All by Myself
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| "All by Myself" | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Single by Eric Carmen | |
| from the album Eric Carmen | |
| Released | 1975 |
| Format | Single |
| Genre | Pop |
| Length | 7:13 |
| Label | Arista Records |
| Writer(s) | Eric Carmen, Sergei Rachmaninoff |
| Certification | Gold (U.S.) |
"All by Myself" is a power ballad written and performed by Eric Carmen in 1975.
The verse borrows very heavily from the second movement (Adagio Sostenuto) of Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Opus 18, which Carmen believed was in the public domain. Having found it was not, only after the record had been issued, Carmen had to come to an agreement with the Rachmaninoff estate. Early versions, therefore, only give writing credits to Carmen, but later versions also credit Rachmaninoff.[1] The chorus borrows from a song "Let's Pretend" that Carmen had written for the Raspberries in 1973.[2] Carmen's full version has an extended piano solo and lasts over seven minutes, although there is also an edited version at 4:22.
The song was the first release from Carmen's first solo LP after leaving the power pop group, the Raspberries, and was originally recorded by the author and released in December, 1975 to great success. It reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 1 on Cash Box Top 100 Singles and number 12 in the UK. The single sold more than one million copies in the United States, and was certified gold by the RIAA in April 1976.[3] In a 2006 poll for UK's Five programme Britain's Favourite Break-up Songs, Eric Carmen's version of this song was voted seventeenth.
Carmen's original version has spawned numerous cover versions, by such artists as Céline Dion, Frank Sinatra, and Igudesman & Joo. It should not be confused with the jazz standard of the same name, written by Irving Berlin and performed by Ella Fitzgerald.
On his second solo LP, Boats Against the Current Carmen had a subsequent Top 40 hit entitled "She Did It," which was the antithesis of "All by Myself." It is a happy answer to the loneliness and lovelessness described in this song and its melancholy follow-up, "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again."
On an episode of the sitcom Living Single, Max plays a guitar and sings an impromptu version of the song to impress a guy working at a restaurant.
Contents |
[edit] Covers
| Year | Artist/group | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Frank Sinatra | Album Live Unreleased |
| 1977 | Hank Williams, Jr. | Album One Night Stands |
| 1977 | Karel Gott | Version "My Brother Jan" about Czechoslovak student Jan Palach who burned himself to death as a protest against Soviet occupation of Czechoslovakia. In 2003, Gott sang also the German version "Mein letztes Lied." |
| 1980 | Tom Jones | DVD Tom Jones Live in Las Vegas |
| 1982 | Shirley Bassey | Album All by Myself |
| 1987 | Luis Miguel | Album Soy Como Quiero Ser |
| 1989 | Eartha Kitt | Album I'm Still Here ("All by Myself/Beautiful at Forty") |
| 1994 | Margaret Urlich | Album The Deepest Blue |
| 1994 | Sheryl Crow | Single "Run Baby Run" |
| 1995 | Jewel | Film Clueless. It was left off the soundtrack and never released. |
| 1995 | Babes in Toyland | Album Nemesisters |
| 1996 | Céline Dion | Album Falling into You |
| 1999 | Marcela Holanová | Album Zůstávám dál |
| 2001 | Jamie O'Neal | Soundtrack Bridget Jones's Diary |
| 2001 | Michael Ball | Album First Love |
| 2002 | Richard Clayderman | Album All by Myself (instrumental) |
| 2003 | Erika Alcocer Luna | Album La Academia 2. Vol. 11: La Gran Final |
| 2003 | Giulia Ottonello | Album Amici - I Ragazzi del 2003 |
| 2004 | Gerard Joling | Album Nostalgia |
| 2004 | Ryohei Yamamoto | Single "Set Free" |
| 2005 | LaToya London | Album Love & Life |
| 2005 | Il Divo | Album Ancora |
| 2005 | Amici Forever | Album Defined |
| 2007 | Lazlo Bane | Album Guilty Pleasures |
| 2007 | Ricardo Montaner | Album Las Mejores Canciones de Mundo |
| 2007 | John Barrowman | Album Another Side |
| 2008 | The Rescues | Film Superhero Movie |
| 2009 | Jayma Mays | TV Show Glee |
| 2009 | Lucie Bila | TV Show Miss Czech Republic |
| 2009 | Monika Absolonová | Zůstávám dál |
[edit] Céline Dion version
| "All by Myself" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Single by Céline Dion | ||||
| from the album Falling into You | ||||
| Released | October 7, 1996 | |||
| Format | CD single, cassette single | |||
| Recorded | The Record Plant, Compass Point, Capitol Studios | |||
| Genre | Soft rock, Pop | |||
| Length | 5:12 | |||
| Label | Columbia, Epic | |||
| Writer(s) | Eric Carmen, Sergei Rachmaninoff | |||
| Producer | David Foster | |||
| Certification | Gold (U.S.) Silver (France, UK) |
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| Céline Dion singles chronology | ||||
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One of the more notable cover versions of "All by Myself" was recorded by Céline Dion in 1996. It was the fourth (or third, depending on the country) hit single from her album Falling into You, and is arguably one of Dion's most powerful vocal performances.[4] It was released on October 7, 1996 in Europe, January 13, 1997 in Australia, and March 11, 1997 in North America.
