⭐ Official Review [Single]: 14. "I WON'T LAST A DAY WITHOUT YOU"/"ONE LOVE" (1521-S)

Which side is your favorite?

  • Side A: "I Won't Last A Day Without You"

    Votes: 43 78.2%
  • Side B: "One Love"

    Votes: 12 21.8%

  • Total voters
    55
However, does anyone else find the remix of One Love annoying? I bought it a few years back and something in the background a "ticking" or whatever drove me nuts. It's so small but it stood out sorely. Am I nuts? Haha I find no real fault in the original's arrangement (some tracks def benefitted from one) and it doesn't include this addition(?).
 
The percussive "ticking" was always there. It was brought forward more in the 1994 remix.
 
However, does anyone else find the remix of One Love annoying? I bought it a few years back and something in the background a "ticking" or whatever drove me nuts. It's so small but it stood out sorely.

That’s the hi-hat on the drums being struck by a drumstick.
 
The percussive "ticking" was always there. It was brought forward more in the 1994 remix.

Oh okay, that makes sense, it just sounded better when more mixed/subdued, despite being seemingly somewhat not as crucial to the feel of the song.
 
In case anyone has not heard it, One Love, MYOKOM TV 1971,
where the piano interlude is just a bit different from the recorded version.
I love it, it is a beauty (go to: 1:57 for that piano):


Nice post and observation! It makes you wonder why they just didn't do the whole bit "live". Richard is a world-class piano player/arranger. His ability to insert these wonderful moments into songs is uncanny.
 
I always wondered why during all this lip syncing (I don't mind, really, as its a joy just to see the footage of Karen miming) they included this live bit.
 
Thanks for posting this clip. I’ve always liked that extra piano. Richard was already tinkering with completed tracks! It’s in his blood.

And Karen’s dress reminds me of a Christmas tree, courtesy of ‘Little House On The Prairie’.

Ah, the ‘70s.
 
Hey Gary, nice find. Was IWLADWY originally the A side, then reissued as the b side? Your post left me wondering if that was the case? Interesting if so. It would be nice to find it reverse from the copy on EBay if so.
 
Hey Gary, nice find. Was IWLADWY originally the A side, then reissued as the b side? Your post left me wondering if that was the case? Interesting if so. It would be nice to find it reverse from the copy on EBay if so.

When the single was issued in the UK in 1972, it was treated as a sort-of double-A side with 'I Won't Last a Day Without You' being treated as the lead song, and for its first week on the UK chart, 'I Won't Last a Day Without You' was listed as the main track. For some reason though, after that 'Goodbye to Love' was treated as the main track for the rest of the song's chart run, presumably because it was getting more airplay. Of course, 'I Won't Last a Day Without You' got another shot as an A side when it was released as a single in 1974.

Something similar had happened in the UK in 1971 when 'Superstar' had been released as a double-A side with 'For All We Know', although in that case 'Superstar' was always treated as the lead song by radio and the charts.
 
I smell Windex when I hear this excellent song. The weather had just begun to warm and they were cleaning windows in my home. The song came over the radio as a single with the added guitar and I loved it. A warm memory for me.
 
Seems that a lot of artists heard 'I Won't Last a Day Without You' in 1972 and saw the potential in the song. Quite a few people released it either as an 'A' or 'B' side on single.

Maureen McGovern released it on album in 1972 and single in 1973, having a minor hit in the US with it, (Number 89).

Paul Williams himself released it as a double-sided promo in 1972, (stereo / mono).

A&M UK released Carpenters' version in 1972 , as recently mentioned here, as a double-sided hit with 'Goodbye to Love'.

Barbra Streisand recorded it but I'm not sure when. I don't think her version appeared on single. Could be wrong.

Silk released it as an 'A' side in 1972.

Andy and David Williams also released the song as an 'A' side in 1972. They were the nephews of the more famous Andy Williams.

The next year, Diana Ross released it on the 'B' side of her iconic smash, 'Touch Me In the Morning', in 1973.

Al Martino released the song as an 'A' side, in 1973.

Allan Vincent released an 'A' side single of IWLADWY in 1973.

Al Wilson released the song in a medley coupled with 'Let Me Be the One', in 1974. His version was released fairly soon after his million-seller, 'Show and Tell', but didn't fare anywhere near as well. It still reached Number 70 US, though, and Number 18 R & B.

For me, another artist worth mentioning out of the hundreds of stars who released this song is The Velvet Fog himself, Mel Torme, who wrote 'Christmas Song, (Chestnuts Roasting On an Open Fire)', which K&R released on single in 1977 / 1978, and released 'I Won't Last a Day Without You' on album in 1978. His version was a very chilled, slow-tempo late-night jazzy piano-backed reading recorded with Buddy Rich.

Another honourable mention goes to Johnny Mathis, who, like Al Wilson, released 'I Won't Last a Day Without Out You' in a medley with 'Let Me Be the One', but this time, on album only, in 1975. The two songs link very well in a medley. They must have similar structures, in a way. I haven't checked closely.

(By the way, I'm a fan of Mel Torme's voice, (on most recordings - not so much the earlier up-tempo jazzy tunes), and Johnny Mathis' voice. I have most of the albums by these two guys - and that's a lot of albums!)

