"If I Can't Have You" - Yvonne Elliman

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She also sang back-up for Eric Clapton for many years. I think she recently died.

― saltbox and a rubber ball (Speedy Gonzalas), Sunday, 2 January 2005 00:25 (nineteen years ago) link

Okay, I googled, she ain't dead. Somebody did die, but it wasn't her. Maybe it was just a wino.

― saltbox and a rubber ball (Speedy Gonzalas), Sunday, 2 January 2005 00:29 (nineteen years ago) link

five months pass...

"go crazy is what i will do"

― monsanto and yanni (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 03:08 (eighteen years ago) link

it's an OK song.. but Ralph MacDonald's "Calypso Breakdown" ROOOOOLZ SNF!

― donut e-g (donut), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 03:20 (eighteen years ago) link

Yvonne's version is GREAT. Kim Wylde's version however, is not. Poor Kim, after Kids In America she just kept running out and doing covers of songs people already knew & didn't care that she sang.

― VegemiteGrrl (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 04:14 (eighteen years ago) link

Her other really good song is "Love pains." (It was certainly good enough for the Pet Shop Boys to choose it for Liza Minnelli to cover.)

― brittle-lemon, Tuesday, 28 June 2005 04:27 (eighteen years ago) link

i prefer liza's version actually.

― monsanto and yanni (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 04:28 (eighteen years ago) link

i was going to say what andy hart said above.
actually stephen pastel wrote it down on the back cover to their early singles compilation!

― joan vich (joan vich), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 09:42 (eighteen years ago) link

Kim Wylde did a version? Wow, never heard that.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 12:37 (eighteen years ago) link

Great song.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 12:42 (eighteen years ago) link

The "whoa-whoa-whoa" part is great! I would love to hear the Bee Gees' version, tho.

― David R. (popshots75`), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 12:43 (eighteen years ago) link

I probably haven't heard it in a dozen years, but I just replayed the 'whoa-whoa' in my head, and that's good!

"I Don't Know How to Love Him" roolz. (best Lloyd Webber song, not that it's close)

― Dr Morbius (Dr Morbius), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 13:07 (eighteen years ago) link

Kim Wylde did a version? Wow, never heard that.

It charted in Australia back in like 1993, but I can't remember how high it went. Not very, if memory serves. Her last gasp...

― VegemiteGrrl (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 16:38 (eighteen years ago) link

I heard a Kim Wilde track in the Gap yesterday, "Chequered Love," and it was as bad as "Kids in America" is good (which is considerable).

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 16:40 (eighteen years ago) link

I've not heard that one, but the title alone brings on a 'bleuch' face. I never really did forgive her for covering The Supremes though. It was 3 minutes that could have been put to better use.

― VegemiteGrrl (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 17:12 (eighteen years ago) link

As my introduction to the Supremes, Kim's "You Keep Me Hangin' On" earns my eternal gratitude.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 17:17 (eighteen years ago) link

Mebbe, but it was so needless. She didn't so much "make it her own" as take the song for a lifeless test drive.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 17:19 (eighteen years ago) link

hate on kim all you want, but "cambodia" roolz, foolz

― monsanto and yanni (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 19:01 (eighteen years ago) link

xpost: Hahahaha! "Lifeless test drive"!!! [wipes tear]

Ugh. "Cambodia" was NOT a favorite.

― VegemiteGrrl (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 19:10 (eighteen years ago) link

(xxpost)

Kim's version was huge here in South Florida; it was right at home with the great freestyle shit on the radio like Company B and Expose. And then came Tiffany's "I Think We're Alone Now," which is delicious and slatternly.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 20:32 (eighteen years ago) link

Best song on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.

That would be "Jive Talkin"' - The Bee Gees' best ever post 1970 moment.

As for their work with other acts during the 70s, my favourite would be Samantha Sang's "Emotion". Some of Andy Gibb's singles were also OK.

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 21:05 (eighteen years ago) link

Gasp! "Emotion". Now there's a song.

― VegemiteGrrl (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 22:14 (eighteen years ago) link

i like how breezy this song is. for a heatbreak song it's pretty painless. i think i note this above.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 22:21 (eighteen years ago) link

Yeah, it's like she's getting ready to go out, putting on her best stuff, singing about how she won't ever be with anyone but him. Maybe she's manic?

