I Won't Last a Day Without You

Not to be confused with Won't Last a Day Without You.

"I Won't Last a Day Without You" is a song by Carpenters with lyrics written by Paul Williams and music composed by Roger Nichols. The writing duo had previously contributed "We've Only Just Begun" and "Rainy Days and Mondays" to the Carpenters.

"I Won't Last a Day Without You"
Single by Carpenters
from the album A Song for You
B-side	"One Love" (US) / "Goodbye to Love" (UK double A-side)
Released	March 25, 1974 (1974-03-25) (USA) / September 1972 (1972-09) (UK)
Recorded	1972
Studio	A&M Studios (Los Angeles, CA)[1]
Genre	Pop
Length	3:52
Label	A&M
Songwriter(s)	Paul Williams Roger Nichols
Producer(s)	Karen Carpenter, Richard Carpenter, Jack Daugherty
Carpenters singles chronology
"Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" (1974) "I Won't Last a Day Without You" (1974) "Please Mr. Postman" (1974)
A Song for You track listing
13 tracks Side one "A Song for You" "Top of the World" "Hurting Each Other" "It's Going to Take Some Time" "Goodbye to Love" "Intermission" Side two "Bless the Beasts and Children" "Flat Baroque" "Piano Picker" "I Won't Last a Day Without You" "Crystal Lullaby" "Road Ode" "A Song for You (Reprise)"

Composition and recording

The song was written by Paul Williams (lyrics) and Roger Nichols (music) who also wrote two previous hits for Carpenters – "We've Only Just Begun" and "Rainy Days and Mondays".^[2] According to the lyricist Paul Williams, the line "when there's no getting over that rainbow" in the chorus is a reference to the song "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz.^[2]

Williams said that the song was originally written with just two verses and a chorus, and a demo was submitted to Carpenters in 1971. However, just before the song was due to be recorded, a request was sent to the songwriters for an additional bridge and a third verse to be added. The songwriters managed to comply with this last-minute request, and they recorded a demo the day before the recording, to the displeasure of Carpenters who felt the song was not sent to them soon enough. Richard Carpenter also changed the bridge and chord structure, changes Williams felt detracted from the song and he believed that Carpenters would have greater success if they had recorded the song unchanged.^[3]

The song was recorded as a tract for Carpenters' album A Song for You, and was released two years later as a single in the US.^[2] Williams himself later recorded the song as it was written, as did Barbra Streisand and Diana Ross.^[3]

Release

The song was released in the U.K. in September 1972, paired with "Goodbye to Love" as a double-A side single for A Song for You.^{[citation needed]} The single reached No. 9 and spent 15 weeks on the chart.^[4]

It was later released in the U.S. and became a hit single for them in 1974, reaching No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart No. 1 one on the easy listening chart,^[5] the ninth No. 1 for Carpenters.

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1974) Peak position Canadian RPM Top Singles[6] 7 Canadian RPM Adult Contemporary[7] 1 Oricon International Singles Chart 1 UK Singles (OCC)[8] 32 Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 63 US Radio & Records CHR/Pop Airplay Chart[10] 10 US Billboard Hot 100[11] 11 US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[12] 1 US Cash Box Top 100[13] 9 US Cash Box Radio Active Airplay Singles[14] 1

Year-end charts Chart (1974) Position Canada[15] 104 US Cash Box [16] 99

Personnel

• Karen Carpenter – lead and backing vocals
• Richard Carpenter – backing vocals, piano, Wurlitzer electric piano, orchestration
• Joe Osborn – bass guitar
• Tony Peluso – electric guitar
• Hal Blaine – drums
• Louie Shelton – electric guitar^{[citation needed]}
• Earl Dumler – English horn
• Uncredited – tambourine

Other versions

Many artists have released other versions of "I Won't Last a Day Without You". Among the most notable are:

• Paul Williams, the lyricist for the song, recorded the song for the 1972 album Life Goes On. It was released as a single in 1973, but his rendition garnered only minor success, reaching 106 on the Bubbling Under chart and No. 40 on the Adult Contemporary chart.^[2][17]
• Diana Ross included it on her 1973 album Touch Me in the Morning; she also made it the B side of the title track single release, which became a No. 1 hit in August 1973.^[18]
• Barbra Streisand included it in her 1974 album ButterFly.^[19]
• Bobby Darin recorded a cover that later appeared on a posthumous album titled Darin 1936-1973 released by Motown Records two month afters Darin's death in December 1973.^[20]
• Maureen McGovern released it as a single in 1973 (and included it on her album The Morning After), reaching No. 89 Billboard, No. 72 Cash Box and No. 14 Adult Contemporary. In Canada, her version reached No. 12 AC.^[21] The Carpenters released their single the following year.
• Al Wilson created a medley of "I Won't Last a Day Without You" with another Nichols/Williams composition "Let Me Be The One" for his 1974 album La La Peace Song. The medley was issued as a single in December 1974 and went to No. 18 on the R&B chart in Billboard magazine; it crossed over to both Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart (No. 39),^[22] and to the mainstream Pop chart the Billboard Hot 100 (No. 70).^[23]
• Vince and Dianne Hatfield recorded a version which reached No. 83 on the Country chart.^[2]
• Ringo Sheena covered the song on her 2002 cover album Utaite Myōri as a duet with Hikaru Utada, who appears as a featured vocalist.
• Sarah Geronimo covered the song for her 2011 romantic comedy film Won't Last a Day Without You.
• Jamaican reggae singers Wayne Wonder and Sanchez covered the song in 1990, retitled "Won't Last A Day" for his album Wayne Wonder & Sanchez Part 2 released by Penthouse Records.^[24]

See also

• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1974 (U.S.)