"I Just Want to Be Your Everything" is a song recorded by

Andy Gibb Andrew Roy Gibb (5 March 1958 – 10 March 1988) was an English singer, songwriter, and actor. He was the younger brother of Barry Gibb, Barry, Robin Gibb, Robin and Maurice Gibb, Maurice, who went on to form the Bee Gees. Gibb came to pr ...

, initially released in April 1977 as the first single from his debut album '' Flowing Rivers''. It reached number 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 for three weeks, starting on the week ending 30 July 1977, and again for the week ending 17 September 1977. It was Gibb's first single released in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and

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. His previous single, " Words and Music" was only released in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It is ranked number 26 on ''Billboard''s 55th anniversary ''All Time Top 100'' list.

Writing and recording

"I Just Want to Be Your Everything" was written by

Barry Gibb Sir Barry Alan Crompton Gibb (born 1 September 1946) is a British musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He rose to worldwide fame as a member of the Bee Gees, one of the most commercially successful groups in the history of popul ...

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = " Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , e ...

as well as " (Love Is) Thicker Than Water" with Andy Gibb credited as co-writer on the latter. It was recorded in October 1976; the sessions were produced mainly by

Albhy Galuten Albhy Galuten (born Alan Bruce Galuten; December 27, 1947) is an American technology executive and futurist, Grammy Award-winning record producer, composer, musician, orchestrator and conductor. He has numerous inventions and has produced 18 ...

and Karl Richardson and with Barry on this track and "(Love Is) Thicker than Water"; Galuten also played keyboards and piano.

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

guitarist

Joe Walsh Joseph Fidler Walsh (born November 20, 1947) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. In a career spanning over five decades, he has been a member of three successful rock bands: the James Gang, Eagles, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr B ...

contributed guitar on this song. The track is a fairly dramatic love song, with the singer declaring his unending passion and stating that without her, he would die. Andy reveals, "'I Just Want to Be Your Everything' was one of the most meaningful of all form, you know". He later recalls on Barry Gibb's writing style:

"So, once we discussed it all and got the deal together, me and Barry locked ourselves in a bedroom and Barry just started writing. When Barry writes, it is very hard to collaborate with him, because he is so quick. And before I knew it he was starting to do the chorus of I Just Want to Be Your Everything' and I thought, 'Wow what a hook!'. He's an expert at his craft. Within about 20 minutes, he'd written a number one record; and then we went right into another one, (Love Is) Thicker than Water'ref name="all"/>

Two mixes were prepared for the song, the more popular mix was released on the album & as the single version and the earlier mix was used for promotional uses. The promotional version had an additional keyboard that at times competed with the lead vocal. The drummer's high-hat count during both breakdowns was completely mixed out and Gibb's harmony vocal is more prevalent during ad-libs.

Release and Chart Success

Billboard Magazine ''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the music ...

, the song spent a cumulative four weeks at No. 1 on the

Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...

chart. The song first reached the top of the chart on July 30 for the first of three consecutive weeks. Then,

The Emotions ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

went to No. 1 with " Best of My Love" on August 20 for the first of four straight weeks, during which time Gibb's song remained in the top three. When

the Emotions ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

fell out of the #1 spot, "I Just Want to be your Everything" shot back to #1 for an additional week, on September 17. It then fell from #1 (replaced once again by "Best of My Love"), but went on to spend a then-record 16 weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100. That record 16-week stay in the top 10 record would be surpassed in early in 1978, by his brothers, Barry, Robin and Maurice Gibb, performing as

The Bee Gees ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

, when their song " How Deep is Your Love" spent 17 weeks in the top 10. On Billboard's Hot 100, "I Just Want to be your Everything" ultimately enjoyed a 31-week chart run spanning from the end of April through the end of November. In Billboard's competitor magazine '' Cashbox'', Gibb's hit stayed at #1 for three consecutive weeks, spent 12 weeks in the top 10, and 29 weeks on the Top 100 Singles Chart. ''

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 ...

'' said that "a high-pitched, boyish voice is the vehicle for this happy love song." On the Top Singles Chart of ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...

'' (another ''Billboard'' competitor), "I Just Want to be your Everything" racked up a five-week stay at #1, which, like its four-week run on Billboard's Hot 100, was interrupted by the Emotions "Best of My Love." On the ''Record World'' singles chart, Gibb hit #1 on August 6, stayed there on August 13, then yielded to The Emotions for two weeks, before returning to #1 for two additional weeks beginning on September 3. Gibb's record spent 15 weeks in ''Record World's'' top 10, from mid-July to late October, and spent of a total of 32 weeks amongst the top 100 singles on ''Record World's'' Top Singles Chart. "I Just Want to be Your Everything" was Andy Gibb's longest-running chart single in ''Billboard, Record World,'' and ''Cashbox''. In terms of the year-end charts of ''Billboard, Cashbox'' and ''Record World,'' all ranked "I Just Want to be your Everything" as the #2 song of 1977, bested only by Debby Boone's " You Light Up My Life." (in Cashbox and Record World) and by " Tonight's the Night" by

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

(in Billboard)

Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1977 This is a list of ''Billboard'' magazine's Top Hot 100 songs of 1977. The Top 100, as revealed in the year-end edition of ''Billboard'' dated December 24, 1977, is based on Hot 100 charts from the issue dates of November 6, 1976 through October 29, ...

Gibb's song also appeared on the Soul Singles chart, peaking at number 19 and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male at the

20th Grammy Awards The 20th Annual Grammy Awards were held February 23, 1978, and were broadcast live on American television. They were hosted by John Denver and recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1977. Award winners *Record of the Year **Bi ...

. The song became a

gold record Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile meta ...

Personnel

— vocals *

— background and harmony vocals *Joey Murcia — electric guitar *

— electric guitar * Paul Harris — keyboards *

— synthesizer *Harold Cowart — bass *Ron Ziegler — drums *Nelson "Flaco" Padrón — percussion

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Connie Smith's version

The best-known cover version of "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" was recorded by American

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

artist

Connie Smith Connie Smith (born Constance June Meador; August 14, 1941) is an American country music singer and songwriter. Her contralto vocals have been described by music writers as significant and influential to the women of country music. A similarity h ...

. Released in the autumn of 1977, Smith's version, according to AMG reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine, was "relatively faithful" to Gibb's version[] Erlewine, Stephen Thomas, ''Greatest Hits on Monument'' by

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

and — given its disco-influenced sound — also a departure from her honky-tonk songs of the 1960s and early 1970s. "I Just Want to Be Your Everything" peaked at #14 on ''

Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...

chart in 1978, becoming her last significant hit, as her further hits for

Monument Records Monument Records is an American record label in Washington, D.C. named for the Washington Monument, founded in 1958 by Fred Foster, Buddy Deane (a prominent Baltimore disc jockey at WTTG), and business manager Jack Kirby. Buddy Deane soon left ...

, such as "Lovin' You Baby" and "They'll Never Be Another for Me," peaked in progressively lower positions on the country chart between 1978 and 1979.

Chart performance

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:I Just Want to Be Your Everything 1976 songs 1977 songs 1977 singles Songs written by Barry Gibb Andy Gibb songs Connie Smith songs Song recordings produced by Barry Gibb Number-one singles in Australia Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles RSO Records singles Monument Records singles British soft rock songs Disco songs Funk songs