"Everything I Own" is a song written by American singer-songwriter

David Gates David Ashworth Gates (December 11, 1940 – January 5, 2023) was a American singer-songwriter, guitarist, musician and producer, frontman and co-lead singer (with Jimmy Griffin) of the group Bread, which reached the top of the musical charts ...

. It was originally recorded by Gates's soft rock band Bread for their 1972 album '' Baby I'm-a Want You.'' The original reached No. 5 on the American ''Billboard'' Hot 100. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 52 song for 1972. "Everything I Own" also reached No. 5 in Canada and No. 1 in the Philippines. Jamaican artist

Ken Boothe Kenneth George Boothe OD (born 22 March 1948) is a Jamaican vocalist known for his distinctive vibrato and timbre. Boothe achieved an international reputation as one of Jamaica's finest vocalists through a series of crossover hits that appeal ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use the ...

version of the song was No. 1 in the UK Singles chart in 1974. A version by

Boy George George Alan O'Dowd (born 14 June 1961), known professionally as Boy George, is an English singer, songwriter, DJ, author and mixed media artist. Best known for his soulful voice and his androgynous appearance, Boy George has been the lead singe ...

reached No. 1 in the charts in the UK, Canada, Ireland and Norway in 1987, Boy George's first hit and only UK No. 1 as a solo artist.

Composition

Although initial listeners may have interpreted it as a song about a broken relationship,

revealed that it was written in memory of his father who died in 1963 before he achieved his success with Bread. According to the book ''1000 UK No. 1 Hits'' by Jon Kutner and Spencer Leigh, at his father's funeral, a friend took David Gates aside and said, "Your dad was so proud of what you were doing." David agreed, "My success would have been so special to him as he was my greatest influence. So I decided to write and record 'Everything I Own' about him. If you listen to the words, 'You sheltered me from harm, kept me warm, you gave my life to me, set me free', it says it all." As for the title, Gates said that he once sent his mother an orchid for her birthday at a time when he could barely afford it: "She was so touched – my dad wrote to tell me I could have had "anything she owned" in return." Typically Gates wrote the lyrics after the music. Although the lyrics were written so it could be interpreted as a love song, Gates said: "When I played it for my wife, she knew right away that it was about my father. She cried."

Covers

The single has been recorded by

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalist ...

The Connells ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in ...

, Jack Jones,

Zdravko Čolić Zdravko Čolić (, ; born 30 May 1951) is a Bosnian Serb singer and is widely considered one of the greatest vocalists and cultural icons of the former Yugoslavia. Dubbed the "Tom Jones of the Balkans", he has garnered fame in Southeastern Euro ...

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

Georgie Fame Georgie Fame (born Clive Powell; 26 June 1943) is an English R&B and jazz musician. Fame, who had a string of 1960s hits, is still performing, often working with contemporaries such as Alan Price, Van Morrison and Bill Wyman. Fame is the onl ...

, William Tarmey, *NSYNC

kolu,

Jude Jude may refer to: People Biblical * Jude, brother of Jesus, who is sometimes identified as being the same person as Jude the Apostle * Jude the Apostle, an apostle also called Judas Thaddaeus or Lebbaeus, the patron saint of lost causes in the ...

Rod Stewart Sir Roderick David Stewart (born 10 January 1945) is a British rock and pop singer and songwriter. Born and raised in London, he is of Scottish and English ancestry. With his distinctive raspy singing voice, Stewart is among the best-selling ...

, Rebeca Monroy,

Crystal Gayle Crystal Gayle (born Brenda Gail Webb; January 9, 1951) is an American country music singer widely known for her 1977 hit " Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". Initially, Gayle's management and record label were the same as that of her oldest sis ...

Nicole Scherzinger Nicole Scherzinger (; born Nicole Prascovia Elikolani Valiente, June 29, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and television personality. She is best known as the lead singer of the Pussycat Dolls, one of the list of best-se ...

, Russ Willoughby,

Chrissie Hynde Christine Ellen Hynde (born September 7, 1951) is an American musician. She is a founding member and the lead vocalist, guitarist, and primary songwriter of the rock band the Pretenders, and one of the band's two remaining original members alon ...

, Felix Serrat,

Greg London Greg London (born December 26, 1966) is an American singer, entertainer and impressionist. After a solo hit show in London's West End, he enjoyed a lengthy residency in Reno, Nevada before announcing his move to the Las Vegas Strip in mid-2010. ...

Edison Lighthouse Edison Lighthouse are an English pop band, formed in London in 1969. The band was best known for their 1970 hit single "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" recorded in late 1969. Career Before the name Edison Lighthouse, they were known as ...

