"You're the First, the Last, My Everything" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter

Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...

from his third studio album, '' Can't Get Enough'' (1974). The song was written by White, Tony Sepe and Peter Radcliffe and produced by White. It reached number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number one 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 ...

. The song was certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) in 1974, and certified

silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

by the

British Phonographic Industry British Phonographic Industry (BPI) is the British recorded music industry's Trade association. It runs the BRIT Awards, the Classic BRIT Awards, National Album Day, is home to the Mercury Prize, and co-owns the Official Charts Company with th ...

(BPI), also in 1974.

Background

Peter Radcliffe originally wrote the track as a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

song with the title "You're My First, You're My Last, My In-Between", which went unrecorded for 21 years. White recorded it as a

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 ...

song, retaining most of the musical structure while rewriting the lyrics.

Chart performance

"You're the First, the Last, My Everything" was White's fourth top ten hit on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart, reaching number two. It was kept out of the number one spot by "

Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles from their 1967 album '' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band''. It was written primarily by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney songwriting partners ...

" by

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

. It spent a week at number one on the ''Billboard''

Hot Soul Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

chart. The track made it to number two on the disco/dance charts. On the

it fared even better, spending two weeks at the top in December 1974.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

"You're the First, the Last, My Everything" was certified Gold by the RIAA on December 18, 1974. It was certified silver for 200,000 sold copies in United Kingdom in 1974.

Howard Brown version

A cover version of the song performed by Howard Brown was released in 2005 in the UK as a charity single. It peaked at #13 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 ...

. Prior to its release it had been adapted for a popular television commercial for

Halifax Bank Halifax (previously known as Halifax Building Society and colloquially known as The Halifax) is a British banking brand operating as a trading division of Bank of Scotland, itself a wholly owned subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group. It is named ...

in which Brown could be seen singing and dancing.

''Ally McBeal''

The '' Ally McBeal'' character

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

draws inspiration from this song. Barry White personally sang it on the episodes "Those Lips, That Hand" and the series finale "Bygones".

References

External links

Song Review A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetition ...

from

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 databas ...

{{Authority control 1974 songs 1974 singles 2005 singles Barry White songs Songs written by Barry White Disco songs Cashbox number-one singles Number-one singles in Spain UK Singles Chart number-one singles 20th Century Fox Records singles Charity singles