"If I Can't Have You" is a

disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...

song written by the

Bee Gees The Bee Gees were a musical group formed in 1958 by brothers Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was especially successful in popular music in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and later as prominent performers in ...

in 1977. The song initially appeared on the ''

Saturday Night Fever ''Saturday Night Fever'' is a 1977 American Dance in film, dance Drama (film and television), drama film directed by John Badham and produced by Robert Stigwood. It stars John Travolta as Tony Manero, a young Italian Americans, Italian-America ...

'' soundtrack in a version by Yvonne Elliman, released in November 1977. The

' own version appeared a month later as the

B-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph record, vinyl records and Compact cassette, cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a Single (music), single usually ...

of "

Stayin' Alive "Stayin' Alive" is a song written and performed by the Bee Gees from the ''Saturday Night Fever'' motion picture soundtrack. The song was released in December 1977 by RSO Records as the second single from the ''Saturday Night Fever'' soundtr ...

". The song later appeared on the Bee Gees' compilation '' Their Greatest Hits: The Record''. The remixed version was released and remastered in the compilation '' Bee Gees Greatest'' in 2007 and marked the return of the Bee Gees to the US Hot Dance Tracks charts after 28 years. According to Maurice, this track was the first song they did while they were recording the other songs for the film. The recording was started at Château d'Hérouville as a basic track only and completed later at

Cherokee Studios Cherokee Studios is a recording studio facility in Hollywood founded in 1972 by members of 1960s pop band the Robbs. Cherokee has been the location of many notable recordings by such artists as Steely Dan, David Bowie, Journey, Toto, Michael J ...

in Los Angeles.

Yvonne Elliman version

The song was recorded by American singer, songwriter, and actress Yvonne Elliman for the ''

'' soundtrack. Although Yvonne Elliman had cut her 1976 album, ''Love Me'', with producer Freddie Perren, who was a major force in the

movement (Perren had produced the Sylvers' 1976 number 1 " Boogie Fever" and would soon collaborate with

Gloria Gaynor Gloria Fowles (born September 7, 1943), known professionally as Gloria Gaynor, is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (1978), "I Have a Right, Let Me Know (I Have a Right)" (1979), "I Am What I Am (Broadway mus ...

on the disco anthem "

I Will Survive "I Will Survive" is a song recorded by American singer Gloria Gaynor, released in October 1978 by Polydor Records as the second single from her sixth album, ''Love Tracks (Gloria Gaynor album), Love Tracks'' (1978). It was written by Freddie Pe ...

"), ''Love Me'' had showcased Elliman not as a disco artist but rather as a pop ballad singer, notably on the title cut, a Barry and Robin Gibb composition that Elliman turned into an international hit. It was originally intended that Elliman's contribution to the ''Saturday Night Fever'' soundtrack would be another ballad written by the Gibb brothers, " How Deep Is Your Love". Meanwhile, the Bee Gees recorded their own version of "If I Can't Have You" for the film. However, RSO Records chairman and Bee Gees manager

Robert Stigwood Robert Colin Stigwood (16 April 1934 – 4 January 2016) was an Australian-born British-resident music entrepreneur, film producer, and impresario, best known for managing musicians such as Cream, Andy Gibb, and the Bee Gees; theatrical produc ...

, who was executive-producing the ''Saturday Night Fever'' album, dictated that the Bee Gees record "How Deep Is Your Love" and Elliman be given the disco-style "If I Can't Have You". Stigwood's decisions proved a success as the soundtrack's first single, the Bee Gees' version of the ballad "How Deep Is Your Love", shot to number one, followed to the top spot by the soundtrack's second and third singles, also by the Gibb brothers, "

" and "

Night Fever "Night Fever" is a song written and performed by the Bee Gees. It first appeared on the soundtrack to ''Saturday Night Fever'' on RSO Records. Producer Robert Stigwood wanted to call the film ''Saturday Night'', but singer Robin Gibb express ...

". Elliman's "If I Can't Have You", produced by Perren, was released as the fourth single off the ''Saturday Night Fever'' album in February 1978. ''

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized in lowercase since 2013) is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events and styles related to th ...

'' praised Elliman's "powerful" vocal performance. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is 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 ...

'' said that it was "pop music with a very danceable beat" and that Elliman's vocal was unique enough that it would not create confusion with any Bee Gees recording. As the first single off the ''Saturday Night Fever'' soundtrack not performed by the Bee Gees, "If I Can't Have You" would become the fourth number 1 hit from the album, reaching the number one spot on the US Hot 100 in ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' dated 13 May 1978, ending an eight-week number 1 tenure by "Night Fever". "If I Can't Have You" was the fourth consecutive US number 1 to be co-written by Barry Gibb, and the RSO record label's sixth consecutive number one on the US Hot 100. The

of the Elliman single was a song from the ''Love Me'' album, "Good Sign", a composition by

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been played by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early li ...

and

Carole Bayer Sager Carole Bayer Sager (born Carol Bayer on March 8, 1944) is an American lyricist, singer, songwriter, and painter. Early life and career Carole Bayer was born in New York City, to Anita Nathan Bayer and Eli Bayer. Her family was Jewish. She gradu ...

which had also served as the B-side of Elliman's hit " Hello Stranger". Far from the success going to Elliman's head or giving her ideas of following up the sudden disco success with a deeper foray into the genre, a contemporary interview by journalist Peter J. Boyer found Elliman dismissive of her number 1 hit, referring to it in conversation only casually as "that current thing from ''Saturday Night Fever''". In spite of the coattail success she's had with "If I Can't Have You", it's a disco song and Elliman decided her broad, husky vocals are best suited elsewhere. "If I Can't Have You" was featured on Elliman's February 1978 album release ''Night Flight'', which, apart from that song, was produced by Robert Appère and was not disco-oriented. No song from ''Night Flight'' was issued as a follow-up single to "If I Can't Have You", Elliman's next single being a rock ballad entitled "Savannah" which failed to consolidate Elliman's potential mainstream stardom. Elliman did return to disco music in 1979 with " Love Pains" which returned her to the US

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

one more time before she dropped out of the music scene in the 1980s. Elliman's "If I Can't Have You" was also featured in the 1999 film '' Big Daddy'' as well as on its soundtrack album.

