"All by Myself" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Eric Carmen Eric Howard Carmen (born August 11, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and keyboardist. He was first known as the lead vocalist of the Raspberries. He had numerous hit songs in the 1970s and 1980s, first as a member of the Rasp ...

released in 1975. The verse is based on the second movement (''Adagio sostenuto'') of

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

's circa 1900–1901 '' Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor'', Opus 18. The chorus was taken from the song "

Let's Pretend ''Let's Pretend'', created and directed by Nila Mack, was a CBS radio series for children. Prior to being renamed ''Let's Pretend'', the program had a variety of titles and formats. In its most famous form, ''Let's Pretend'', the Peabody Award ...

", which Carmen wrote and recorded with the

Raspberries The raspberry is the edible fruit of a multitude of plant species in the genus ''Rubus'' of the rose family, most of which are in the subgenus '' Idaeobatus''. The name also applies to these plants themselves. Raspberries are perennial with w ...

in 1972. The slide guitar solo was performed by studio guitarist

Hugh McCracken Hugh Carmine McCracken (March 31, 1942 – March 28, 2013) was an American rock guitarist and session musician based in New York City, primarily known for his performance on guitar and also as a harmonica player. McCracken was additionally ...

Background and composition

According to Carmen, he first wrote the solo part of the song, writing four bars at a time, eventually completed the interlude after two months. He needed to put this into a song, and after listening to Rachmaninoff's 2nd piano concerto, a piece famously used to underscore the 1945 British film ''

Brief Encounter ''Brief Encounter'' is a 1945 British romantic drama film directed by David Lean from a screenplay by Noël Coward, based on his 1936 one-act play ''Still Life''. Starring Celia Johnson, Trevor Howard, Stanley Holloway, and Joyce Carey, ...

'', he adapted the melody of its second movement to write the verse. Rachmaninoff's music was in the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

in the United States at that time, so Carmen thought no copyright existed on it, but it was still protected outside the U.S. subsequent to the release of the album. He was later contacted by the Rachmaninoff estate and informed that it was protected. An agreement was reached in which the estate would receive 12 percent of the royalties from "All by Myself" as well as from "

Never Gonna Fall in Love Again "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again" is a song co-written and recorded by American pop rock artist Eric Carmen. It was released as the second single from Carmen's self-titled debut solo album, the song peaked at number 11 on the US ''Billboard'' H ...

", which was based on the third movement from Rachmaninoff's '' Symphony No. 2''. Carmen has stated that he also incorporated part of another melody into this song. The melody of the chorus was taken from his previous hit with the Raspberries, "

Television performance

Carmen performed "All by Myself" and his follow-up hit, "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again," on '' The Midnight Special'' television program on July 23, 1976 (season 4, episode 37). The show was hosted by The Spinners.

Chart position

The

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. M. C ...

was the first

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from Carmen's first solo LP after leaving the

power pop Power pop (also typeset as powerpop) is a form of pop rock based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. It typically incorporates melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and ch ...

group the Raspberries and was released in December 1975. It reached number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100; both " Love Machine" by

The Miracles The Miracles (also known as Smokey Robinson and the Miracles from 1965 to 1972) were an American vocal group that was the first successful recording act for Berry Gordy's Motown Records, and one of the most important and most influential groups ...

and "

December 1963 (Oh, What a Night) "December, 1963 (Oh, What a Night)" is a song originally performed by the Four Seasons, written by original Four Seasons keyboard player Bob Gaudio and his future wife Judy Parker, produced by Gaudio, and included on the group's album, '' Who Lo ...

