"When I Fall in Love" is a popular song, written by

Victor Young Albert Victor Young (August 8, 1899– November 10, 1956)"Victor Young, Composer, Dies of Heart Attack", ''Oakland Tribune'', November 12, 1956. was an American composer, arranger, violinist and conductor. Biography Young is commonly said to ...

(music) and

Edward Heyman Edward Heyman (March 14, 1907October 16, 1981) was an American lyricist and producer, best known for his lyrics to " Body and Soul," "When I Fall in Love," and " For Sentimental Reasons." He also contributed to a number of songs for films. Biog ...

(lyrics). It was introduced in the film '' One Minute to Zero'' as the instrumental titled "Theme from One Minute to Zero".

Jeri Southern Jeri Southern (born Genevieve Lillian Hering, August 5, 1926 – August 4, 1991) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Early years Born Genevieve Lillian Hering in Royal, Nebraska, United States, Southern was the granddaughter of a German pi ...

sang on the first vocal recording released in April 1952 with the song's composer, Victor Young, handling the arranging and conducting duties. The song has become a standard, with many artists recording it; the first hit version was sung by Doris Day released in July 1952. Day's recording was made on June 5, 1952. It was released by Columbia Records as catalog number 39786 and issued with the flip side "Take Me in Your Arms". The song reached number 20 on the '' Billboard'' chart. A 1996 recording by

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...

, sung as a duet with her father

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

using vocals from his 1956 version, won 1996 Grammys for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and Best Instrumental Arrangement with Accompanying Vocal(s).

Notable recordings

* A version was recorded by

on December 28, 1956. It was issued by Capitol Records on the album titled ''

Love Is the Thing ''Love Is the Thing'' is a 1957 album released by American jazz vocalist Nat King Cole. It is the first of four collaborations between Cole and influential arranger Gordon Jenkins. Launching the charting single "Stardust", which peaked at #79, th ...

'', catalog number SW824. The song was also used in the 1957 film ''Istanbul'', in which Cole sang the song. The single was released in the UK in 1957 and reached 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 ...

. This recording was rereleased in 1987 and reached number 4. The start of Cole's version was sampled in

Pop Will Eat Itself Pop Will Eat Itself are an English alternative rock band formed in 1986 in Stourbridge in the West Midlands of England with members from Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country. Initially known as a grebo act, they changed style to incorp ...

's 1988 single "

There Is No Love Between Us Anymore "There Is No Love Between Us Anymore" is a song by Pop Will Eat Itself released on 7" and 12" vinyl in 1988, as the second single from the 1987 album '' Box Frenzy''. An eight-track CD version featuring a small collection of non-album tracks was ...

". Since 2014, Cole's version of the song has been featured in adverts for SSE. *

recorded two different versions of the song: a contemporary R&B/smooth jazz version for her 1987 album '' Everlasting'' (No. 14 U.S. AC) and a more traditional version for her 1996 '' Stardust'' album as a virtual duet with her father Nat King Cole, including recordings of his vocals from his 1956 version. This version won two awards at the

39th Grammy Awards The 39th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 26, 1997, at Madison Square Garden, New York City. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the previous year. Babyface was the night's biggest winner, with 3 awards. Celine Dion, Toni B ...

: Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals and Best Instrumental Arrangement with Accompanying Vocal(s) for arrangers

Alan Broadbent Alan Leonard Broadbent (born 23 April 1947) is a New Zealand jazz pianist, arranger, and composer known for his work with artists such as Sue Raney, Charlie Haden, Woody Herman, Chet Baker, Irene Kral, Sheila Jordan, Natalie Cole, Warne Marsh ...

and

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 ...

