"The Best of Me" is the debut solo single 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 ...

, released in February 1983. The

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

was later included as the title track for his debut solo album with the same title, released in November 1983. The song was composed in 1982 by Foster,

Jeremy Lubbock Jeremy Michael Lubbock (4 June 1931 – 29 January 2021) was a Grammy-winning English pianist, conductor, orchestrator, music producer, arranger, composer, and songwriter. Life and career Born in Berkshire, he learned piano as a child, and ...

and

Richard Marx Richard Noel Marx (born September 16, 1963) is an American adult contemporary music, adult contemporary and pop rock singer-songwriter. He has sold over 30 million albums worldwide. Marx's Richard Marx (album), self-titled debut album went tri ...

. It has since been recorded by numerous artists, the most notable being

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million s ...

, who chose it for his 100th single milestone in 1989.

David Foster & Olivia Newton-John version

David Foster re-recorded the track with

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

for his 1986 self-titled solo album. It was released as a single and made No. 6 on the ''Billboard'' Adult Contemporary chart and No. 80 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart.

Track listing

# "The Best of Me" - 4:08 # "Sajé" - 3:08

Charts

Cliff Richard version (100th single)

English singer

selected the song for his milestone 100th single in 1989. Released on 30 May 1989, the song debuted at No. 2 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and stayed there another week in its 7-week run on the chart. It was certified silver by the BPI for sales over 200,000. Before releasing his 100th single, Richard invited 2,000 British fans to the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 an ...

for a preview of six songs from his forthcoming album (which would be '' Stronger''), to vote on which one they liked most as the possible 100th single. Ironically, "The Best of Me" came second to " Stronger Than That", but Richard had also revealed by mistake that the latter was composed by

Alan Tarney Alan Tarney (born 19 November 1945) is an English record producer and musician. He was born in Northside, Workington, Cumberland, but spent his teenage years in Adelaide, Australia, where he met his songwriting and musical partner Trevor Spence ...

who had written most of Richard's biggest hits since 1979. Regardless, it was enough confirmation for Richard to choose "The Best of Me" with its fitting lyrics as a tribute to his audience. Coming third in the vote was " I Just Don't Have the Heart", ahead of "Joanna" and "

Lean on You "Lean on You" is a song by British singer Cliff Richard, released as the third single from his 1989 album '' Stronger''. It was written and produced by Alan Tarney. The song peaked at No. 17 on the UK Singles Chart. Track listing UK single 7-in ...

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other versions

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particularly popular with country audiences but also charted mo ...

studio track, ''

The Heart of the Matter ''The Heart of the Matter'' (1948) is a novel by English author Graham Greene. The book details a life-changing moral crisis for Henry Scobie. Greene, a former British intelligence officer in Freetown, British Sierra Leone, drew on his expe ...

'', 1985 *

Phil Perry Philip Eugene Perry (born January 12, 1952) is an American R&B singer, songwriter, musician and a former member of the soul group, The Montclairs, from 1971 to 1975. He was also known for performing the opening song to Disney’s sitcom, ''Goof ...

studio track, ''The Heart of the Man'' album, 1991 *

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow (born Barry Alan Pincus; June 17, 1943) is an American singer and songwriter with a career that spans seven decades. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", " Somewhere Down the Road", " Mandy", "I Write the Songs", " Can ...

studio track, '' The Complete Collection and Then Some...'' album, 1992 *

live track, 2010 *

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...

studio track, '' Crazy Love (Hollywood edition bonus disc)'' album, 2010 *

Paul Potts Paul Potts (born 13 October 1970) is an English tenor. In 2007, he won the first series of ITV's ''Britain's Got Talent'' with his performance of " Nessun dorma", an aria from Puccini's opera ''Turandot''. As a singer of operatic pop music ...

studio track, ''Home'' album, 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Best of Me 1982 songs 1983 debut singles 1986 singles 1989 singles Atlantic Records singles EMI Records singles Kenny Rogers songs Cliff Richard songs Olivia Newton-John songs Pop ballads Songs written by David Foster Songs written by Richard Marx Song recordings produced by George Martin Male–female vocal duets 1980s ballads