" by The Four Seasons, kept the song from number one. "All by Myself" did reach number one on the ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' Top 100 Singles and number three in Canada. The single sold more than one million copies in the United States and was certified gold by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

in April 1976. "All by Myself" was Carmen's first of eight US Top 40 hits. In the UK, however, this was his only Top 40 success, peaking at number 12.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Celine Dion cover version

The most notable cover version of "All by Myself" was recorded by Canadian singer

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

in 1996. It was the fourth (or third, depending on the country) hit

from her fourth English-language studio album, ''

Falling into You ''Falling into You'' is the fourth English-language and fourteenth studio album by Canadian singer Celine Dion, released on 11 March 1996 by Columbia/ Epic Records. The follow-up to her commercially successful album '' The Colour of My Love'' ( ...

''. Produced by

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

Compass Point Studios Compass Point Studios was a music recording studio in the The Bahamas, Bahamas, founded in 1977 by Chris Blackwell, the owner of Island Records. The concept of the studio was of a recording facility supported by in-house sets of artists, musici ...

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...

, it was released on December 9, 1996, in the United Kingdom and on March 11, 1997, in the United States. The single became one of Dion's biggest hits in the United States, reaching number one on the

Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stat ...

(for three weeks) and the

Latin Pop Airplay Latin Pop Airplay (also referred to as Latin Pop Songs) is a record chart published on ''Billboard'' magazine and a subchart of the Latin Airplay chart. The chart focuses on Latin pop music, namely Spanish-language pop music. It was established b ...

(two weeks). It peaked at number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (number seven on the

Billboard Hot 100 Airplay The Radio Songs chart (previously named Hot 100 Airplay until 2014 and Top 40 Radio Monitor until 1991) is released weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and measures the airplay of songs being played on radio stations throughout the United States acr ...

and number five on the

Hot 100 Singles Sales The ''Billboard'' charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in ''Billboard'' magazine. ''Billboard'' biz, the online extension of the ''Billboard'' charts, pr ...

). It was also a top 10 hit in France, United Kingdom, Wallonia in Belgium and the Republic of Ireland. In Canada, "All by Myself" was released as a promotional single only, hitting number one on the Adult Contemporary Chart. "All by Myself" was certified gold in the US (500,000), and silver in the UK (200,000) and France (165,000). During an interview on ''

Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen ''Watch What Happens Live! with Andy Cohen'' (abbreviated ''WWHL'', previously named ''Watch What Happens Live!'') is an American pop culture-based late-night talk show hosted by Andy Cohen, that premiered on Bravo on July 16, 2009. The show fea ...

'', Dion revealed that the famous high note on the song had not been planned but

surprised her with it when she appeared for recording. When Dion asked why the surprise, Foster told her that if she couldn't sing it, other singers would, which prompted Dion to prove to Foster that she could sing it.

Critical reception

Dion's cover received positive reviews from most music critics. Bill Lamb from

About.com Dotdash Meredith (formerly About.com) is an American digital media company based in New York City. The company publishes online articles and videos about various subjects across categories including health, home, food, finance, tech, beauty, ...

placed it at number nine in their ranking of "Top 10 Celine Dion Songs". ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...

'' editor

Chuck Eddy Chuck Eddy (born November 26, 1960) is an American music journalist. Life and career Chuck Eddy was born in Detroit, Michigan. After starting his journalism career with ''The Village Voice'' and ''Creem'', where he published one of the first nati ...

said, "But only in her desolate cover of

's All by Myself does she truly crash through the glass ceiling of passion". Pip Ellwood-Hughes from Entertainment Focus called it "incredible" and "one of the best recorded vocals ever captured." He added that "listening to Dion reach the highs she does on that song is magical and it sends goosebumps down your spine look (sic) nothing else can." Dave Sholin from the ''

Gavin Report The ''Gavin Report'' was a San Francisco-based radio industry trade publication. The publication was founded by radio performer Bill Gavin in 1958. Its Top 40 listings were used for many years by programmers to decide content of programs. The pu ...