There were three music videos made. The first one was released in October 1996. It contains fragments from Dion's photo session for the Falling into You album cover and some scenes from her Live à Paris concert. It was made for the single version. The second version was made for the UK market with the same white t-shirt scenes but adding footage of a young couple in love at Christmas time, instead of scenes from Dion's concert. This was made for the album version. Finally, a live music video was released in March 1997 in North America (from the 1996 concert in Montreal).
Céline Dion performed this song many times during her world tours, TV shows and many important music events, including: Grammy Awards (1997), Billboard Music Awards (1997) and Bambi Awards (1996). Lately, she performed it during her 2008-2009 Taking Chances Tour.
Dion recorded also a Spanish version of "All by Myself," called "Sola Otra Vez." It was added to the Falling into You Latin American/Spanish edition, and as a B-side to other singles from that album. This version became available worldwide on Dion's later compilation The Collector's Series, Volume One. A music video was made for "Sola Otra Vez" similar to "All by Myself."
The "All by Myself" single became one of Dion's biggest hits in the United States, reaching number 1 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks (for three weeks) and Hot Latin Pop Airplay (two weeks). It peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 (number 7 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay and number 5 on the Hot 100 Singles Sales). It was also a top 10 hit in France, United Kingdom, Wallonia in Belgium and the Republic of Ireland. In Canada, "All by Myself" was released as a promotional single only, hitting number 1 on the Adult Contemporary Chart. "All by Myself" was certified gold in the U.S. (500,000), and silver in the UK (200,000) and France (165,000).
The track was included on selected editions of Dion's greatest hits All the Way… A Decade of Song in 1999 and on My Love: Essential Collection in 2008.
[edit] Charts
| Chart (1996) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Singles Chart[5] | 27 |
| Belgian Flanders Singles Chart[6] | 14 |
| Belgian Wallonia Singles Chart[7] | 7 |
| Dutch Singles Chart[8] | 20 |
| European Singles Chart[9] | 15 |
| French Singles Chart[10] | 5 |
| German Singles Chart[11] | 55 |
| Irish Singles Chart[12] | 8 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart[13] | 15 |
| Swiss Singles Chart[14] | 36 |
| UK Singles Chart[15] | 6 |
| Chart (1997) | Peak position |
| Australian Singles Chart[16] | 38 |
| Canadian Adult Contemporary Chart[17] | 1 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart[18] | 21 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100[19] | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks[20] | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks[21] | 12 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Latin Pop Airplay[22] | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Latin Tracks[23] | 5 |
| U.S. Billboard Latin Tropical Airplay[24] | 4 |
| U.S. Billboard Rhythmic Top 40[25] | 33 |
| U.S. Billboard Top 40 Mainstream[26] | 7 |
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[edit] References
- ^ Metacafe explanation of writing credits retrieved 13 March 2009
- ^ All By Myself by Eric Carmen - Songfacts Retrieved 13 March 2009
- ^ RIAA - Gold and Platinum - Search Results - Eric Carmen singles
- ^ Falling into You. Retrieved January 31, 1996.
- ^ Austrian Singles Chart
- ^ Belgian Flanders Singles Chart
- ^ Belgian Wallonia Singles Chart
- ^ Dutch Singles Chart
- ^ European Singles Chart
- ^ French Singles Chart
- ^ German Singles Chart
- ^ Irish Singles Chart
- ^ Norwegian Singles Chart
- ^ Swiss Singles Chart
- ^ UK Singles Chart
- ^ Australian Singles Chart
- ^ Canadian Adult Contemporary Chart
- ^ New Zealand Singles Chart
- ^ Billboard Hot 100
- ^ Contemporary Tracks
- ^ Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks
- ^ Hot Latin Pop Airplay
- ^ Hot Latin Tracks
- ^ Latin Tropical Airplay
- ^ Rhythmic Top 40
- ^ Top 40 Mainstream
| Preceded by "Love Machine" by Miracles |
Cash Box Top 100 singles (Eric Carmen version) March 13, 1976 |
Succeeded by "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" by The Four Seasons |
