"One" is a song written by Harry Nilsson and made famous by Three Dog Night whose cover in 1969 reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100.[1] The song is known for its opening line "One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do". Nilsson wrote the song after calling someone and getting a busy signal. He stayed on the line listening to the "beep, beep, beep, beep..." tone, writing the song. The busy signal became the opening notes of the song.
In 1968, Al Kooper released the song on his debut album I Stand Alone. In 1969, the song was covered by Australian pop singer Johnny Farnham, reaching #4 on the Go-Set National Top 40 Chart.[2]
In 1995, the song was sung briefly on The Drew Carey Show at the Warsaw Pub between both Carey and his boss, Mr. Bell, in the first season episode "Nature Abhors a Vacuum".
The Muppets and Jimmy Fallon performed an impromptu rendition of the song on the set of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon while rehearsing for the 2009 Christmas performance.
In July 2014, a version recorded by Order of Era (a collaboration between bands, Civil Civic and Hunting) was used in a LYNX-AXE deodorant television advertisement.