'' commented, "Demand by both programmers and the public for this rendition of Eric Carmen's 1976 smash made it the obvious choice to be the third single lifted off Celine's multi-platinum and

Grammy The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

-nominated album, ''

''". A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' rated it five out of five, stating that "Dion does a great job with the Eric Carmen power ballad and this one could be in for a long run given its guaranteed appeal to once-a-year record buyers. A contender for the top spot." The magazine's Alan Jones noted that "it's handled with consummate ease by Dion". Music.uk.launch.yahoo.com editor Dan Leroy wrote, "Trying to out-emote Eric Carmen was almost crazy enough to work". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' editor

Stephen Holden Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic. Biography Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...

stated that the cover, along with "

Because You Loved Me "Because You Loved Me" is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion from her fourth English-language studio album, ''Falling into You'' (1996). It was released on 19 February 1996 as the first single in North America and as the second single in the ...

", "are the strongest cuts on an album crammed with formulaic romantic bombast". A reviewer from ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People ...

'' said Dion "knocks herself out trying to match the classic bombast that Eric Carmen dished out on "All By Myself"." Geoff Edgers from ''

Salon Magazine ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including rev ...

'' described it as a "dog-ear-shattering remake". Christopher Smith from TalkAboutPopMusic wrote,

Music video

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

was produced to promote the single, directed by British director

Nigel Dick Nigel Dick (born 21 March 1953) is a British music video and film director, writer and musician from Catterick, England, now based in Los Angeles, California. He directed the Britney Spears videos " ...Baby One More Time" and " Oops!... I Did I ...

. It contains fragments from Dion's photo session for the ''Falling into You'' album cover and some scenes from her ''Live à Paris'' concert. In between, there are also

sepia Sepia may refer to: Biology * ''Sepia'' (genus), a genus of cuttlefish Color * Sepia (color), a reddish-brown color * Sepia tone, a photography technique Music * ''Sepia'', a 2001 album by Coco Mbassi * ''Sepia'' (album) by Yu Takahashi * " ...

toned footage showing an apparently lonely and sad Dion. The video was later published on Dion's official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel in August 2012. It has amassed more than 50 million views as of October 2021.

Track listings and formats

*Australian CD and cassette single #"All by Myself" (Edited Single Version) – 3:58 #"

" (Live) – 4:52 #"

Next Plane Out "Next Plane Out" is a song by Canadian singer Celine Dion, recorded for her third English-language album, '' The Colour of My Love'' (1993). It was released as the fifth single in Australia in October 1995. "Next Plane Out" was written by Diane W ...

" (Radio Edit) – 4:37 #"Vole" (Live) – 4:03 #"All by Myself" (Album Version) – 5:12 *European CD and 7-inch single #"All by Myself" – 5:12 #" The Power of the Dream" – 4:31 *European CD maxi-single #"All by Myself" (Single Version) – 4:26 #"All by Myself" – 5:12 #"

Je sais pas "Je sais pas" (; ) is a French-language song by Canadian singer Celine Dion, recorded for her French album, ''D'eux'' (1995). It was released as a single on 2 October 1995 in Francophone countries and in December 1995 in selected European countrie ...

" (Live) – 4:26 #"

Pour que tu m'aimes encore "Pour que tu m'aimes encore" (; ) is a French-language song by Canadian singer Celine Dion, recorded for her French studio album, '' D'eux'' (1995). It was released as the lead single on 13 March 1995 in Francophone countries and in September 199 ...

" (Live) – 4:52 *European 12-inch single #"All By Myself" – 5:12 #"The Power of the Dream" – 4:31 #"

It's All Coming Back to Me Now "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" is a power ballad written by Jim Steinman. According to Steinman, the song was inspired by ''Wuthering Heights'', and was an attempt to write "the most passionate, romantic song" he could ever create. ''The Sunda ...

