"One" is a song by American singer-songwriter

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ove ...

from his 1968 album ''

Aerial Ballet ''Aerial Ballet'' is the third studio album by American musician Harry Nilsson, released in July 1968. Overview ''Aerial Ballet'' was Nilsson's second album for RCA Victor, and was titled after the highwire circus act of his grandparents. It ...

''. It is known for its

opening line At the beginning of a written work stands the opening sentence or opening line. The opening line is part or all of the opening sentence that may start the lead paragraph. For older texts the Latin term "incipit" (it begins) is in use for the very ...

"One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do". Nilsson wrote the song after calling someone and getting a

busy signal Reanno Devon Gordon (born 24 January 1979), better known by his stage name Busy Signal, is a Jamaican dancehall reggae artist. Biography Reanno Devon Gordon p/k/a Busy Signal was born in Saint Ann Parish,Johnson, Carolyn (2006)A Very Busy Chi ...

. He stayed on the line listening to the "beep, beep, beep, beep..." tone, writing the song. The busy signal became the opening notes. A better-known

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

, recorded by

Three Dog Night Three Dog Night is an American rock band formed in 1967, with founding members consisting of vocalists Danny Hutton, Cory Wells, and Chuck Negron. This lineup was soon augmented by Jimmy Greenspoon (keyboards), Joe Schermie (bass), Michael A ...

, reached number five on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1969 and number four in Canada. In 1969, the song was also recorded by Australian pop singer

Johnny Farnham John Peter Farnham Officer of the Order of Australia, AO (born 1 July 1949) is a British born Australian singer. Farnham was a Teen idol, teen pop idol from 1967 until 1979, billed then as Johnny Farnham, but has since forged a career as an Adu ...

, reaching number four on the ''

Go-Set ''Go-Set'' was the first Australian pop music newspaper, published weekly from 2 February 1966 to 24 August 1974, and was founded in Melbourne by Phillip Frazer, Peter Raphael and Tony Schauble. NOTE: This PDF is 282 pages. Widely described as ...

'' National Top 40 Chart.

Three Dog Night version

released ''One'' as the second single from their eponymous first album. It became their first of seven gold records over the next five years. The original issue of the single version fades out about ten seconds before the final notes heard on the album version. Upon reissues by ABC Records and its successor labels, the label reverted to the album version which is heard on radio today. The song reached number five on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and spent three weeks at number two 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. It also reached number four in Canada.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other versions

Many cover versions have been recorded. Among the most notable are: * John Farnham released "One" as a double-sided single with "Mr. Whippy" in 1969, reaching number four in Australia. * A cover by

Aimee Mann Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released more than a dozen albums as a solo artist and with other musicians. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyr ...

is used in the 1999 film ''

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

''. The song is the opening track for the movie's

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

, and also appears on Mann's subsequent album '' Bachelor No. 2 or, the Last Remains of the Dodo''.

References

External links

* Review of "One"on allmusic.com {{Authority control 1968 songs 1968 singles 1969 singles 1995 singles Songs written by Harry Nilsson Harry Nilsson songs Three Dog Night songs Filter (band) songs Song recordings produced by Rick Jarrard RCA Records singles Dunhill Records singles Reprise Records singles Songs about loneliness Chamber pop songs