"Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" is a 1980 single written by James Warren and first performed by British pop band

the Korgis The Korgis are a British pop band known mainly for their hit single "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" in 1980. The band was originally composed of singer/guitarist/keyboardist Andy Davis (born Andrew Cresswell-Davis 10 August 1949) and singe ...

; Warren was lead singer in the band. It has subsequently been covered by numerous other artists.

Background

"Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" features a distinctive

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

line as primary sound, based on a prominent keyboards arrangement played by Phil Harrison. The song also is notable for its simple and sparse lyrics, but with a direct message. Related to this, lead singer and bassist James Warren has said that the song took only 10 or 15 minutes to write, literally singing the first thing to come into his mind, as he played both the chords and melodies on the piano. Producer David Lord subsequently added the big arrangement and strings. The distinctive instrument played after each chorus is the eighteen-string Chinese

zither Zithers (; , from the Greek word ''cithara'') are a class of stringed instruments. Historically, the name has been applied to any instrument of the psaltery family, or to an instrument consisting of many strings stretched across a thin, flat ...

known as a

guzheng The zheng () or gu zheng (), is a Chinese plucked zither. The modern guzheng commonly has 21, 25, or 26 strings, is long, and is tuned in a major pentatonic scale. It has a large, resonant soundboard made from '' Paulownia'' wood. Other ...

. Added to this, the song also features a brief instrumental section of

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

in the middle, as well some ''

pizzicato Pizzicato (, ; translated as "pinched", and sometimes roughly as "plucked") is a playing technique that involves plucking the strings of a string instrument. The exact technique varies somewhat depending on the type of instrument : * On bowe ...

s'' after each chorus. About the song meaning, Warren said:

At that time I was into new wave philosophies about working on yourself, meditation and that sort of stuff. The whole lyric comes out of that. It wasn’t a romantic song at all. For me it was all about an individual changing and being a different sort of person – trying to find out the root of your inner confusion, dealing with it and becoming a better person. So it was literally a philosophical lyric.

Releases

The song was released on 11 April 1980 from the group's second album, '' Dumb Waiters''. The single reached #5 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

and #18 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. 392 pp. The song topped the singles charts at #1 in France and #1 in Spain, and charted at #5 in Ireland, #6 in Switzerland, #11 in The Netherlands, #11 in Australia, #12 in New Zealand, and #14 in Belgium. This represented the peak of the Korgis' music chart success. The original 1980 version of "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" appears on the following compilation albums and CDs: * '' The Best of The Korgis'' (1983) * '' Archive Series'' (1997) * ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' (2001) * '' Don't Look Back – The Very Best of The Korgis'' (CD1) (2 CD) (2003) In 1990, Warren and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Cresswell-Davis ( a.k.a. Andy Davis) reformed the Korgis to re-record "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" for a charity album in support of the International Hostage Release Foundation. This version of the song appears on the compilation CD and DVD ''Kollection'' (2005). The Korgis also recorded a live, acoustic version of "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" in the summer of 2005, which was intended for release on '' Kollection'', but which eventually made its appearance in 2006 on the ''

Unplugged Unplugged may refer to: *Acoustic music, music not produced through electronic means * "Unplugged" (B.A.P song), 2014 * "Unplugged" (''Modern Family''), a 2010 episode of ''Modern Family'' Albums and EPs * ''Unplugged'' (5'nizza album), 2002 * '' ...

'' CD. An alternate version of "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" (with a different second verse) was included as a bonus track on the 1999 CD re-issue of 1980 album '' Dumb Waiters''. This alternate version also appears on the compilations '' Klassics – The Best of The Korgis'' (2001) and '' Don't Look Back – The Very Best of The Korgis'' (CD2) (2 CD) (2003) which also includes an uptempo 3m 51s version of the song as its closing track, taking the total variants of the song on this double CD compilation to three. When Warren and Davis reformed their first band,

Stackridge Stackridge were a British rock group which had their greatest success in the early 1970s. History Classic period Stackridge Lemon were formed from the remains of a previous band, Grytpype Thynne, by Andy Davis and James "Crun" Walter during ...

, in 2007, they incorporated "Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" into their set, Warren introducing it as a song he wrote for the Korgis. A live version by Stackridge was included in both the CD and DVD versions of ''The Forbidden City'', recorded at one of the 2007 shows in Bath, England. Keyboardist Glenn Tommey and drummer Andy Marsden, both one-time backing musicians for The Korgis, were part of that incarnation of Stackridge.

Personnel

The Korgis * James Warren –

lead vocals The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

* Stuart Gordon –

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

* Andy Davis –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

bell tree A bell tree, also known as tree bellsBeck, John. ''Encyclopedia of Percussion.'' Taylor and Francis, 1995. or Chinese bell tree (often confused with the mark tree), is a percussion instrument, consisting of vertically nested inverted metal bow ...