― VegemiteGrrl (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 22:22 (eighteen years ago) link

my comment above: it's an early entry though in that category of dance music that seems totally indifferent to the emotions ostensibly being revealed by the lyrics

a lot of post-1980s dance music is like this. really excited-sounding electronic dance tracks with ostensibly extremely-depressing lyrics.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 22:26 (eighteen years ago) link

Is "Nights On Broadway" on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack? I can't remember. In any case, if it is, it shits all over everything else like a mighty firehose of brown justice.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 22:56 (eighteen years ago) link

not a fIREHOSE though?

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 22:57 (eighteen years ago) link

Alex, have you ever thought of writing Hallmark cards for a living?

― VegemiteGrrl (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 22:58 (eighteen years ago) link

What about a FIREHOUSE of brown justice? They're bringing their saggy spandex out to Conocti Harbor in a month or two....

― VegemiteGrrl (VegemiteGrrl), Tuesday, 28 June 2005 22:58 (eighteen years ago) link

two weeks pass...

This is really a great tune. Love that brass and electric guitar break after the chorus.

― Joe (Joe), Friday, 15 July 2005 11:29 (eighteen years ago) link

I went perhaps 25 years without hearing this song and now I've heard it like five times in the past few months. Seriously, I say this as someone with abiding love for the SNF soundtrack--What happened?

Did some playlist computer spit this out as the Lost Song Due for Resurrection on those the "best mix of the 70s and 80s and today!!!!!" radio stations? Or did like some actual human decide it was good--something from the, god help us, "disco era" that people weren't sick of from a thousand campy weddings?

― The Mad Puffin (The Mad Puffin), Friday, 15 July 2005 12:28 (eighteen years ago) link

yeah, this is a good song.

― The Good Dr. Bill (The Good Dr. Bill), Friday, 15 July 2005 12:33 (eighteen years ago) link

roy hay from culture club formed a band called "this way up " and they covered "if i can't have you" in 1987.
http://eil.com/shop/artistlist.asp?artistname=this-way-up-(roy-hay)

― hay roy, Friday, 15 July 2005 15:19 (eighteen years ago) link

This song always gives me good little chill-bumps.

― p.j. (Henry), Friday, 15 July 2005 15:38 (eighteen years ago) link

I heard this in a store maybe 3 weeks ago after not hearing it for many years. I stood, stunned - how could a song from that time and era possibly be that good?

― Hydrochloric Shaved Weirds (Bimble...), Sunday, 24 July 2005 20:01 (eighteen years ago) link

I mean I'm specifically speaking of disco. Many disco songs are fun to listen to, and many are crap, but how could a single song from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack still sound THAT good? That's what I'm getting at.

― Hydrochloric Shaved Weirds (Bimble...), Sunday, 24 July 2005 20:03 (eighteen years ago) link

many many songs from the saturday night fever soundtrack still sound that good. as do many other disco songs of that era.

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Sunday, 24 July 2005 22:38 (eighteen years ago) link

was this recorded *for* the soundtrack or was it already a hit and was just stuck on there, like a few of the other tracks (i think)?

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Sunday, 24 July 2005 23:48 (eighteen years ago) link

Is this pretty much the only American #1 hit sung an Asian-American?

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Sunday, 24 July 2005 23:55 (eighteen years ago) link

I stood, stunned - how could a song from that time and era possibly be that good?

because it was written by the bee gees.

michael, isn't irene cara asian-american? perhaps? i dunno.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 25 July 2005 01:59 (eighteen years ago) link

what about wang chung?

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Monday, 25 July 2005 03:06 (eighteen years ago) link

HAHA.

What about Black Eyed Pees?

― The Amazing Jaxon! (jaxon), Monday, 25 July 2005 03:08 (eighteen years ago) link

BLACK EYED POOS

― The Amazing Jaxon! (jaxon), Monday, 25 July 2005 03:08 (eighteen years ago) link

carl douglas kung fu fighting. though he might have been asian-euro?

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Monday, 25 July 2005 03:08 (eighteen years ago) link

o no wait hes from jamaica

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Monday, 25 July 2005 03:09 (eighteen years ago) link

and may have no asian blood at all

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Monday, 25 July 2005 03:09 (eighteen years ago) link

brown eyed poos!

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Monday, 25 July 2005 03:10 (eighteen years ago) link

Wikipedia says: Irene Cara (born Irene Escalera on March 18, 1959 in New York City) is an American-born singer actress of Cuban and Puerto Rican descent. So maybe not.

