"Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" is a 1980 single written by James Warren and first performed by British pop band

the Korgis The Korgis are an English pop band known mainly for their hit single " Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" in 1980. The band was originally composed of singer/guitarist/keyboardist Andy Davis (born Andrew Cresswell-Davis 10 August 1949) and sin ...

, with Warren as the lead singer. It has subsequently been covered by numerous other artists.

Background

"Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" features a distinctive

synthesizer A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

line as primary sound, based on a prominent keyboards arrangement played by Phil Harrison. The song also is notable for its simple, sparse lyrics, but with a direct message. Related to that, lead singer and bassist James Warren has said that the song took only 10 or 15 minutes to write, after he sang the first thing to come into his mind while he played both the chords and melody on the piano. Producer David Lord subsequently added the bigger arrangement and strings. The distinctive instrument played after each chorus is the guzheng, an eighteen-string Chinese

zither Zither (; , from the Greek ''cithara'') is a class of stringed instruments. The modern instrument has many strings stretched across a thin, flat body. Zithers are typically played by strumming or plucking the strings with the fingers or a ...

. The song also features a brief

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

section in the middle, as well some ''

pizzicato Pizzicato (, ; translated as 'pinched', and sometimes roughly as 'plucked') is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of instrument: * On bowe ...

'' after each chorus. About the meaning of the song, Warren said:

At that time I was into new wave icphilosophies about working on yourself, meditation and that sort of stuff. The whole lyric comes out of that. It wasn’t a romantic song at all. For me it was all about an individual changing and being a different sort of person – trying to find out the root of your inner confusion, dealing with it and becoming a better person. So it was literally a philosophical lyric.

Releases

The song, from the group's second album, '' Dumb Waiters'', was released on 11 April 1980, and reached number five on the UK Singles Chart and number 18 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. The song topped the singles charts in France, was also number one in Spain. It charted at number five in Ireland, number six in Switzerland, number 11 in the Netherlands, number 11 in Australia, number 12 in New Zealand, and number 14 in Belgium. That represented the peak of the Korgis' chart success. The original 1980 version of "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" appears on the following compilation albums and CDs: * '' The Best of The Korgis'' (1983) * '' Archive Series'' (1997) * ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' (2001) * '' Don't Look Back – The Very Best of The Korgis'' (CD1) (2 CD) (2003) In 1989, original members James Warren and Andy Davis reunited the Korgis after they were approached by the Bristol-based International Hostage Release Foundation, who were gathering artists for the recording of a charity album to raise money for their cause. The duo recorded a new version of "Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime" for the project. Originally due for release as a single in November 1989, the release was delayed until 13 August 1990. The version has appeared on the foundation's 1991 charity album ''Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime'', the band's 1992 album '' This World's for Everyone'' and their 2005 compilation CD and DVD '' Kollection''. In 1993, the Korgis collaborated with the electronic music production duo

DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...

on a new version of "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime". The band were inspired to give the song the "'90s treatment" after hearing a number of "dreadful 'rave' cover versions". They approached DNA to work on the track after a chance meeting with them at a studio in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. The single, which was released in the UK by Euro Records on 14 June 1993, reached number 78 in the charts. The Korgis recorded a live, acoustic version of "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" in the summer of 2005, which was intended for release on ''Kollection'', but which eventually made its appearance in 2006 on the '' Unplugged'' CD. An alternate version of "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime", with a different second verse, was included as a bonus track on the 1999 CD re-issue of 1980 album '' Dumb Waiters''. That alternate version also appears on the compilations '' Klassics – The Best of The Korgis'' (2001) and '' Don't Look Back – The Very Best of The Korgis'' (CD2) (2 CD) (2003), which also includes an uptempo, 3-minute 51-second, version of the song as its closing track, taking the number of variants of the song on the double-CD compilation to three. When Warren and Davis reformed their first band,

Stackridge Stackridge were a British progressive rock/folk rock group which had their greatest success in the early 1970s. History Classic period Stackridge Lemon were formed from the remains of a previous band, Grytpype Thynne, by Andy Davis and James ...

, in 2007, they incorporated "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" into their set, with Warren introducing it as a song he wrote for the Korgis. A live version by Stackridge was included in both the CD and DVD versions of ''The Forbidden City'', recorded at one of the 2007 shows in

Bath, England Bath ( RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, west of London and southeast of Bristol. The city becam ...