" (Classic Paradise Radio Mix #1) – 4:22 *Japanese CD single #"All by Myself" (Single Version) – 4:24 #"Pour que tu m'aimes encore" (Live) – 4:51 *Mexican promo CD single #"All by Myself" – 5:12 #"Sola Otra Vez" – 5:12 #"Sola Otra Vez" (Radio Edit) – 4:41 *UK cassette single #"All by Myself" (Edited Single Version) – 3:58 #"All by Myself" (Spanish Version) – 5:12 #"

When I Fall in Love "When I Fall in Love" is a popular song, written by Victor Young (music) and Edward Heyman (lyrics). It was introduced in the film '' One Minute to Zero'' as the instrumental titled "Theme from One Minute to Zero". Jeri Southern sang on the fir ...

" – 4:20 *UK CD single #"All by Myself" (Album Version) – 5:12 #"Pour que tu m'aimes encore" (Live) – 4:38 #"Je sais pas" (Live) – 4:26 #"

River Deep, Mountain High A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wat ...

" (Live) – 3:28 *UK CD single (Limited) #"All by Myself" (Edited Single Version) – 3:58 #"When I Fall in Love" – 4:20 #"Declaration of Love" – 4:20 #"A Message from Celine" – 0:34 *US CD and cassette single #"All by Myself" (Edited Single Version) – 3:57 #"Because You Loved Me" (Live) – 4:50 *US promo CD single #"All by Myself" (Radio Edit #1) – 3:57 #"All by Myself" (Album Version) – 5:12 #"All by Myself" (Radio Edit #2) – 3:52

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

Other covers

In 1994, "All by Myself" was covered by New Zealand singer

Margaret Urlich Margaret Mary Urlich (24 January 1965 – 22 August 2022) was a New Zealand singer who lived in Australia for most of her career. Urlich's 1989 debut solo album, ''Safety in Numbers'', won " Breakthrough Artist – Album" at the 1991 ARIA Awa ...

. Her version reached number 100 in Australia in November 1994, and number 26 in New Zealand in March 1995. In 2018, a cover by

Ghian Wright Ghian Wright, known under the pseudonym G, is an American music producer, mixer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist currently based in Los Angeles, California. Career He has worked on projects for Paul McCartney, Oasis, Foo Fighters, Colbie ...

, renamed to "I'm All Alone (Belter Version)", was used in the science fiction television series ''

The Expanse Expanse or The Expanse may refer to: Media and entertainment ''The Expanse'' franchise * ''The Expanse'' (novel series), a series of science fiction novels by James S. A. Corey * ''The Expanse'' (TV series), a television adaptation of the ...

'', in the episode of season 3 "Delta-V". The lyrics of the song were rewritten in the mix of English and

Belter Creole Belter Creole, also simply known as Belter, is a constructed language developed by the linguist and polyglot Nick Farmer for ''The Expanse'' television series. In the universe, it was spoken by Belters, inhabitants of the asteroid belt and outer ...

, a

constructed language A constructed language (sometimes called a conlang) is a language whose phonology, grammar, and vocabulary, instead of having developed naturally, are consciously devised for some purpose, which may include being devised for a work of fiction. ...

made for the TV series by Nick Farmer, that was used in the show by Belters, the inhabitants of the

asteroid belt The asteroid belt is a torus-shaped region in the Solar System, located roughly between the orbits of the planets Jupiter and Mars. It contains a great many solid, irregularly shaped bodies, of many sizes, but much smaller than planets, called ...

and

outer planets The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...

. The lyrics were additionally adjusted to fit the in-universe setting The full version of the song was later placed on ''The Collector's Edition'' version of the TV series soundtrack, that was realized on December 13, 2019.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control 1975 debut singles 1975 songs 1976 singles 1996 singles 1970s ballads Arista Records singles Cashbox number-one singles Celine Dion songs Columbia Records singles Epic Records singles Eric Carmen songs Il Divo songs Music videos directed by Nigel Dick Pop ballads Song recordings produced by David Foster Song recordings produced by Jimmy Ienner Songs about loneliness Songs written by Eric Carmen Popular songs based on classical music

Background and composition

Television performance

Chart position

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Celine Dion cover version

Critical reception

Music video

Track listings and formats

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications and sales

Release history

Other covers

See also

References

External links