, Marc Engelhard, Hernaldo Zuniga,

Aiza Seguerra Cariza "Ice" Yamson Seguerra (born September 17, 1983), formerly and still known professionally as Aiza Seguerra, is a Filipino actor, singer-songwriter, director and guitarist. Initially coming out as a lesbian in 2007, Seguerra now identifi ...

Vanessa Hudgens Vanessa Anne Hudgens (; born December 14, 1988) is an American actress and singer. After making her feature film debut in '' Thirteen'' (2003), Hudgens rose to fame portraying Gabriella Montez in the ''High School Musical'' film series (2006� ...

and

Boyzone Boyzone were an Irish boy band, created in 1993 by talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's ''The Late Late Show''. Their most successful line-up was composed of Keith Duffy, Step ...

. The song was frequently interpreted as a romantic one, but Gates wrote it as a tribute to his late father.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Ken Boothe version

Jamaican artist

version of the song "Everything I Own" in 1974 was featured on his

Trojan Records Trojan Records is a British record label founded in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. The name ''Trojan'' comes from the Croydon-built Trojan truck ...

album release of the same name. Boothe first heard

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

' version of the song in Canada, and included it in his album as he needed additional material. He recorded the song at the Federal studios in Kingston, Jamaica, and it reached No. 1 in that country on release. The recording was then picked by Trojan Records for release in the United Kingdom, where it reached No. 1 in the Singles charts on October 26, 1974, staying at the top for three weeks. Although the song was a major success, with Trojan going bankrupt in 1975, Boothe did not receive royalties. Boothe's version employs the lyric "I would give anything I own".

Personnel

Source: *

– vocals * Willie Lindo – guitar *

Lloyd Parks Lloyd Parks (born 26 May 1949) is a Jamaican reggae vocalist and bass player who has recorded and performed as a solo artist as well as part of Skin, Flesh & Bones, The Revolutionaries, The Professionals, and We the People Band.Larkin, Colin: ...

– bass * Paul Douglas a.k.a. Paul Williams – drums * Federal Soul Givers *

Lloyd Charmers Lloyd Charmers (born Lloyd Tyrell, 1938 – 27 December 2012, also known as Lloyd Chalmers, Lloyd Terell, or Lloyd Terrell)Ruddock, George (2012), ''Jamaica Gleaner'', 29 December 2012. Retrieved 29 December 2012 was a Jamaican ska and reggae ...

– producer, organ, piano, percussion * Buddy Davidson & George Raymond – mixing engineers

Boy George version

The version by British singer and songwriter

reached No. 1 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 ...

for two weeks in March 1987, becoming his first hit and only UK No. 1 as a solo artist. It was also his first solo single after a departure from his band,

Culture Club Culture Club are an English pop band formed in London in 1981. The band comprises Boy George (lead vocals), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), Mikey Craig (bass guitar) and formerly included Jon Moss (drums and percussion). Emerging in the New R ...

. Owing more to the Ken Boothe version, the sweet

style was reminiscent of his earlier debut hit with Culture Club, "

Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me" is a song written and performed by English new wave band Culture Club. Released as a single in September 1982 from the group's platinum-selling debut album, '' Kissing to Be Clever'' (1982), it was the band's fir ...

". Coming at the time of his arrest for possession of heroin, it provided a major boost to his career. Other than the UK, it was a No. 1 in many countries (including Canada, Ireland, Italy, Norway and South Africa) and top 10 in many markets too. The track was recorded during the "Sold" sessions at Air Studios Montserrat and produced by Stewart Levine. The musicians were Ian Maidman (later aka Jennifer Maidman) bass and guitar, Vic Martin keyboards, Glen Nightingale guitar, Richie Stevens drums, and Paul 'Wix' Wickens keyboards . Boy George played this song many times in his live shows. He re-recorded the track in an acoustic style (named the Hippy Trippy Mix) and it was released on the American CD single of "Everything I Own", a re-release from 1993. It was also remixed in a dub version for the ''Culture Club 2002'' box set.

Critical reception

William Ruhlmann from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the dat ...

stated in his review of '' Sold'', "But it's still that bouncy, vulnerable voice, notably on the

-tinged hit "Everything I Own", that remains his trademark." On the 1993 version,

Larry Flick Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the music ...

from ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' commented, "Refurbished for George's new "''At Worst, The Best Of''" compilation, oh-so charming track should meet with greater approval this time around—thanks to George's revived strength at radio and radio's increasing penchant for reggaevibed covers." Irish newspaper '' Kerryman'' wrote that the singer "returns with the deceptive tune that was aired by American group Bread. While it may not be a brilliant return the Boy needs our support. Lets hope this will mark the beginning of a full rehabilitation." A reviewer from ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''People'' had the l ...