Personnel

*Yvonne Elliman – lead vocals *Bob Bowles – guitar *Sonny Burke – keyboards *

Paulinho da Costa Paulinho da Costa (, born Paulo Roberto da Costa on May 31, 1948) is a Brazilian percussionist. Beginning his career as a samba musician in Brazil, he moved to the United States in the early 1970s and worked with Brazilian bandleader Sérgio Me ...

– percussion *Scott Edwards – bass * James Gadson – drums * Freddie Perren – synthesizer, percussion *Julia Tillman Waters, Marti McCall, Maxine Willard Waters - backing vocals *Bob Zimmitti – percussion

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

This Way Up version

"If I Can't Have You" was covered in 1997 by future Nightcrawlers singer John Robinson Reid and

Culture Club Culture Club are an English new wave music, new wave band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (musician), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), and Mikey Craig (bass guitar), and formerly included Jon Moss ( ...

guitarist Roy Hay under the name This Way Up. The single was produced by Hay, and was the duo's second single. It reached number 76 on the UK Singles chart in October 1987.

Kim Wilde version

"If I Can't Have You" was covered in 1993 by British singer

Kim Wilde Kim Wilde (born Kim Smith, 18 November 1960) is an English pop singer. She first gained success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at no. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award for Best British Female solo ...

and recorded as one of two new tracks on her second compilation album, '' The Singles Collection 1981–1993'' (1993). Produced by Ricki Wilde and released in June 1993 by

MCA Records MCA Records was an American record label owned by MCA Inc. established in 1972, though MCA had released recordings under that name in the UK from the 1960s. The label achieved success in the 1970s through the 1980s, often by acquiring other ...

, the single reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart and number six on the

UK Dance Singles Chart The Dance Singles Chart and the Dance Albums Chart are music charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company from sales of songs in the dance music genre (e.g. house, trance, drum and bass, garage, synth-pop) in record stores ...

. It became Wilde's biggest hit of the 1990s and one of her biggest hits in Australia, where it reached number three. In Europe the song also peaked within the top 10 in Belgium and Ireland, and within the top 20 in Iceland, the Netherlands, Italy and Switzerland. It was released in several extended remixes on the 12" and CD-single formats. The B-side was an exclusive non-album track called "Never Felt So Alive". The accompanying music video for "If I Can't Have You" was directed by Irish director Michael Geoghegan.

Critical reception

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...

from ''

'' called it a "NRGetic rendition", adding it as "a delicious guilty pleasure, oozing with over-the-top strings and angelic backing vocals. Kim works her program for all it's worth—and we're buying it bigtime." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' commented, "The brothers Gibb—a.k.a. the

—wrote this song for Yvonne Elliman in the heyday of

in the end of the '70s and Wilde recycles the song in the

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

era. The kids will absolutely go wild(e) on this one." Alan Jones 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 We ...

'' gave the song three out of five, writing that "this lacklustre cover lacks the finesse of the original and it won't be one of Wilde's biggest hits."

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

If I Can't Have You (The Disco Boys remix)

On 2 November 2007,

Rhino A rhinoceros ( ; ; ; : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the family (biology), famil ...

and

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Green Day, En ...

released a remix version of "If I Can't Have You" by German

house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...

production duo the Disco Boys. The song was released as a single from the remastered version of '' Bee Gees Greatest'' (2007), originally released in 1979, and reached the US Hot Dance Club Play chart, peaking at number 47 in January 2008.

Track listings

*Digital download — US version #"If I Can't Have You" (The Disco Boys remix) – 6:55 *CD single #"If I Can't Have You" (The Disco Boys radio edit) – 3:36 #"If I Can't Have You" (The Disco Boys remix) – 6:35 #"If I Can't Have You" – 3:22 #"If I Can't Have You" (The Disco Boys dub mix) – 6:55

Charts

Jess Glynne version

In 2016, English singer and songwriter Jess Glynne re-recorded "If I Can't Have You" in support of the French musical ''

'', which was to premiere in 2017.

Warner Music France Warner Music Group (WMG) owns, has a joint share, or is associated with the record labels listed here. Flagship labels *Atlantic Records *Elektra Records *Parlophone Records *Warner Records Atlantic Music Group * 1st & 15th Entertainment * A ...

released as a promotional single on 22 May 2016.

Track listing

Charts

Release history

References

External links

* {{authority control 1977 songs 1978 singles 1993 singles 2016 singles Bee Gees songs Yvonne Elliman songs Kim Wilde songs Jess Glynne songs British disco songs Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Songs from Saturday Night Fever Songs written by Barry Gibb Songs written by Maurice Gibb Songs written by Robin Gibb Song recordings produced by Barry Gibb Song recordings produced by Robin Gibb Song recordings produced by Maurice Gibb RSO Records singles Polydor Records singles MCA Records singles Rhino Entertainment singles Reprise Records singles Torch songs Music videos directed by Michael Geoghegan