"You Needed Me"
Single by Anne Murray
from the album Let's Keep It That Way
B-side"I Still Wish the Very Best for You"
ReleasedMay 1978
RecordedJanuary 1978
GenreSoft rock[1][2]
Length3:41
LabelCapitol 4574
Songwriter(s)Randy Goodrum
Producer(s)Jim Ed Norman
Anne Murray singles chronology
"Walk Right Back"
(1978) 		"You Needed Me"
(1978) 		"Hey, Daddy"
(1978)

"You Needed Me" is a song written by Randy Goodrum, who describes it as being about "unconditional undeserved love".[3] It was a number-one single in the United States in 1978 for Canadian singer Anne Murray, for which she won a Grammy Award. In 1999, Irish pop band Boyzone recorded a hit cover of the song that reached number one on the UK Singles Chart.

Original Anne Murray version

"You Needed Me" was first recorded by singer Anne Murray in 1978. The song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and revitalized her career after several years of declining popularity as it became her first Top 40 US single since her 1974 remake of The Beatles' "You Won't See Me". The song, included on her 1978 album Let's Keep It That Way, was also a top-five country single and won Song of the Year at the Academy of Country Music awards, and is her most successful single in the United Kingdom, where it made the top 30. Murray is quoted in The Billboard Book of Number One Hits by Fred Bronson as saying she was not surprised by the song's success, as she knew from the start the song would be a hit because she broke down in tears the first time she tried to sing it.

Although the song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart (and is her only song to top that chart), it never topped the two Billboard charts where Murray has had the most success—Country and Adult Contemporary. However, it spent a then-record 36 weeks on the Adult Contemporary chart, a record for chart longevity that stood until 1990. The song spent 10 weeks at number one in Malaysia.

The song earned Murray the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 21st Grammy Awards,[4] the first to be awarded to a Canadian artist. The single was certified Platinum in Canada and Gold in the US.

Anne Murray re-recorded the song with Shania Twain for Murray's 2007 album Duets: Friends & Legends.

The song was featured in an ongoing storyline on the CBS soap Guiding Light in 1980–81, as a theme song for the characters Kelly Nelson and Morgan Richards. In 2013, the song was performed by Seth MacFarlane in character as Stewie Griffin on the Family Guy episode "Chris Cross", in which Anne Murray herself guest-starred.

Chart performance

Boyzone version

"You Needed Me"
Single by Boyzone
from the album By Request
B-side"Words Can't Describe"
ReleasedMay 10, 1999 (1999-05-10)[19]
StudioLondon, England
Length3:27
LabelPolydor
Songwriter(s)Randy Goodrum
Producer(s)Steve Mac
Boyzone singles chronology
"When the Going Gets Tough"
(1999) 		"You Needed Me"
(1999) 		"Every Day I Love You"
(1999)
Music video
"You Needed Me" on YouTube

"You Needed Me" was covered by Irish boy band Boyzone in 1999. It was released as the second single from their album By Request. It became their sixth and final single to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart,[20] outselling Spice Girl Geri Halliwell's debut single, "Look at Me", by 748 copies.[21] The song received a silver disc for shipping 200,000 copies in the UK.[22]

Track listings

Irish maxi-CD single[23]

  1. "You Needed Me"
  2. "When the Going Gets Tough"
  3. "You Needed Me" (Jewels & Stone Remix)
  4. "Megamix (Love to Infinity)"

UK CD1[24]

  1. "You Needed Me"
  2. "Words Can't Describe"
  3. "Megamix (Love to Infinity)"

UK CD2[25]

  1. "You Needed Me"
  2. "You Needed Me" (Jewels & Stone Remix)
  3. "Too Late Tonight"
  4. "You Needed Me" (video)

UK cassette single[26]

  1. "You Needed Me"
  2. "Words Can't Describe"

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the By Request album booklet.[27]

Studio

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
New Zealand (RMNZ)[44] Gold 5,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[22] Silver 200,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Other versions

