When I Need You

"When I Need You"
Single by Leo Sayer
from the album Endless Flight
B-side	"I Think We Fell in Love Too Fast"
Released	1977
Format	7" single
Genre	Pop
Length	4:09
Label	Warner
Writer(s)	Albert Hammond, Carole Bayer Sager
Producer	Richard Perry
Leo Sayer singles chronology
"You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" (1976) "When I Need You" (1977) "How Much Love" (1977)

"When I Need You"
Single by Céline Dion
from the album Let's Talk About Love
Released	September 7, 1998 (1998-09-07)
Format	Promotional recording
Recorded	Chartmarker Studios, Paramount Studios
Genre	Pop, soft rock
Length	4:12
Label	Columbia, Epic
Writer(s)	Albert Hammond, Carole Bayer Sager
Producer	David Foster
Céline Dion singles chronology
"Immortality" (1998) "When I Need You" (1998) "I Hate You Then I Love You" (1998)

"When I Need You"
Single by Cliff Richard
from the album Love... The Album
Released	October 29, 2007 (2007-10-29)
Format	CD single, music download
Recorded	Sound Kitchen, Sound House and Blue Wave Studios
Genre	Pop
Length	4:14
Label	EMI
Writer(s)	Albert Hammond, Carole Bayer Sager
Producer	Michael Omartian
Cliff Richard singles chronology
"21st Century Christmas/Move It" (2006) "When I Need You" (2007)

"When I Need You" is a popular song written by Albert Hammond and Carole Bayer Sager. It was first recorded by Hammond on his 1976 album When I Need You. Produced by Richard Perry, Leo Sayer's version made number 1 on the UK Singles Chart for two weeks in February 1977 after three of his earlier singles had stalled at number 2. A massive hit worldwide, it reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a single week in May 1977; the song also went to number 1 on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks. He performed it on the second show of the third season of The Muppet Show.

The melody comparison

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 & 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.

The same melody can be heard in Elton John's "Little Jeannie" in the lyrics: "Stepped into my life from a bad dream / Making the life that I had seem / Suddenly shiny and new"

Cover versions

The song was covered by Céline Dion, Luther Vandross, Perry Como, Rod Stewart (on his compilation album If We Fall in Love Tonight), Barry Manilow (on his compilation album Summer of '78), Alpha Blondy, Brotherhood of Man, Will Mellor, Julio Iglesias, Cliff Richard, Roger Whittaker and Clay Aiken.

• Surinamese ballad-singer Max Nijman recorded the song in his own language for his second album Wan Dei Lobi (One Day Love) in the wake of the original's chart-success; in the 1990s he made a new version.
• Lani Hall recorded a Spanish version of the song, "Si Me Amaras (If You Loved Me)", for her 1985 album, Es Fácil Amar.
• A maestro Rahul Dev Burman recorded a Hindi version of the song (Tum se mil ke) for a 1989 film Parinda. The Cantonese duet version, known as "For You, I'll Never Give Up," was covered by Gallen Lo and Flora Chan, as the theme song of Hong Kong drama Feminine Masculinity in 1999.
• Ryuichi Kawamura recorded a cover in Japanese for his 2011 album The Voice.

Céline Dion version

"When I Need You" is a promotional single from Céline Dion's Let's Talk About Love album, released on September 7, 1998 in Brazil only.

After Céline Dion finished her Falling into You Tour in June 1997, she began to record her next English album. Dion and her manager and husband René Angélil wanted to include few cover versions on it. David Foster came up with the idea of recording Leo Sayer's hit "When I Need You." The song, recorded at Paramount Studios and Chartmaker Studios, was produced by Foster and included on Dion's Let's Talk About Love album, released on November 15, 1997. Céline Dion performed this song during the Let's Talk About Love avec Julie Snyder Canadian TV show in late 1997.

After a string of successful singles like "My Heart Will Go On" and "Immortality," Sony Music Entertainment decided to release "When I Need You" as a promotional single in Brazil (September 1998). Two previous singles were very successful in Brazil. However, with no music video and no promotion "When I Need You" failed to repeat the success of Dion's earlier songs.

Authors of "When I Need You" worked with Dion also on several other songs. Albert Hammond wrote "Just Walk Away," included on The Colour of My Love album (1993) and Carole Bayer Sager wrote "The Prayer," which became a part of These Are Special Times (1998).

Formats and track listings

Brazilian promotional CD single

1. "When I Need You" – 4:12

Cliff Richard version

On October 29, 2007, Cliff Richard released When I Need You and reached number 38 on the UK Singles Chart. It is also one of the five new recordings featured on his album Love... The Album.

Format and track listings

1. "When I Need You"
2. "My Pretty One"
3. "Never Let Go"

References

Preceded by "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" by Julie Covington	UK Singles Chart number one single (Leo Sayer version) February 19, 1977 (3 weeks)	Succeeded by "Chanson D'Amour" by The Manhattan Transfer
Preceded by "Right Time of the Night" by Jennifer Warnes	Billboard Easy Listening Singles number-one single (Leo Sayer version) April 23, 1977	Succeeded by "Hello Stranger" by Yvonne Elliman
Preceded by "Hotel California" by The Eagles	Billboard Hot 100 number one single (Leo Sayer version) May 14, 1977 (one week)	Succeeded by "Sir Duke" by Stevie Wonder