"It Should Have Been Me" is a 1963 song written by William "Mickey" Stevenson and Norman Whitfield for Kim Weston. It has been performed by Yvonne Fair, Gladys Knight & the Pips and Adeva among others. Knight's version peaked at number 40 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1968. Fair had her only hit single with her recording of the song in 1976, reaching number 5 in the UK, number 85 in the US and number 10 in Australia. The song begins: :''"I saw my love walking down the aisle'' :''And as he passed me by, he turned to me and gave me a smile"''

Versions

Kim Weston (1963)

* Lead vocals by Kim Weston * Backing vocals by The Supremes: Florence Ballard,

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

, and Mary Wilson * Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers

Gladys Knight & The Pips (1968)

* Lead vocals by Gladys Knight * Backing vocals by

Merald "Bubba" Knight Merald Woodlow "Bubba" Knight, Jr. (born September 4, 1942) is an American R&B/soul singer, best known as a member of Gladys Knight & the Pips. The older brother of lead singer Gladys Knight, Bubba Knight served as the unofficial leader of the ...

Edward Patten Edward Roy "Eddie" Patten (August 27, 1939 – February 25, 2005) was an American R&B/soul singer, best known as a member of Gladys Knight & the Pips. He was a cousin of Gladys Knight. Patten was a member of the group from 1959 until its disband ...

, and William Guest * Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers and the

Detroit Symphony Orchestra The Detroit Symphony Orchestra (DSO) is an American orchestra based in Detroit, Michigan. Its primary performance venue is Orchestra Hall at the Max M. Fisher Music Center in Detroit's Midtown neighborhood. Jader Bignamini is the current music d ...

Yvonne Fair (1975)

* Lead vocals by Yvonne Fair * Instrumentation by The Funk Brothers This version was used in The Vicar of Dibley 2006 episode "The Handsome Stranger", with

Dawn French Dawn Roma French (born 11 October 1957) is a British actress, comedian, presenter and writer. French is known for writing and starring on the BBC comedy sketch show ''French and Saunders'' with her best friend and comedy partner, Jennifer Saunde ...

miming the singing.

Adeva (1991)

In 1991, American dance music artist Adeva had the first of two number ones on the US ''

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 ...

'' Hot Dance Club Play chart with her version of "It Should Have Been Me". The song was released as the second single from her second album, ''Love & Lust'' (1991). In Europe, it peaked at number 48 in the UK and number four on the European Dance Radio Chart.

Critical reception

The song received favorable reviews from music critics. Alex Henderson from AllMusic stated that Adeva interprets the Gladys Knight & the Pips hit "with equally impressive results."

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 music ...

from ''

'' commented, "

Dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

chanteuse previews her sophomore effort, ''Love & Lust'', with an attitudinal houser. Highly stylized, assertive vocals are countered by a physical bass line and a rousing gospel-spiced undercurrent. Demands immediate club approval—not to mention attention at crossover and urban radio." Andrew Smith from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' complimented it as a "joyously stomping"

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

/ garage tune, "well worth the price of a 45." Ian McCann from '' NME'' wrote, "There's an epic cover of an old soul hit: instead of "

Respect Respect, also called esteem, is a positive feeling or action shown towards someone or something considered important or held in high esteem or regard. It conveys a sense of admiration for good or valuable qualities. It is also the process of ...

", this time Yvonne Fair's terrible "It Should've Been Me" gets the treatment, and what a treatment it is: Adeva slits open the tune and takes all the mawkishness out of it. Given a cooler mix it should—ironically—be a massive Italian-styled hit."

Track listing

* Vinyl, Europe (1991) :A: "It Should've Been Me" — 3:22 :AA: "It Should've Been Me" (Touchdown Edit) — 4:18 * 12", UK (1991) :A: "It Should've Been Me" (Touchdown Mix) — 6:09 :AA1: "It Should've Been Me" (Classic Club Mix) — 6:59 :AA2: "It Should've Been Me" (Def Club Mix) * CD single, US (1991) #"It Should Have Been Me" (Hype Radio Mix) — 4:08 #"It Should Have Been Me" (Def Radio Mix) — 3:55 #"It Should Have Been Me" (Extended Remix) — 6:30 #"It Should Have Been Me" (Classic Club Mix) — 9:11 #"It Should Have Been Me" (Def Club Mix) — 7:40 #"It Should Have Been Me" (Def Zone Mental) — 6:35 #"It Should Have Been Me" (Sound Factory Mix) — 5:08 #"It Should Have Been Me" (LP Version) — 5:06

Charts

Miley Cyrus (2021)

* Lead vocals by Miley Cyrus.Watch Miley Cyrus Cover ‘It Should Have Been Me’ on ‘Fallon’
Rolling Stone, December 10, 2021

References

External links

* 1963 songs 1968 singles 1976 singles 1991 singles Capitol Records singles Gladys Knight & the Pips songs House music songs Songs written by Norman Whitfield Songs written by William "Mickey" Stevenson Yvonne Fair songs {{1960s-single-stub