References

  1. ^ "VH1's 40 Most Softsational Soft-Rock Songs". Stereogum. May 31, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
  2. ^ Smith, Troy L. (14 December 2021). "Every No. 1 song of the 1970s ranked from worst to best". Cleveland.com. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  3. ^ "You Needed Me by Anne Murray Songfacts". Songfacts.com. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
  4. ^ "Past Winners Search | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com. Retrieved 4 August 2011.
  5. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  6. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – You Needed Me". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved February 16, 2019.
  7. ^ "Anne Murray – You Needed Me" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  8. ^ "Anne Murray – You Needed Me". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved June 11, 2018.
  9. ^ "SA Charts 1965–March 1989". Retrieved 5 September 2018.
  10. ^ "Anne Murray: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company.
  11. ^ "Anne Murray Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard.
  12. ^ "Anne Murray Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard.
  13. ^ "Anne Murray Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard.
  14. ^ "Kent Music Report No 236 – 1 January 1979 > National Top 100 Singles for 1978". Kent Music Report. Retrieved 8 January 2022 – via Imgur.com.
  15. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1978/Top 100 Songs of 1978". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-13.
  16. ^ "The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  17. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1978/Top 100 Songs of 1978". Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  18. ^ "Kent Music Report No 288 – 31 December 1979 > National Top 100 Singles for 1979". Kent Music Report. Retrieved January 10, 2023 – via Imgur.com.
  19. ^ "New Releases – For Week Starting 10 May, 1999" (PDF). Music Week. May 8, 1999. p. 27. Retrieved July 19, 2021.
  20. ^ a b "Boyzone: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  21. ^ Copsey, Rob (March 25, 2020). "The closest battles for Number 1 on the Official Singles Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  22. ^ a b "British single certifications – Boyzone – You Needed Me". British Phonographic Industry.
  23. ^ You Needed Me (Irish maxi-CD single liner notes). Boyzone. Polydor Records. 1999. 563 977-2.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  24. ^ You Needed Me (UK CD1 liner notes). Boyzone. Polydor Records. 1999. 563 933-2.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. ^ You Needed Me (UK CD2 liner notes). Boyzone. Polydor Records. 1999. 563 935-2.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  26. ^ You Needed Me (UK cassette single sleeve). Boyzone. Polydor Records. 1999. 563 932-4.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  27. ^ By Request (UK CD album booklet). Boyzone. Polydor Records. 1999. 547 599-2.((cite AV media notes)): CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  28. ^ "Boyzone – You Needed Me" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  29. ^ "Boyzone – You Needed Me" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  30. ^ Billboard – Google Books. June 5, 1999. Retrieved April 1, 2014 – via Google Books.
  31. ^ "Boyzone – You Needed Me" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
  32. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (18.6.'99–24.6.'99)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 18 June 1999. p. 10. Retrieved 20 November 2022.
  33. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – You Needed Me". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  34. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 23, 1999" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  35. ^ "Boyzone – You Needed Me" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  36. ^ "Boyzone – You Needed Me". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  37. ^ "Boyzone – You Needed Me". VG-lista. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  38. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  39. ^ "Boyzone – You Needed Me". Singles Top 100. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  40. ^ "Boyzone – You Needed Me". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved November 24, 2018.
  41. ^ "Jaarlijsten 1999" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  42. ^ "End of Year Charts 1999". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved November 21, 2019.
  43. ^ "Best Sellers of 1999: Singles Top 100". Music Week. London, England: United Business Media. January 22, 2000. p. 27.
  44. ^ "New Zealand single certifications – Boyzone – You Needed Me". Recorded Music NZ.
  45. ^ "The New Seekers – You Needed Me". Discogs. 1978. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
  46. ^ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. 1993. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  47. ^ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. 1996. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  48. ^ Roberts, David (2005). British Hit Singles & Albums (18th ed.). Guinness World Records. p. 274. ISBN 1-904994-00-8.
  49. ^ "Lynn Anderson - Up Close (1983)". Discogs. 1983. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  50. ^ "allmusic.com". allmusic.com. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  51. ^ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. 1986. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  52. ^ "Discogs.com". Discogs.com. 1981. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
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