. Keyboardist Glenn Tommey and drummer Andy Marsden, both one-time backing musicians for The Korgis, were part of that incarnation of Stackridge.

Critical reception

Upon its release, Simon Ludgate of ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' commented, "Soft music for soft minds but don't let that worry you, as this is a hit if ever I heard one. Well-timed for early summer airplay." Jim Whiteford of '' The Kilmarnock Standard'' noted the Korgis had followed their hit " If I Had You" with "another sweet melody which tends to stay close to you... rather like aftershave". He added, "The strong title hookline must take it chartwards and make a few more quid for the two ex-Stackridge men."

Personnel

The Korgis * James Warren –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

, guzheng * Stuart Gordon –

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external electric Guitar amplifier, sound amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar. It uses one or more pickup (music technology), pickups ...

* Andy Davis –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

, bell tree * Phil Harrison – keyboards

Charts

Weekly charts

Original version

1993 remix

Year-end charts

Original version

Baby D version

British

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

group Baby D recorded a successful cover of the song, released as "(Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" on 22 May 1995 by Production House Records, as the fifth single from their only album, ''

Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American thriller film directed and produced by John Boorman from a screenplay by James Dickey, who adapted it from his own Deliverance (novel), 1970 novel. It follows four businessmen from Atlanta who venture into th ...

'' (1996). It peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart, and was also a top-20 hit in Finland, Iceland, Ireland and Scotland. A partially black-and-white music video was released to promote the single.

Critical reception

Taylor Parkes 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. In January 2001, it was merged into "long-standing rival" (and IPC Media sister publicatio ...

'' praised the song's "spectral saintliness". Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later m ...

'' wrote, "A female voice in the intro is the first variation on

' 1980 hit, then dub techniques and electronic percussion are used to take it to the

jungle jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''jaṅgala'' ...

grand finale." Red Rose Rock FM/ Preston/

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of Blackpool ...

head of music Andy Roberts said, "It kind of takes you by surprise, as it starts as a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

and then becomes jungle, which is a very original way of updating an old hit. Now it's charted it proves that the popularity of jungle is no longer restricted to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

." ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' described it as "jungle pop which is right on track with this revamped version", remarking that "an impressive and melodic vocal complements the jungle beat." Jake Barnes from ''

Muzik ''Muzik'' was a British dance music magazine published by IPC Media from June 1995 to August 2003. ''Muzik'' was created by two former ''Melody Maker'' journalists, Push and Ben Turner. Push was the editor of ''Muzik'' from its launch until he ...

'' viewed it as "jungle-lite". The ''

'' Dance Update named it "another catchy pop dance track that borrows from the past." In his weekly dance column in ''Record Mirror'',

James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland *James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman *James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...

, considered it a "sure-fire smash hit attractively warbled junglistic remake". Tony Cross from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' gave '(Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving' four out of five, writing, "Proof that pumpin'

happy hardcore Happy hardcore, also known as 4-beat or happycore, is a subgenre of hardcore dance music or " hard dance". It emerged both from the UK breakbeat hardcore rave scene, and Belgian, German and Dutch hardcore techno scenes in the early 1990s ...

isn't gonna go away comes with Baby D's return. This is even better than the chart-topping ' Let Me Be Your Fantasy'. Taking a (relatively) unknown '80s song by The Korgis (who?), the dancefloor kings have sunk their butts into turning it into the kind of hypno-

trance Trance is a state of semi-consciousness in which a person is not self-aware and is either altogether unresponsive to external stimuli (but nevertheless capable of pursuing and realizing an aim) or is selectively responsive in following the dir ...

track that blindin' nights out are made of."

Track listing

* Europe 12" single - 1995 issue on Systematic Records YSCD4'' #"(Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" (R.A.F. Zone Mix) #"(Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" (Original Mix) #"(Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" (T.S.O.B. Mix) #"(Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" (Masters of House Mix) * UK CD single - 1995 issue on Systematic Records YSCD4'' #"(Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" (Radio Edit) — 4:10 #"(Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" (Original Mix) — 5:38 #"(Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" (T.S.O.B. Mix) — 6:26 #"(Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" (Neil Mclelland Mix) — 5:46 #"(Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" (Ray Keith No Sell Out Remix) — 5:28 #"(Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" (D-SP Remix) — 6:40

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other versions

"Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" has been covered many other times over the years, including several versions that reached the UK Singles Chart, including those by

the Dream Academy The Dream Academy was a British Indie pop, alternative pop band consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist and primary songwriter Nick Laird-Clowes, woodwinds player and pianist Kate St John, and keyboardist Gilbert Gabriel. The band is most no ...

