All by Myself

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(Redirected from
All by Myself (Celine Dion song)
)
For other uses, see All by Myself (disambiguation).

"All by Myself"
One of side-A labels of the US single
Single by Eric Carmen
from the album Eric Carmen
B-side"Everything"
ReleasedDecember 1975[1]
Recorded1975
Genre
Length
  • 7:10 (album version)
  • 4:22 (single edit)
LabelArista
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)Eric Carmen[4]
Producer(s)Jimmy Ienner
Eric Carmen singles chronology
"All by Myself"
(1975) 		"Never Gonna Fall in Love Again"
(1976)
Music video
"All by Myself" on
YouTube

"All by Myself" is a song by American singer-songwriter Eric Carmen, released by Arista in December 1975 as the first single from Carmen's debut album, Eric Carmen (1975). The verse is based on the second movement (Adagio sostenuto) of Sergei Rachmaninoff's 1900–1901 Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Opus 18. The chorus was taken from the song "Let's Pretend", which Carmen wrote and recorded with the Raspberries in 1972.[5] The slide guitar solo was performed by studio guitarist Hugh McCracken.[6]

Background and composition

According to Carmen, he first wrote the solo part of the song, writing four bars at a time, eventually completed the interlude after two months.[7] He needed to put this into a song, and after listening to Rachmaninoff's 2nd piano concerto, a piece famously used to underscore the 1945 British film Brief Encounter, he adapted the melody of its second movement to write the verse.[7] Rachmaninoff's music was in the public domain in the United States at that time, so Carmen thought no copyright existed on it, but it was still protected outside the U.S. subsequent to the release of the album. He was later contacted by the Rachmaninoff estate and informed that it was protected.[8] An agreement was reached in which the estate would receive 12 percent of the royalties from "All by Myself" as well as from "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again", which was based on the third movement from Rachmaninoff's Symphony No. 2.[9][10]

Carmen stated that he also incorporated part of another melody into this song. The melody of the chorus was taken from his previous hit with the Raspberries, "Let's Pretend".[7]

Television performance

Carmen performed "All by Myself" and his follow-up hit, "Never Gonna Fall in Love Again", on The Midnight Special television program on July 23, 1976 (season 4, episode 37). The show was hosted by The Spinners.[11]

Release

The

Cash Box said that Carmen "captures the vocal power of at least two of the three Bee Gees and seems also to have tapped the lyric capabilities of a Paul McCartney."[14] Record World said that Carmen "croons over a backdrop of cascading strings on this self-penned delight from his recent album."[15]

It reached number two on the

Cash Box Top 100 Singles and number three in Canada. The single sold more than one million copies in the United States and was certified gold by the RIAA in April 1976.[17] "All by Myself" was Carmen's first of eight US Top 40 hits. In the UK, however, this was his only Top 40 success, peaking at number 12. The song would be featured in an episode of the popular television series Friends
during a scene of Chandler and Joey being depressed after Joey moves out.

Charts

Celine Dion version

"All by Myself"
The Record Plant
  • Compass Point
  • Capitol
    • GenreSoft rock[36]
    Length
    • 5:09 (album version)
    • 4:30 (single version)
    • 3:54 (radio edit)
    Label
    Songwriter(s)
    Producer(s)David Foster
    Celine Dion singles chronology
    "The Power of the Dream"
    (1996)     		"All by Myself"
    (1996)     		"Call the Man"
    (1997)
    Music video
    "All by Myself" on
    YouTube

    The most notable cover version of "All by Myself" was recorded by Canadian singer Celine Dion in 1996. It was the fourth (or third, depending on the country) hit single from her fourth English-language studio album, Falling into You (1996).[38] Produced by David Foster at Compass Point Studios in the Bahamas, it was released on December 9, 1996, in the United Kingdom and on March 11, 1997, in the United States.

    The single became one of Dion's biggest hits in the United States, reaching number one on the

    Hot 100 Singles Sales
    ). It was also a top 10 hit in France, United Kingdom, Wallonia in Belgium and the Republic of Ireland. In Canada, "All by Myself" was released as a promotional single only, hitting number one on the Adult Contemporary Chart. "All by Myself" was certified gold in the US (500,000) and in the UK (400,000) and silver in France (125,000).

    During an interview on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, Dion revealed that the famous high note (F5) leading into the key change had not been planned but David Foster surprised her with it when she appeared for recording. When Dion asked why the surprise, Foster told her that if she couldn't sing it, other singers would, which prompted Dion to prove to Foster that she could sing it.[39]

    Critical reception

    Dion's cover received positive reviews from most music critics. Bill Lamb from

    Irish Times said, "It's probably a good thing that Celine is all by herself people in the room with her might have their eardrums shattered by her climactic, over the top delivery."[44]

    A reviewer from

    Salon described it as a "dog-ear-shattering remake".[50]
    Christopher Smith from TalkAboutPopMusic wrote,

    Only a few vocalists could possibly attempt to do justice to Eric Carmen's 1975 classic, but with her out-of-this-world voice, Celine is one of them and perhaps the only one big enough to lift the song's long and emotional chords at the end. Celine shatters glass and blows ear drums as she reaches that final "anymore". Bring on the orchestra, drums and guitar as they prove no match for Celine as she repeats the song's central line again and again "don't wanna be, all by myself". Earth shattering and epic are the words and it was hardly surprising that it wouldn't be released as a single in due course either.[51]

    Music video

    A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by British director

    sepia toned footage showing an apparently lonely and sad Dion. The video was later made available on Dion's official YouTube channel in 2012 and had generated more than 63 million views as of October 2023.[53]

    Track listings and formats

    Charts

    Certifications

    Region Certification Certified units/sales
    France (
    SNEP)[92]
    		 Silver 125,000*
    United Kingdom (BPI)[93] Gold 400,000‡
    United States (RIAA)[94] Gold 500,000^

    * Sales figures based on certification alone.
    ^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
    ‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

    Release history

    Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
    United Kingdom December 9, 1996
    • CD
    • cassette
    		 Epic [95]
    Japan January 22, 1997 Mini CD SMEJ [96]
    United States March 11, 1997
    • CD
    • cassette
    • 7-inch
    		[97][unreliable source?]

    Other covers

    In 1994, "All by Myself" was covered by New Zealand singer Margaret Urlich. Her version reached number 100 in Australia in November 1994,[98] and number 26 in New Zealand in March 1995.[99]

    In 2018, a cover by Ghian Wright, renamed to "I'm All Alone (Belter Version)", was used in the science fiction television series The Expanse, in the episode of season 3 "Delta-V".[100] The lyrics of the song were rewritten in the mix of English and Belter Creole, a constructed language made for the TV series by Nick Farmer, that was used in the show by Belters, the inhabitants of the asteroid belt and outer planets.[101][102] The lyrics were additionally adjusted to fit the in-universe setting[102] The full version of the song was later placed on The Collector's Edition version of the TV series soundtrack, that was released on December 13, 2019.[100]

    See also

    References

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    External links

    Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=All_by_Myself&oldid=1217943872#Celine_Dion_version"