. * Johnny Mathis recorded the song for his 1959 album ''Open Fire, Two Guitars'', which charted in the UK and many other countries. * Blues singer

Etta Jones Etta Jones (November 25, 1928 – October 16, 2001) was an American jazz singer. Her best-known recordings are "Don't Go to Strangers" and "Save Your Love for Me". She worked with Buddy Johnson, Oliver Nelson, Earl Hines, Barney Bigard, Gene A ...

released a version of the song in 1960, which spent eight weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching No. 65. * A version by

the Lettermen The Lettermen are an American male pop vocal trio. The Lettermen's trademark is close-harmony pop songs with light arrangements. The group started in 1959. They have had two Top 10 singles (both No. 7), 16 Top 10 singles on the Adult Contempor ...

was released as a single in 1961 and spent 14 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching No. 7, while reaching No. 1 on the ''Billboard''s

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. Veteran drummer

Earl Palmer Earl Cyril Palmer (October 25, 1924 – September 19, 2008) was an American drummer. Considered one of the inventors of rock and roll, he is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Palmer was one of the most prolific studio musicians of a ...

played on this version. * Donny Osmond recorded the song in 1973 for his album '' A Time for Us''. It spent 13 weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, reaching No. 55, while reaching No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 1 in France. * In 1984,

Linda Ronstadt Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...

released the song as the lead track on her album '' Lush Life'' and as a single. Ronstadt's version reached No. 24 on ''Billboard''s

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

chart. *

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards. As a teenager in t ...

quoted the song extensively in his 1993 medley rendition of " It's All in the Game", which appears on his live album '' A Night in San Francisco''.

Rick Astley version

The version by

Rick Astley Richard Paul Astley (born 6 February 1966) is an English singer, songwriter and radio personality, who has been active in music for several decades. He gained worldwide fame in the 1980s, having multiple hits including his signature song " Ne ...

was released on November 30, 1987, coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the release of

's version of the song. This single is mainly remembered for a closely fought contest for UK

Christmas number one In the United Kingdom, Christmas number ones are singles that top the UK Singles Chart in the week in which Christmas Day falls. The singles have often been novelty songs, charity songs or songs with a Christmas theme. Historically, the volume ...

. Rivals

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

, hoping to see their act, Pet Shop Boys, reach number one with " Always on My Mind", re-released the version by Nat King Cole. This led to a slow down of purchases of Astley's version, allowing Pet Shop Boys to reach the coveted top spot. Despite selling over 250,000 copies and gaining a Silver certification from the BPI, it peaked in the UK at number 2 for two weeks. The re-release by Nat King Cole reached number 4. Since the single was released as a double A-side, the other half of the single was "

My Arms Keep Missing You "My Arms Keep Missing You" is a song by Rick Astley released in 1987 as the second half of a double A-side single. The first A-side is the pop standard "When I Fall in Love". "My Arms Keep Missing You" was released as an independent single in G ...

", which was successful in its own right in Europe. In 2019, Astley recorded and released a "Reimagined" version of the song for his album '' The Best of Me'', which features a new piano arrangement.

Track listing

; CD single # "When I Fall In Love" – 3:03 # "

" (The No L Mix) – 6:48 # "My Arms Keep Missing You" (Dub) – 4:58 ; 7" single # "My Arms Keep Missing You" ("Where's Harry?" remix) – 3:14 # "When I Fall In Love" – 3:03 ; 12" maxi and single # "When I Fall In Love" – 3:00 # "My Arms Keep Missing You" (Dub) – 6:04 # "My Arms Keep Missing You" (The No L Mix) – 6:43

Charts

Celine Dion and Clive Griffin version

The cover version of "When I Fall in Love" by

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

and

Clive Griffin Clive Griffin is a British pop vocalist, best known for his hit duet, "When I Fall in Love" (US No. 23) with pop singer Celine Dion. Clive was discovered by producer/composer Richard Niles who got him a deal with Phonogram/Mercury Records. P ...

was featured in the romantic comedy ''

Sleepless in Seattle ''Sleepless in Seattle'' is a 1993 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Nora Ephron, from a screenplay she wrote with David S. Ward and Jeff Arch. Starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, the film follows a journalist (Ryan) who, despite ...

