"If I Never Sing Another Song" is a

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and song of Great Britain and Ireland from the Late Middle Ages until the 19th century. They were widely used across Eur ...

written originally by

Alexandra Alexandra () is a female given name of Greek origin. It is the first attested form of its variants, including Alexander (, ). Etymology, Etymologically, the name is a compound of the Greek verb (; meaning 'to defend') and (; genitive, GEN , ; ...

. She named it “Illusionen” (Translation from German to English; Illusions). Contributions and changes were made later by Don Black and

Udo Jürgens Jürgen Udo Bockelmann (30 September 1934 – 21 December 2014), generally known as Udo Jürgens, was an Austrian composer and singer of popular music whose career spanned over 50 years. He won the Eurovision Song Contest 1966 for Austria, ...

. English singer

Matt Monro Matt Monro (born Terence Edward Parsons; 1 December 1930 – 7 February 1985) was an English singer. Known as "The Man with the Golden Voice", he performed internationally during his 30-year career and sold a reported 23 million records. AllMus ...

was the first to record and release the song in English, with John Burgess producing it.

Background

The song was first written in German in 1967 by

, who sang the song herself. The meaning behind the song is about a "superstar who has enjoyed the spotlight and heard all the applause the world has ever made" but being okay with not being able to reach the heights again as he "has tasted everything that fame could bring". It encapsulates being in the twilight of a singers' career.

Matt Monro version

In 1977, Don Black translated the lyrics in English and reworked it. He had previously worked with Monro and had written them originally for him, with help from Udo Jürgens. It was first offered to

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Honorific nicknames in popular music, Nicknamed the "Chairman of the Board" and "Ol' Blue Eyes", he is regarded as one of the Time 100: The Most I ...

, who turned it down. Matt Monro sang the song on ''Saturday Night At The Mill'' in February 1978, prior to its official release in March 1979, when Matt Monro released the album " If I Never Sing Another Song". The Matt Monro version was released on his March 1979 album "If I Never Sing Another Song" with great success.

Other versions

In 1980, Joe Longthorne created his own version of the song, becoming one of his most famous songs. A production was made by Vegas Films, which was written and produced by Film director Paul Lacovou. In 1995, Matt Monro's son, Matt Monro Jnr, released his own version of "If I Never Sing Another Song". He released it alongside a collection of Matt Monro songs, such as

On Days Like These "On Days Like These" is a pop ballad by English singer Matt Monro. It was composed by Quincy Jones, written by Don Black, and produced by George Martin. It was first released on Quincy Jones' soundtrack album ''The Italian Job'' by Paramount Recor ...

, as rearranged duets of himself and his father.

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the James Bond music, theme songs to three James Bond films - the only artist to officially perform more than o ...

had performed first in 1976 and continued to perform her version of it. "If I Never Sing Another Song" was first sung in English by

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...

. Singers who would also sing "If I never Sing Another Song, usually as their closing number, are

Sammy Davis Jr Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which tou ...

Johnnie Ray John Alvin Ray (January 10, 1927 – February 24, 1990) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. Highly popular for most of the 1950s, Ray has been cited by critics as a major precursor to what became rock and roll, for his jazz and blu ...

and

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer and songwriter whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performa ...

.{{Cite book , last=Black , first=Don , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4QGmDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22If%20I%20Never%20Sing%20Another%20Song%22&pg=PT185 , title=The Sanest Guy in the Room: A Life in Lyrics , date=2020-07-23 , publisher=Little, Brown Book Group , isbn=978-1-4721-3292-5 , language=en

References

1967 singles 1979 singles Matt Monro songs Film theme songs Songs with lyrics by Don Black (lyricist)