I must say, some of these versions of IWLADWY fall into the category of super-easy listening, but I sometimes don't mind that genre. I like a bit of everything, music-wise.

I think the three versions of 'I Won't Last a Day Without You' with the best arrangements are by Carpenters, Al Wilson and Mel Torme...and I must mention Silk for the vocal arrangement from verse two onwards, which was clearly inspired by Carpenters' sound.

Possibly the biggest money-maker on single for Paul Williams and Roger Nichols out of all of these versions was Diana Ross' version because as many royalties for the 'B' side would have been distributed as for the 'A' side. Following Diana Ross would have been Carpenters, in the profitability stakes on single, (not mentioning album). Diana Ross' single 'Touch Me In the Morning' was the tenth biggest-selling single of 1973 in the USA. It was a Number One and her longest-charting record to that date. Carpenters' version reached Number 11 in the USA and was the 99th-biggest hit of 1974 in that country. However, it did hit Number 40 in Japan, the 2nd biggest music market of the time, was a Top 10 in Canada and a hit in the UK and, I believe, European countries such as Holland.

However, my actual favourite recordings of the versions mentioned above are Carpenters followed by Maureen McGovern, Mel Torme, Al Wilson, Johnny Mathis and Diana Ross, in no particular order. I like all those versions. Al Martino sounds good, too, but his version is a bit generic. How can you go wrong with the voices of Karen Carpenter, Al Wilson, Maureen McGovern, Johnny Mathis, Mel Torme or Al Martino? All great-sounding singers, at their best.

The lead singer of Silk sounds good in the verses of IWLADWY, as well, and the group does have some nice Carpenteresque harmonies going in the second verse, but they don't sound strong in the choruses. They sound like a semi-professional group.

Anyway, Paul Williams and Roger Nichols could have sat gloating over all the recordings in 1972 / 73/ 74, just spinning one version after another, feeling very proud of themselves.
 
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Does anyone prefer the 2000 version the most with the most gorgeous piano coda?

I love that piano outro - but only in the context of SINGLES 1969-1983, where it first appeared. Richard added that coda to the song as a nifty way to bring the key down to the key of "(They Long To Be) Close To You". The final note of that coda is the exact note which "Close To You" begins, so it was clearly made to be used in that regard on that compilation.

That coda also appeared one other place - THE NATION'S FAVOURITE CARPENTERS SONGS in the UK. The descending of the keys really goes nowhere as the next song is "Jambalaya", rendering the intended key change of the coda useless.
 
The Best of ‘I Won’t Last a Day Without You’ amongst the 197Os versions, (apart from Carpenters’):-







1975 - Johnny Mathis - I Won't Last A Day/Let Me Be The One (Columbia)

And I would have posted Maureen McGovern’s version here too, but can’t find it on YouTube. I do have it on CD, though.

Not one of the best versions, but listen to Silk. Wait for the second verse onwards. Some Carpenters-inspired close harmonies, additional to the general copy of K&R’s arrangement. The lead singer has a nice voice, although the performance and the production has almost a semi-professional feel.

I Won't Last a Day Without You - Silk

I hope you all can view these videos in your countries.
 
Here's the Silk version referenced above:



It's not bad. Sonically, it's a mess because of the 45 sound source but the production is decent. I like that it ends on a 7 chord too. It makes the sadness linger.

Ed
 
I love that piano outro - but only in the context of SINGLES 1969-1983, where it first appeared. Richard added that coda to the song as a nifty way to bring the key down to the key of "(They Long To Be) Close To You". The final note of that coda is the exact note which "Close To You" begins, so it was clearly made to be used in that regard on that compilation.

That coda also appeared one other place - THE NATION'S FAVOURITE CARPENTERS SONGS in the UK. The descending of the keys really goes nowhere as the next song is "Jambalaya", rendering the intended key change of the coda useless.

For me, it’s just as satisfying as a stand alone track. My iPod is busted, so for the time being I’ve made a Carpenters album playlist for each album on YouTube (using the “official” uploaded song videos that have the same quality that an mp3 would) and what I do is I have all the tracks in order but only use the mix of whatever song that I prefer best. So it’s hearing a whole album from start to finish but not quite the way it was originally because some are remixes from 20 some odd years later.
 
Here's the Silk version referenced above:



It's not bad. Sonically, it's a mess because of the 45 sound source but the production is decent. I like that it ends on a 7 chord too. It makes the sadness linger.

Ed

Thanks for that, Ed! Yes, I’ve listened to the Silk version a few times and like it. The lead singer had a good voice and it’s a nice arrangement, actually. It does draw strongly on Richard Carpenter’s arrangement but has some interesting differences.

I think the reason I thought it has a semi-professional sound was that it’s got sort of a community vocal ensemble sound to the background vocals and also these don’t have a close-to-the-microphone presence but more of an echoey hall sound in the production - but, as you say, that could have been the transfer from old vinyl. The lead singer sounds great - very pleasant voice.

I see the group members were Ray Blease, Kevin Walford, Stan Alexander and Derek Marl. I gather Ray Blease was the lead vocalist.

I like it.
 
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