You Needed Me

"You Needed Me"
Single by Anne Murray
from the album Let's Keep It That Way
Released	1978
Genre	Country pop, Adult Contemporary
Length	3:37
Writer(s)	Randy Goodrum
Producer	Jim Ed Norman
Anne Murray singles chronology
"Walk Right Back" (1978) "You Needed Me" (1978) "Hey, Daddy" (1978)

"You Needed Me" is a song written by Randy Goodrum, who describes it as being about "unconditional undeserved love." It was a number one single in the United States in 1978 for Canadian singer Anne Murray. The song, included on her 1978 album Let's Keep It That Way, was also a top-five country single and won Song of the Year at the Academy of Country Music awards. Although the song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, it never topped the two Billboard charts where Murray had the most success - Country and Adult Contemporary. The song won Murray the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 21st Grammy Awards, the first to be awarded to a Canadian artist.

In 1979, Kenny Rogers and Dottie West released a cover on their album Classics. That same year, Millie Jackson & Isaac Hayes included a cover of the song on their duet album Royal Rappin's.

Anne Murray re-recorded the song with Shania Twain for Murray's 2007 album Duets: Friends & Legends.

The song was featured in an ongoing storyline on the CBS soap Guiding Light in 1980-81, as a theme song for the characters Kelly Nelson and Morgan Richards.

Chart performance

Chart (1978)	Peak position
Canadian RPM Country Tracks	1
Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary Tracks	1
Canadian RPM Top Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles	4
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	3
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1

Preceded by "I Believe in You" by Mel Tillis	RPM Country Tracks number-one single August 5, 1978	Succeeded by "Homefolks" by Bob Murphy & Big Buffalo
Preceded by "Hot Child in the City" by Nick Gilder	Billboard Hot 100 number one single November 4, 1978	Succeeded by "MacArthur Park" by Donna Summer

Boyzone version

"You Needed Me"
Single by Boyzone
from the album By Request
B-side	"Words Can't Describe"
Released	May 10, 1999
Format	CD single, Cassette
Recorded	London, England
Genre	Pop
Length	3:27
Label	Polydor
Boyzone singles chronology
"When the Going Gets Tough" (1999) "You Needed Me" (1999) "Everyday I Love You" (1999)

"You Needed Me" became the second single for Irish Boyband Boyzone from their album By Request. The single became number #1 on the UK Singles Chart, beating the debut solo single of Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, outselling her by just 700 copies.^{[citation needed]} The song has received a Silver certification for shipping 200,000 copies in the UK.

Tracklisting

CD1

1. "You Needed Me"
2. "Words Can't Describe"
3. "Megamix: Love To Infinity"

CD2 (In Limited Edition Digipak)

1. "You Needed Me"
2. "You Needed Me" (Jewels & Stone Remix)
3. "Too Late Tonight"
4. "You Needed Me" (Video)

Charts

Chart (1999)	Peak position
Austrian Singles Chart	38
Belgian (Flanders) Singles Chart	22
Dutch Singles Chart	16
German Singles Chart	36
Irish Singles Chart	2
New Zealand Singles Chart	1
Norwegian Singles Chart	15
Swedish Singles Chart	21
Swiss Singles Chart	29
UK Singles Chart	1

Preceded by "I Want It That Way" by The Backstreet Boys	UK Singles Chart Number-one single May 16, 1999 (1 week)	Succeeded by "Sweet Like Chocolate" by Shanks & Bigfoot
Preceded by "Livin' La Vida Loca" by Ricky Martin	New Zealand Singles Chart June 27, 1999 (2 weeks)	Succeeded by "Cold" by Deep Obsession