'' described it as an "atrocious" reggae version, and added, "To fit the reggae meter George must resort to a sort of hiccup on the chorus, “I would give everything I o-own." Oh-oh, Boy!" British newspaper '' Reading Evening Post'' reviewed the song as a "croaky and tired sounding version of the old hit."

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Covers (details)

released a version in 1972 on his album, '' Love Theme from "The Godfather"''.

Cilla Black Priscilla Maria Veronica White (27 May 1943 – 1 August 2015), better known as Cilla Black, was an English singer, actress and television presenter. Championed by her friends the Beatles, Black began her career as a singer in 1963. Her ...

released a version in 1974 on her album ''

In My Life "In My Life" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles. It appeared on their 1965 album '' Rubber Soul''. Its lyrics were written primarily by John Lennon, credited to Lennon–McCartney. George Martin contributed the piano solo brid ...

''.

Joe Stampley Joe Stampley (born June 6, 1943) is an American country music singer. He had success as the lead singer of a rock group, in a country duo with Moe Bandy and as a solo performer. Stampley has released over 20 albums and more than 60 singles in ...

released this song twice. First on his 1972 album, ''If You Touch Me (You've Got to Love Me)'', and then again in 1976 on his ''All These Things'' album. He released it as a single in 1976 and it peaked at No. 12 on the Country charts. Brazilian singer

Diana Diana most commonly refers to: * Diana (name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Diana (mythology), ancient Roman goddess of the hunt and wild animals; later associated with the Moon * Diana, Princess of Wales (1961–1997) ...

recorded a Portuguese version of the song with the title "Tudo Que Eu Tenho". The version by Ken Boothe reached No. 1 on the

for three weeks in October 1974. The version by Boy George also reached No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart, in 1987. Country star

released her version as a single in 1983 where it peaked at No. 93 on the UK Singles Chart. A cover version of this song was recorded by

The Remingtons The Remingtons were an American country music group founded in 1991. They consisted of guitarists and vocalists Jimmy Griffin, Richard Mainegra, and Rick Yancey. Griffin was previously a member of the soft rock group Bread, while Mainegra and Yan ...

, a band which comprised former Bread member

Jimmy Griffin James Arthur Griffin (August 10, 1943 – January 11, 2005) was an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known for his work with the 1970s soft rock band Bread. He won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1970 as co-write ...

, on their 1993 album ''

Aim for the Heart ''Aim for the Heart'' is the second and final album from the American country music trio The Remingtons. Released in April 1993 on BNA Entertainment, the album produced two singles on the ''Billboard'' country singles charts: "Nobody Loves You Wh ...

''. In 1998,

'N Sync NSYNC (, ; also stylized as *NSYNC or 'N Sync) was an American boy band formed by Chris Kirkpatrick in Orlando, Florida, in 1995 and launched in Germany by BMG Ariola Munich. Their self-titled debut album was successfully released to Europe ...

also covered the song on their debut album '' *NSYNC''. In 2006,

covered the song for the soundtrack to the film ''

Happy Feet ''Happy Feet'' is a 2006 computer-animated jukebox musical comedy film directed, produced, and co-written by George Miller. It stars the voices of Elijah Wood, Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, ...

''. This recording was produced by John Powell and Gavin Greenaway. On the soundtrack album '' Happy Feet: Music from the Motion Picture'', the song is mashed up with "

The Joker The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book ''Batman'' on April 25, 19 ...

", recorded by

Jason Mraz Jason Thomas Mraz (; born June 23, 1977) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his debut studio album, ''Waiting for My Rocket to Come'' (2002), which spawned the single "The Remedy (I Won't W ...

. The song (in a new ska arrangement) is also included in the 2009 film ''

Bandslam ''Bandslam'' is a 2009 American musical romantic comedy drama film directed by Todd Graff who co-wrote the screenplay with Josh A. Cagan. The film stars Aly Michalka, Vanessa Hudgens, Gaelan Connell, Lisa Kudrow, Scott Porter, Ryan Donowho, an ...

''. It is performed by

, and is present on the

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

as well. On November 19, 2009,

and "Everything I Own" won the award for Best Adult Contemporary Song for the highest charting new artist release and release on an independent label on all three AC Radio airplay charts at the Hollywood Music in Media Awards HMMA. In 2013, Irish group

released the song as part of their anniversary album BZ20. They later performed the song at Sport Relief 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Everything I Own 1972 singles 1974 singles Songs written by David Gates Bread (band) songs 1987 debut singles 1987 singles 1993 singles Boy George songs Rod Stewart songs Crystal Gayle songs The Kendalls songs Andy Williams songs European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles Songs based on real people UK Singles Chart number-one singles Irish Singles Chart number-one singles Number-one singles in Norway Number-one singles in Zimbabwe 1972 songs Ken Boothe songs Elektra Records singles Federal Records singles Trojan Records singles Virgin Records singles Songs about fathers