"Nights Are Forever Without You" is a song written by

Parker McGee Jerry Parker McGee (born April 1951) is a Nashville-based singer-songwriter, originally from Meridian, Mississippi. Early life McGee was born in Meridian, Mississippi, one of three sons, to Albert R. "Pat" McGee, and Ruby McGee. He graduated f ...

and first recorded by the

soft rock Soft rock is a form of rock music that originated in the late 1960s in Southern California and the United Kingdom which smoothed over the edges of singer-songwriter and pop rock, relying on simple, melodic songs with big, lush productions. S ...

duo

England Dan & John Ford Coley England Dan & John Ford Coley were an American soft rock duo composed of Danny Wayland "England Dan" Seals and John Edward "John Ford" Coley, active throughout the 1970s. Native Texans, they are best known for their 1976 single "I'd Really Lov ...

. It was released as the second single from their 1976 album ''

Nights Are Forever ''Nights Are Forever'' is the fourth album by the pop rock duo England Dan & John Ford Coley. It was the pair's breakthrough album. " I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" became one of their biggest hits, peaking at #2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 1 ...

'', following up on their top 10 hit "

I'd Really Love to See You Tonight "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight" is a song written by Parker McGee and recorded by England Dan & John Ford Coley from their 1976 album ''Nights Are Forever''. It eventually peaked at No. 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for two weeks, b ...

Music and lyrics

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 advertise ...

'' contributor Paul Grein described "Nights Are Forever Without You" as a "twanging

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

number." ''Missoulian'' contributor Sherry Jones described it as a "

sentimental 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 ...

of love and loss." ''Los Angeles Times'' critic Dennis Hunt described it as a "

alladwith lush

harmonies In music, harmony is the process by which individual sounds are joined together or composed into whole units or compositions. Often, the term harmony refers to simultaneously occurring frequencies, pitches ( tones, notes), or chords. However, ...

." ''

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 "an excellent arrangement complements ace harmonies from this winning duo." ''

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 ...

'' called it "an extraordinary piece of pop in all its splendor" with "great chording and

syncopation In music, syncopation is a variety of rhythms played together to make a piece of music, making part or all of a tune or piece of music off-beat. More simply, syncopation is "a disturbance or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm": a "place ...

Reception

''Kingston Daily Freeman'' critic Alan Forray suggested that "Nights Are Forever Without You" would become a blockbuster like "

" and, ignoring some earlier unsuccessful recordings suggested that "never in pop history has a brand new recording act had their first two singles on the top 40 charts at the same time." ''Los Angeles Times'' critic Terry Atkinson rated "Nights Are Forever Without You" as one of the two best songs on ''Night Are Forever'', along with "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight." ''The Leader-Post'' critic Gary Deane described it as an exception to the blandness of most of the ''Nights Are Forever'' album. The song peaked at No. 10 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for two weeks and number four on the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

chart. It charted very similarly in Canada. England Dan's brother

Jim Seals Seals and Crofts was an American soft rock duo made up of James Eugene Seals (October 17, 1942 – June 6, 2022) and Darrell George "Dash" Crofts (born August 14, 1938) They are best known for their hits " Summer Breeze" (1972), " Diamond Girl" ...

had a Top 10 song at the same time with " Get Closer." Along with "I'd Really Love to See You Tonight," "Nights Are Forever Without You" brought England Dan and John Ford Coley into national prominence after more than a decade of singing together. The duo claimed that the success of this song made them feel more secure after the overnight success of its predecessor. England Dan and John Ford Coley performed "Nights Are Forever Without You" on ''

The Captain and Tennille Captain & Tennille were American recording artists whose primary success occurred in the 1970s. The husband-and-wife team were "Captain" Daryl Dragon (1942–2019) and Toni Tennille (born 1940). They have five albums certified gold or platinum ...

'' TV show on January 24, 1977. "Nights Are Forever Without You" has been included on several of England Dan and John Ford Coley's compilation albums including 1979's '' The Best of England Dan and John Ford Coley''. ''Ottawa Citizen'' critic Bill Provick called it a "highlight" of ''The Best of England Dan and John Ford Coley'', being "easy on the ears without being hard on the stomach." Dan Seals (England Dan) later recorded his solo version on the 1998 album ''

In a Quiet Room II ''In a Quiet Room II'' is the twelfth album released by country music artist Dan Seals and his only album on the TDC label. This album is his second album of acoustic versions of his older songs and a sequel to his previous album, ''In a Quiet Roo ...

''.

Chart history

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Cover versions

* Bob James produced an instrumental jazz cover on his 1977 album ''

BJ4 ''BJ4'' is the fourth album by jazz pianist Bob James. Released in 1977, the album charted at number three on the Jazz Album Charts. This would be his last CTI album before starting his label Tappan Zee Records, named for one of the tracks on t ...

''. *

Buck Owens Alvis Edgar Owens Jr. (August 12, 1929 – March 25, 2006), known professionally as Buck Owens, was an American musician, singer, songwriter, and band leader. He was the lead singer for the Buckaroos, Buck Owens and the Buckaroos, which had 21 ...

covered "Nights Are Forever Without You" in 1978. His version reached No. 27 on the ''Billboard''

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.

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 ...

critic

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, occ ...

described the performance as sounding "disinterested."

References

External links

Lyrics of this song
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nights Are Forever Without You 1976 songs 1976 singles 1978 singles England Dan & John Ford Coley songs Buck Owens songs Song recordings produced by Kyle Lehning Big Tree Records singles Atlantic Records singles Songs written by Parker McGee