'' and released as a single in July 1993. The song was recorded expressly for the soundtrack and was originally intended as a duet between Dion and Stevie Wonder, but according to Dion when she heard the demo performed by

Warren Wiebe Warren Wiebe (July 18, 1953 – October 25, 1998) was an American vocalist and session artist from San Diego. Career After playing bass with several bands, Warren Wiebe was discovered by David Foster and Burt Bacharach in Los Angeles in 1987 ...

she preferred that would be her duet with Wiebe. It was nominated for a

Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by ...

in 1994, and won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s). The award went to

and Jeremy Lubbock. The song appears on both, the ''

'' soundtrack (number one on the ''Billboard'' 200 and 4× Platinum RIAA certification for selling over 4 million copies in the US), and later on Dion's album '' The Colour of My Love'', released in November 1993. The music video was directed by Dominic Orlando in

Hollywood, Los Angeles Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...

Critical reception

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 databa ...

senior editor Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted that Dion's album, '' The Colour of My Love'', which featured the song, had "careful production, professional songwriting (highlighted by "When I Fall in Love," "The Power of Love," and "Think Twice"). ''

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 ...

'' wrote that "it's no accident that Celine Dion keeps recording all those movie-theme duets -- she's got the perfect voice for wide-screen romance, all unbridled power and telegraphed emotion." They added that she "sounds great" when working with "tunefully romantic stuff" like "When I Fall In Love"". '' Billboard'' wrote that Dion "is at home within an arrangement of delicate rhythms and sweeping orchestration," while also noting that Griffin's voice "is a pure thrill." Christopher Smith from TalkAboutPopMusic said that Dion and Griffin "do credible justice to Nat’s signature tune as she remains in subdued and romantic mood for the entire length" of the song.

Commercial performance

"When I Fall in Love" reached top forty in several countries, including number 21 in Canada, number 22 in New Zealand, number 23 in the United States, and number 37 in the Netherlands. It was popular on the Canadian Adult Contemporary chart and the US

Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by stat ...

, peaking at numbers two and six, respectively.

Live performances

Dion performed "When I Fall in Love" during her The Colour of My Love Tour,

Falling Into You Around the World Tour Falling Into You: Around the World is the seventh world concert tour by Canadian pop singer Céline Dion. It was organized to support one of the best-selling albums of all time, her fourth English-language and fourteenth studio album, '' Falling ...

and Millenium Concert in Montreal in 1999. In 1998,

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray was the fir ...

performed "When I Fall in Love" with Dion live and included it on her DVD called ''An Intimate Evening with Anne Murray...Live''. Later, this version appeared on Murray's 2007 album '' Anne Murray Duets: Friends & Legends''.

Formats and track listings

*Australian/European CD, Japanese 3", US 7" and cassette single #"When I Fall in Love" (

and

) – 4:20 #"If I Were You" (Celine Dion) – 5:07 *European CD maxi-single #"When I Fall in Love" (Celine Dion and Clive Griffin) – 4:20 #" If You Asked Me To" (Celine Dion) – 3:55 #"An Affair to Remember" (

Marc Shaiman Marc Shaiman (; born October 22, 1959) is an American composer and lyricist for films, television, and theatre, best known for his collaborations with lyricist and director Scott Wittman. He wrote the music and co-wrote the lyrics for the Broa ...

) – 2:30

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1952 songs 1952 singles 1961 singles 1987 singles 1993 singles Anne Murray songs Barry Manilow songs Carmen McRae songs Celine Dion songs Julio Iglesias songs Linda Ronstadt songs Little Willie Littlefield songs Nat King Cole songs Rick Astley songs The Carpenters songs The Lettermen songs Tom Jones (singer) songs Songs with music by Victor Young Songs with lyrics by Edward Heyman Song recordings produced by Stock Aitken Waterman Song recordings produced by David Foster Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) Grammy Award for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals Pop ballads Pop standards Male–female vocal duets Number-one singles in France Columbia Records singles Capitol Records singles RCA Records singles Epic Records singles Decca Records singles

Notable recordings

Rick Astley version

Track listing

Charts

Celine Dion and Clive Griffin version

Critical reception

Commercial performance

Live performances

Formats and track listings

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

See also

References

External links