The Air That I Breathe

Not to be confused with The Air I Breathe.

"The Air That I Breathe"
Song by Albert Hammond from the album It Never Rains In Southern California
Released	June 1973
Recorded	Hollywood Sound Recorders, Hollywood, CA, USA
Genre	Pop music
Length	3:40
Label	RCA APL1-0092
Writer	Albert Hammond, Mike Hazlewood
It Never Rains In Southern California track listing
"The Air That I Breathe" (1) "Sweet Grass County" (2)

"The Air That I Breathe"
Single by The Hollies
B-side	"No More Riders"
Released	UK: January 1974 US: March 1974
Genre	Rock
Label	UK: Polydor 2058435 US: Epic 5-11100
The Hollies singles chronology
"The Day That Curly Billy Shot Down Crazy Sam Mcgee" (1973) "The Air That I Breathe" (1974) "Son of a Rotten Gambler" (1974)

"The Air That I Breathe" is a ballad written by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood, initially recorded by Albert Hammond on his 1972 album It Never Rains In Southern California.

History

It is best remembered as having been a major hit for The Hollies in early 1974, reaching No. 2 in the UK - their last major hit single, apart from a reissue of "He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother" in 1988. The song reached #6 in the US on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart in the summer of 1974 and #5 in Canada on the RPM Magazine charts. "The Air That I Breathe" was engineered by Alan Parsons.

Cultural references

The song is played in the 1999 film, The Virgin Suicides.

The Hollies' version of the song appears in the May 2003 series finale of teen drama Dawson's Creek, the second season episode "Donut Run" of Veronica Mars, and the 2007 film I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James. It also appears in the Fringe episode "Fracture."

Cover versions

• The song was first covered by Phil Everly of the Everly Brothers for his 1973 album Star Spangled Springer.
• Also covered by Olivia Newton-John in 1975 on the album Have You Never Been Mellow.
• Dutch popgroup Champagne covered the song in 1977 on their album "Champagne".
• Hank Williams Jr. covered this song on his 1983 album, Man of Steel.
• Rex Allen Jr. recorded a cover version in 1983, releasing his version for the country music market. Allen's version peaked in the top 30 of the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in January 1984.
• Julio Iglesias offered his version of the song on 1984's 1100 Bel Air Place. The Beach Boys sang the background harmonies on this version.
• In the film version of The Little Rascals, released in 1994, the character of Alfalfa sings the song during a contest for his sweetheart, Darla.
• Barry Manilow covered the song on his 1996 album, Summer of '78
• Steven Houghton covered the song on his 1997 self titled album.
• kd lang covered the track on her 1997 album Drag.
• The song was also covered by Simply Red in 1998 on the album Blue.
• Jorge González, former leader of the Chilean band Los Prisioneros, covered it as Necesito poder respirar (Spanish for "I need to be able to breathe") on his 1999 album Mi destino.
• The Mavericks covered the song on their self-titled 2003 album. Their version peaked at #59 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart.
• Tom Fuller covers the song on his 2007 album Abstract Man.
• This song was covered by the group Semisonic and appears on the CD single for "Singing In My Sleep." It appears as "Air That I Breathe."
• This song was covered by the Brazilian country group Chitãozinho & Xororó with Portuguese lyrics under the title "É Assim Que Eu Te Amo" (translated as "This is how I love you").
• Thom Yorke of Radiohead shares writing credits with Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood on "Creep" due to similarities between that song and "The Air That I Breathe."
• Steve Wynn covers the song on his 1999 album Pick Of The Litter.
• Broadway actress Patti LuPone covers the song on her 1999 solo album Matters of the Heart.