“Without You” — Nilsson / Mariah Carey
Whether you think “Without You” is a Nilsson song or a Mariah Carey song largely depends how old you are. But the correct answer is “neither”.
“Without You” was written in 1970 by two members of British group Badfinger, Pete Ham and Tom Evans, and was first recorded by Badfinger for their 1970 album “No Dice”.
Badfinger’s main claim to fame was that they were the first group signed to the Beatles’ Apple record label. Although modestly popular at the time, the group imploded in the early 1970s in the aftermath of series of lawsuits and contractual disputes.
Even Badfinger themselves didn’t think “Without You” was that great a song and never released their album track as a single.
Listening back to the original version today, it wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t the iconic song we think of today. At least not until Harry Nilsson, fresh off the back of his success with “Everybody’s Talkin’”, picked it up.
Nilsson’s recording became a UK and a US Number One in early 1972 and Pete Ham and Tom Evans won 1972’s Ivor Novello Award for Best Song, Musically and Lyrically.
And while it might not have been absolutely the first song recorded in the style of what we’d now call a power ballad, it is certainly one of the earliest, and best-selling, examples of that…
