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

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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

so one time in college, my fratboy roommate's friend was in class w/at-the-time girlfriend of jerry seinfeld shoshana lowenstein. she's a rather attractive girl blessed with a large front end. in class the friend, syrus, says "i sure would fuck the shit out of her", and all of a sudden, she turns around and goes, "you'd what?!" he totally didn't realize she was sitting right in front of her. so a few days pass and he sees her on campus and says to her, "i'm soooo soooo sorry. i'm syrus" and she keeps going, "thanks for appologizing, i understand you're serious", and he says, "no i'm syrus" and it keeps going on back and forth like that for hours.

bad story, i'm drunk, syrian made me do it

― The Amazing Jaxon! (jaxon), Monday, 25 July 2005 03:26 (eighteen years ago) link

best not-good story ever.

― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Monday, 25 July 2005 17:46 (eighteen years ago) link

hstencil, with all due respect, there's something wrong w/ the Bee Gees' version of this song. I haven't A-B'd the two, but I think there's actually a wrong chord in the chorus -- "wrong" in the sense that it kind of sounds like what happens when you're plunking around on a guitar and think you have the chords...but don't.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 03:05 (eighteen years ago) link

I agree with hstencil. The Bee Gees nailed it.

― SoHoLa (SoHoLa), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 03:19 (eighteen years ago) link

mariah carey's part syrian tho right?

is she? iirc she's irish, puerto rican, and a quarter black.

― badass porcelain knives (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 03:31 (eighteen years ago) link

mariah carey's part syrian tho right?

I think you're thinking of Paula Abdul. And isn't she part Lebanese?

― Candicissima (candicissima), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 03:48 (eighteen years ago) link

some kind of middle eastern. but she's jewish too.

― badass porcelain knives (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 04:36 (eighteen years ago) link

And isn't she part Lebanese?

I've heard those rumors, too.

― jaymc (jaymc), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 05:00 (eighteen years ago) link

no way.

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 17:30 (eighteen years ago) link

Way

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 19:16 (eighteen years ago) link

Is this pretty much the only American #1 hit sung an Asian-American?
-- Michael Daddino (epicharmu...), July 24th, 2005 5:55 PM. (epicharmus)

Not an Asian-American but "Ue O Muite" by Kyu Sakamoto is the only US #1 (1963) sung in Japanese.

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 19:23 (eighteen years ago) link

Why do you like Japan so much?

― The Amazing Jaxon! (jaxon), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 19:30 (eighteen years ago) link

Why do you like The Phillipines so much?

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 19:33 (eighteen years ago) link

I was just searching for the name of that Kyu Sakamoto song.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 19:36 (eighteen years ago) link

xpost - HAHAH

― The Amazing Jaxon! (jaxon), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 19:37 (eighteen years ago) link

There are a few Pacific-Asian artists who have had number one's, but I'm still searching for any from the continent.

― Pleasant Plains /// (Pleasant Plains ///), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 19:37 (eighteen years ago) link

"Tiny Bubbles" only hit #8
The Jets "Make It Real" only hit #4 !!!!

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 19:42 (eighteen years ago) link

Seriously, hstencil, check it out.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 19:44 (eighteen years ago) link

dude you do understand THE BEEGEES WROTE THE SONG, right?

― hstencil (hstencil), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 21:18 (eighteen years ago) link

Did Ofra Haza's "Galbi" chart well in the U.S. circa 1988?

― donut ferry (donut), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 21:30 (eighteen years ago) link

As for "If I Can't Have You".. i mean, I don't worship the song, but I can't understand how it could be so irritating. The SNF soundtrack is pretty nice that way.. the "worst" songs are as offensive as water.

I still think that "Calypso Breakdown" and "Jive Talkin'" are the best songs on the soundtrack.

― donut ferry (donut), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 21:32 (eighteen years ago) link

dude you do understand THE BEEGEES WROTE THE SONG, right?

Of course I do. I'm just saying, something's off with that arrangement harmonically.

― Naive Teen Idol (Naive Teen Idol), Tuesday, 26 July 2005 23:36 (eighteen years ago) link

you're crazy.

― hstencil (hstencil), Wednesday, 27 July 2005 01:44 (eighteen years ago) link

no no no no no dude YOU'RE CRAZY

see like, ok, you play the chorus "if i can't have you" backwards vvvveeeerrrrryyyyyyy sssssllllooooowwwwllllyyyyy and it sounds like "OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOEH YAH NICK KNIFE!"

You also hear an "accidental" playing of the devil's tritone

Moral: DO NOT FUCK WITH ELLIMAN

― donut ferry (donut), Wednesday, 27 July 2005 01:58 (eighteen years ago) link

This one and the other ones on Side A of SNL seem a bit magical to me in that the structures of the songs seem seemless -- there is a chorus, and a verse, and a little instrumental part, but I never know which is which, and I don't care, since the production is like a silk pillow.

― 57 7th (calstars), Wednesday, 27 July 2005 18:02 (eighteen years ago) link

two years pass...

Great song in the movie and out of it. Did she ever do anything else as good?

"Love Me" is def. a contender

― tremendoid, Monday, 18 February 2008 09:34 (sixteen years ago) link

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

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