* Phil Harrison – keyboards

Charts

Weekly charts

Original version

1993 remix

Year-end charts

Baby D version

British musical group Baby D recorded a successful cover of the song, released as "(Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" on 22 May 1995 by

Production House Records Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, as the fifth single from their only album, ''

Deliverance ''Deliverance'' is a 1972 American survival thriller film produced and directed by John Boorman, and starring Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty, and Ronny Cox, with the latter two making their feature film debuts. The screenplay was adapt ...

''. It peaked at number three on the

and was also a top 20 hit in Finland, Iceland, Ireland and Scotland. A partially black-and-white

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing devic ...

was made for the song.

Critical reception

Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' wrote, "A female voice in the intro is the first variation on the Korgis' 1980 hit, then dub techniques and electronic percussion are used to take it to the

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...

grand finale. "It kind of takes you by surprise," admits

Red Rose Rock FM Rock FM is an Independent Local Radio station based in Manchester, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Lancashire, North West England. As of September 2022, the station has a weekly audie ...

/Preston/Blackpool head of music Andy Roberts, "as it starts as a

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or '' ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

and then becomes jungle, which is a very original way of updating an old hit. Now it's charted it proves that the popularity of jungle is no longer restricted to London." A reviewer from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' described it as "jungle pop which is right on track with this revamped version", adding that "an impressive and melodic vocal complements the jungle beat." The magazine's ''RM'' Dance Update deemed it "another catchy pop dance track that borrows from the past." Editor James Hamilton called it a "sure-fire smash hit attractively warbled junglistic remake". Jake Barnes from ''

Muzik ''Muzik'' was a British dance music magazine published by IPC Media from June 1995 to August 2003. ''Muzik'' was created by two former '' Melody Maker'' journalists, Push and Ben Turner. Push was the editor of ''Muzik'' from its launch until h ...

'' viewed it as "jungle-lite".

Track listing

* Europe 12" single - 1995 issue on Systematic Records YSCD4'' #"(Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" (R.A.F. Zone Mix) #"(Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" (Original Mix) #"(Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" (T.S.O.B. Mix) #"(Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" (Masters of House Mix) * UK CD single - 1995 issue on Systematic Records YSCD4'' #"(Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" (Radio Edit) — 4:10 #"(Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" (Original Mix) — 5:38 #"(Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" (T.S.O.B. Mix) — 6:26 #"(Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" (Neil Mclelland Mix) — 5:46 #"(Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" (Ray Keith No Sell Out Remix) — 5:28 #"(Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime) I Need Your Loving" (D-SP Remix) — 6:40

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Other versions

"Everybody's Got to Learn Sometime" has been covered many other times over the years, including several versions that reached the UK Singles Chart, most notably those by the Dream Academy (1987), Brian Davis (1991), Yazz (1994), Army of Lovers (2001) and the Cantamus Girls Choir (2005). NRG covered the song on their 1991 release ''The Real Hardcore''. In 1997,

a cappella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Ren ...

group the King's Singers recorded the track with lead vocals by James Warren. In 2003,

Erasure Erasure () is an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1985, consisting of lead vocalist and songwriter Andy Bell with songwriter, producer and keyboardist Vince Clarke, previously known as co-founder of the band Depeche Mode and a membe ...

recorded the song on their cover album '' Other People's Songs''. In September 2004, Zucchero and Vanessa Carlton entered the

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

charts A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can represent tabu ...

with their version of the song. That same year,

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his experimental and lo-fi style, and became known for creating musical colla ...

also covered the song for the Michel Gondry film ''

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (also simply known as ''Eternal Sunshine'') is a 2004 American romantic science fiction drama film written by Charlie Kaufman, directed by Michel Gondry, and starring Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet. Pi ...

''. In May 2005, Zucchero and Lara Fabian performed and recorded a live version of the song with a full orchestra for the ''Symphonic Show'' on French television. Richard Thompson covered the song as part of his

1000 Years of Popular Music ''1000 Years of Popular Music'' is a 2003 live album by Richard Thompson. The album was originally conceived after Richard Thompson, along with many other artists, was asked by ''Playboy'' magazine to nominate his choice of the best songs of th ...

tour in 2009, describing it on stage as the only good song to have been released in the 1980s.

Charts

Yazz Cantamus Girls Choir Zucchero & Vanessa Carlton

References

External links

The Official band website
* .
Songfacts
{{Authority control 1980 songs 1980 singles 1995 singles The Korgis songs Baby D (dance group) songs Beck songs Vanessa Carlton songs Zucchero Fornaciari songs Pop ballads New wave ballads Synth-pop ballads 1980s ballads British soft rock songs Number-one singles in France Number-one singles in Spain Asylum Records singles Production House Records singles