― Michael Daddino (epicharmus), Monday, 25 July 2005 03:17 (eighteen years ago) link

i guess not yeah. i wasn't sure.

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 25 July 2005 03:18 (eighteen years ago) link

mariah carey's part syrian tho right?

― hstencil (hstencil), Monday, 25 July 2005 03:18 (eighteen years ago) link

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yeah.

Did she sort of pack it after SatFev? She probably had enough money to...

― Mark G, Monday, 18 February 2008 09:51 (sixteen years ago) link

well, fresh from her wiki let me answer that for you. She took like 20 years off and had an ep in 04'. I like "Everything Must Change" too, kind of Melissa Manchesteresque hamming over proto-Anita Baker arrangements, oddly involving. She's got some elegance to her.

― tremendoid, Monday, 18 February 2008 10:09 (sixteen years ago) link

two weeks pass...

Good god this song is so C.L.A.S.S.I.C.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Do14z5ycic&

― Bimble, Sunday, 9 March 2008 08:02 (sixteen years ago) link

Also does anyone happen to know how well this might have fared in the charts in European countries?

― Bimble, Sunday, 9 March 2008 08:11 (sixteen years ago) link

yeah classic. even her lipsyncing is lovely.

― tremendoid, Sunday, 9 March 2008 08:13 (sixteen years ago) link

Is this pretty much the only American #1 hit sung an Asian-American?
-- Michael Daddino

not really

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hU8vOQNvd3c

― gershy, Sunday, 9 March 2008 08:32 (sixteen years ago) link

also, yvonne rules

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDFRVWMA8wY

― gershy, Sunday, 9 March 2008 08:35 (sixteen years ago) link

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3_2RNf_RaI&NR=1

― tremendoid, Sunday, 9 March 2008 08:50 (sixteen years ago) link

Good god, gershy's link of "Can't Find My Way Home"...yikes. Is she in her own private Stairway to Heaven there or what? Bloody brilliant.

― Bimble, Sunday, 9 March 2008 09:52 (sixteen years ago) link

Ah! I just realized the opening riff for that reminds me of "Naked Eye" by The Who!!! Must rip it to iPod forthwith!

― Bimble, Sunday, 9 March 2008 09:55 (sixteen years ago) link

one year passes...

This song is better than all your grandmother's 78 records. Nominate this one for "best song ever".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Do14z5ycic

― Where's All The Hippies? Fuck off! (Bimble), Friday, 3 July 2009 11:10 (fourteen years ago) link

No, I'm serious. I want 3000 page essays on why that song isn't the best thing that ever happened to your life. Dave Segal, don't let me down. Haha.

― Where's All The Hippies? Fuck off! (Bimble), Friday, 3 July 2009 11:13 (fourteen years ago) link

one month passes...

I don't know if I could have fulfilled Bimble's request for a 3000 pg. essay on the subject matter but damn this really is one of my favorite songs of all time. <3

― ENBB, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 18:29 (fourteen years ago) link

I think I'm the only one in the eorld what truly hates a Yvonne Elliman.

― cosmic abbigong (Abbott), Wednesday, 12 August 2009 18:48 (fourteen years ago) link

She does sing v pretty on the verses tho.

― cosmic abbigong (Abbott), Wednesday, 12 August 2009 18:48 (fourteen years ago) link

:-( Abbott.

― ENBB, Wednesday, 12 August 2009 18:50 (fourteen years ago) link

the French horn is nice on this song, too...it's just Jesus Christ Superstar is one of my fave albums & I hate her character & songs in it SO MUCH (this will probably make you sad too)

― cosmic abbigong (Abbott), Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:01 (fourteen years ago) link

but this has been a beneficial thread insofar as it reminded me to listen to the JCSS OST

― cosmic abbigong (Abbott), Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:02 (fourteen years ago) link

fuck "I Don't Know How to Love Him" and its cloying ersatz longing

― cosmic abbigong (Abbott), Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:04 (fourteen years ago) link

I forgot she had a bit in "What's the Buzz," my self-protection mechanisms must have erased this bummer memory

― cosmic abbigong (Abbott), Wednesday, 12 August 2009 19:05 (fourteen years ago) link

two years pass...

French horn is nice on this song, too..

classic brothers gibb touch.

― flesh, the devil, and a wolf (wolf) (amateurist), Wednesday, 25 April 2012 01:36 (twelve years ago) link

It's basically a first draft for "Heartbreaker."

― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 25 April 2012 01:39 (twelve years ago) link

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