(1987), Brian Davis (1991),

Yazz Yazz (born Yasmin Evans; 19 May 1960) is a British pop singer, who remains perhaps best known for her 1988 UK number one single " The Only Way Is Up". Some of her records are credited to Yazz and the Plastic Population. Career Yazz was born i ...

(1994), Army of Lovers (2001) and the Cantamus Girls Choir (2005). NRG covered the song on their 1991 release ''The Real Hardcore''. In 1997,

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

group the King's Singers recorded the track with lead vocals by James Warren. In 2000, German music duo Marc et Claude sampled the song for their track "I Need Your Lovin' (Like the Sunshine)". In 2003, Erasure recorded the song on their cover album '' Other People's Songs''. In September 2004, Zucchero and Vanessa Carlton entered the French

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent t ...

with their version of the song. That same year,

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

also covered the song for the

Michel Gondry Michel Gondry (; born 8 May 1963) is a French filmmaker and producer noted for his inventive visual style and distinctive manipulation of mise en scène. Along with Charlie Kaufman, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay as one o ...

film ''

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' is a 2004 American surrealist science fiction romantic drama film directed by Michel Gondry and written by Charlie Kaufman from a story by Gondry, Kaufman, and Pierre Bismuth. Starring Jim Carrey a ...

''. In May 2005, Zucchero and

Lara Fabian Lara Sophie Katy Crokaert (; born 9 January 1970), known professionally as Lara Fabian (, , ), is a Belgian, Italian and Canadian singer and songwriter. She claims to have sold over 20 million records worldwide and to be one of the List of best ...

performed and recorded a live version of the song with a full orchestra for the ''Symphonic Show'' on French television. In 2008, Glasgow indie band

Glasvegas Glasvegas are a Scottish indie rock band from Glasgow. The band consists of James Allan (musician), James Allan (vocals), Rab Allan (lead guitar) and Paul Donoghue (bass guitar), with Swedish drummer Jonna Löfgren joining the group in 2010 unt ...

covered the song on the B-side of the second 7-inch of ''Geraldine''. Richard Thompson covered the song as part of his 1000 Years of Popular Music tour in 2009. On March 7, 2008, Dutch pop rock band

Krezip Krezip is a Dutch pop rock band from Tilburg, North Brabant, formed in 1997. The band was formed while its members were in high school and has had four consistent core members, centered around lead singer and songwriter Jacqueline Govaert. Sign ...

covered the song for the film ''Love Is All''. In 2011, British singer

Nicola Roberts Nicola Maria Roberts (born 5 October 1985) is an English singer and songwriter. In 2002, Roberts was selected as a member of Girls Aloud, a Pop music, pop girl group created through ITV (TV network), ITV's reality competition show ''Popstars: Th ...

, of girl group

Girls Aloud Girls Aloud are a British-Irish pop music, pop girl group that was created through the ITV (TV network), ITV talent show ''Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The line up consisted of members Cheryl (singer), Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, N ...

, covered the song for her debut solo album, " Cinderella's Eyes". In 2020,

G-Eazy Gerald Earl Gillum (born May 24, 1989), better known by his stage name G-Eazy, is an American rapper. Based in Oakland, California, he began his career in 2006 and released two independent studio albums before signing with RCA Records to releas ...

covered the song for his compilation album '' Everything's Strange Here''.

Charts

Yazz Marc et Claude Zucchero and Vanessa Carlton Cantamus Girls Choir Krezip

References

External links

The Official band website
* .
Songfacts
{{Authority control 1980 songs 1980 singles 1995 singles The Korgis songs Baby D (dance group) songs Beck songs Vanessa Carlton songs Zucchero Fornaciari songs Pop ballads New wave ballads Synth-pop ballads 1980s ballads British soft rock songs Number-one singles in France Number-one singles in Spain Asylum Records singles Production House Records singles