"The Air That I Breathe" is a

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 ...

written by British-Gibraltarian singer-songwriter

Albert Hammond Albert Louis Hammond OBE (born 18 May 1944) is a British-Gibraltarian singer, songwriter, and record producer. A prolific songwriter, he also collaborated with other songwriters such as Mike Hazlewood, John Bettis, Diane Warren, Holly Knight ...

and

Mike Hazlewood Michael Edward Hazlewood (24 December 1941 – 6 May 2001)Mike Hazelwood – Credits ...

, initially recorded by Hammond on his debut album, ''

It Never Rains in Southern California "It Never Rains in Southern California" is a 1972 song jointly written and composed by Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood and sung by Hammond, a British-born singer-songwriter. Lyrics content The lyrics of "It Never Rains In Southern Californi ...

'' (1972). It was a major hit for

the Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke and Graham Nash founded the band ...

in early 1974, reaching number two in 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 ...

History

"The Air That I Breathe" was a major hit for

in early 1974, reaching number two in the

. In mid-1974, it reached number six in the United States on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and number three on the Adult Contemporary chart. In Canada, the song peaked at number five on the ''RPM'' magazine charts. The audio engineering for "The Air That I Breathe" was done by

Alan Parsons Alan Parsons (born 20 December 1948) is an English audio engineer, songwriter, musician and record producer. Parsons was involved with the production of several notable albums, including the Beatles' ''Abbey Road'' (1969) and '' Let It Be'' ...

. In an interview, Parsons mentioned that Eric Clapton said the first note of "The Air That I Breathe" had more soul than anything he had ever heard. This version of the song featured a string orchestra arrangement, which also featured a horn section. The 1992 Radiohead song " Creep" uses a similar chord progression and shares some melodic content with the 1972 version of "The Air That I Breathe". As a result, the song's publisher sued Radiohead for

copyright infringement Copyright infringement (at times referred to as piracy) is the use of works protected by copyright without permission for a usage where such permission is required, thereby infringing certain exclusive rights granted to the copyright holder, s ...

and a settlement was reached in which Hammond and Hazlewood were given co-writing credits and a portion of the royalties.Wardle, Ben.
Get off Coldplay's case – similar songs can co-exist peacefully
. ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' (London). 12 May 2009. Retrieved on 22 September 2010.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Simply Red version

British

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest atte ...

and pop band

Simply Red Simply Red are a British soul and pop band formed in Manchester in 1985. The lead vocalist of the band is singer and songwriter Mick Hucknall, who, by the time the band initially disbanded in 2010, was the only original member left. Since th ...

released a cover of "The Air That I Breathe" on their sixth album, ''

Blue Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when ...

'' (1998). It peaked at number five in Scotland, number six in the UK and number 17 in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. On the Eurochart Hot 100, it reached number 35. A

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device ...

was also produced to promote the single.

Critical reception

Gene Armstrong from '' Arizona Daily Star'' declared the Simply Red version as "a sexy version". J.D. Considine from ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by T ...

'' felt "his Marvin Gaye-like" take on the track "is wonderfully audacious". Larry Flick from '' Billboard'' viewed it as "an inspired, groove-laden interpretation", remarking that "Hucknall brings his signature

to the track, vamping with glee while the band pumps a mild, jeep-styled beat that is hard enough for R&B listeners but soft enough to tickle the fancy of AC and triple-A radio listeners." He added, "Popsters will soon be treated to a bevy of remixes by

Sean "Puffy" Combs Sean Combs (born Sean John Combs; November 4, 1969), also known by his stage names Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Puffy, or Diddy, is an American rapper, actor, record producer, and record executive. Born in New York City, he worked as a talent direct ...

and Stevie J., which should make

top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or "cont ...

punters quickly sit up and take notice." A reviewer from '' Daily Record'' commented, "You'll be looking for a breath of fresh air after hearing Mick Hucknall's middle-of-the-road reworking of this song which was originally a hit for The Hollies. The band desperately need a dose of originality."

Track listings

* CD single, Europe (1998) # "The Air That I Breathe" – 4:24 # "The Air That I Breathe" (Reprise) – 4:35 # "So Many People" (Live) – 5:44 # "Never Never Love" (Live) – 4:34 * CD single CD1, UK (1998) # "The Air That I Breathe" – 4:24 # "Tu Sei Dentro Di Me (Someday In My Life)" – 4:02 # "Lives And Loves" (Live) – 3:32 * CD single CD2, Europe and UK (1998) # "The Air That I Breathe" (Reprise) – 4:35 # "The Air That I Breathe" – 4:24 # "Love Has Said Goodbye Again" (Rae & Christian Mix) – 5:14

Charts

Release history

Other cover versions

* Rex Allen Jr. in 1983; this version was released for the country music market. Allen's version peaked at number 37 on the ''Billboard''

Hot Country Singles 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 sa ...

chart in December 1983. *

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top record ...

in 1984 on his hit album 1100 Bel Air Place which established him as a star in the English-speaking entertainment industry. * Alien on their self-titled 1989 album. *

k.d. lang Kathryn Dawn Lang (born November 2, 1961), known by her stage name k.d. lang, is a Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter and occasional actress. Lang has won Juno Awards and Grammy Awards for her musical performances. Hits include the s ...

on her

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

album ''Drag'', which featured cover songs with a smoking motif. *

Semisonic Semisonic is an American rock band formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 1995, consisting of Dan Wilson (lead vocals, guitar, keyboards), John Munson (bass, keyboards, backing vocals, guitar), and Jacob Slichter (drums, percussion, keyboards, ...

on their Singing in my Sleep single in 1998. *

The Mavericks The Mavericks are an American country music band from Miami, Florida. The band consists of Raul Malo (lead vocals, guitar), Paul Deakin (drums), Eddie Perez (lead guitar), and Jerry Dale McFadden (keyboards). Malo and Deakin founded the band in ...

on their self-titled 2003 album. Their version peaked at number 59 on the '' Billboard'' Hot Country Songs chart.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Air That I Breathe, The 1974 singles Songs written by Albert Hammond Songs written by Mike Hazlewood Albert Hammond songs The Hollies songs Rex Allen Jr. songs 1998 singles Simply Red songs The Mavericks songs Number-one singles in South Africa Number-one singles in New Zealand 1970s ballads 1972 songs Polydor Records singles Epic Records singles East West Records singles