks and became her third number-one single in
Brazil . It was also her first chart-topper in
Italy , but was most successful in
Switzerland (with ten non-consecutive weeks at number one) and the
Netherlands (twelve weeks). It also topped the singles chart in
Germany for four weeks, where Carey's success had previously been limited. It was able to make the top three in
Canada ,
France ,
Norway and
Australia . "Without You" was later included on some non-U.S. pressings of her compilation album ''
#1's '' (1998).
The single's
Video , directed by
Larry Jordan , is derived from Carey's 1993 concert at
Proctor Theatre . In addition to "Never Forget You", the UK CD single for "Without You" included a live recording of "
Dreamlover " (1993).
1 "Without You"/"Never Forget You".
- ''Without You: The Tragic Story of Badfinger''. ISBN 0965712214. (Origination of the song lyrics.)
