"I (Who Have Nothing)" (sometimes billed as "I Who Have Nothing") is an English language cover of the Italian song "''Uno dei Tanti''" (English: "One of Many"), with music by Carlo Donida and lyrics by Giulio "Mogol" Rapetti. The initial version, "Uno dei Tanti", was performed by Joe Sentieri in 1961. The song first recorded in English by

Ben E. King Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later i ...

in 1963 with new lyrics by

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller Lyricist Jerome Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011) and composer Michael Stoller (born March 13, 1933) were American songwriting and record producing partners. They found success as the writers of such crossover hit songs as " Hound Dog" ( ...

. Other successful cover versions were released 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 ...

and

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer * Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in ...

, also by Status Quo.

Ben E. King version

The English lyrics for "I (Who Have Nothing)" were written by

. The title is a translation of a line in the Italian lyrics "''Io, che non ho niente''", but otherwise the English lyrics were written afresh by the lyricists. Leiber and Stoller also produced the first English language release, performed by

in 1963. Leiber and Stoller previously had co-written and produced the song " Stand by Me" with Ben E. King in 1961. The record used the same arrangement from Joe Sentieri's record (orchestra conducted by Luis Enriquez Bacalov). In the US, the Ben E. King version reached No. 29 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 charts and No. 16 on the Hot R&B Singles chart.

Charts

Shirley Bassey Version

recorded the song with producer

George Martin Sir George Henry Martin (3 January 1926 – 8 March 2016) was an English record producer, arranger, composer, conductor, and musician. He was commonly referred to as the " Fifth Beatle" because of his extensive involvement in each of the B ...

as the song by Ben E. King was rising in the chart in the US, and released the song in the UK in September 1963. Her version reached No. 6 on UK charts. Bassey has performed the song at almost every live concert she gave, and it is included in many of her compilation albums, such as a version in ''I Am What I Am'' recorded with the

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...

, and a version in Spanish ("Hoy No Tengo Nada") in her 1989 album ''La Mujer''. She has also performed with the song's composer Donida who conducted his own music on Italian television.

Charts

Tom Jones version

recorded a version which was released in 1970. The song is the title track of his album ''I Who Have Nothing''. This became the most popular version of the song in the United States, peaking at No. 14 in 1970 on the ''

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 ...

'' Hot 100, No. 2 on the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, ...

chart, and No. 10 in Canada. This version also peaked at No. 11 in '' Cashbox''.

Charts

Sylvester version

Sylvester recorded a disco version in 1979. The orchestral arrangement for the song was recorded at Island Records'

Basing Street Studios Basing Street Studios was a recording studio in a former 17th century chapel at 8–10 Basing Street, in Notting Hill, London, England. Originally established in 1969 as Island Studios by Chris Blackwell, the founder of Island Records, the studi ...

. This version reached No. 40 in US and No. 86 Canada.

Charts

Other versions

Other versions which reached the Billboard charts were performed by Terry Knight and the Pack in 1966 (No. 46 US, No. 36 Canada), Liquid Smoke in 1970 (No. 82 US, No. 66 Canada), Warhorse in 1972. British rock band The Spectres, later known as Status Quo, released their version of the song produced by John Schroeder in September 1966 as a single on Piccadilly Records. This would be their debut single, nearly a year before changing their name and finding their way to mainstream popularity. The single, however, failed to chart. Swedish pop group Tom & Mick & Maniacs recorded the song sporadically between 5–7 and 15 October 1967 at

Europafilm Europafilm was an influential Swedish film company established in 1929 by Schamyl Bauman and Gustaf Scheutz. The office was located at Kungsgatan in central Stockholm, while the film studio was located in Mariehäll, Bromma Bromma () is a boro ...

Studio in

Bromma Bromma () is a borough (''stadsdelsområde'') in the western part of Stockholm, Sweden, forming part of the Stockholm Municipality. Bromma is primarily made up of Bromma Parish and Västerled Parish. The fourth largest airport in Sweden and the ...

, Stockholm together with producer Anders Henriksson.''Tom Mick & Maniacs'' (liner notes pg. 10). Brandels, Göran. Tom & Mick & Maniacs.

Riverside Records Riverside Records was an American jazz record company and label. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer, Jr, under his firm Bill Grauer Productions in 1953, the label played an important role in the jazz record industry for a decade. Riversid ...

. 2013. In December of that year, it was released on their album ''Tom & Mick Maniacs'',''Tom Mick & Maniacs'' (liner notes pg. 4). Brandels, Göran. Tom & Mick & Maniacs.

. 2013. and in February 1968, it was extracted as a single on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

, backed by "Pandemonium", an original composition. It reached No. 8 on ''

Tio i Topp ''Tio i Topp'' (English: ''Ten At The Top'') was a Swedish record chart and radio program broadcast by Sveriges Radio P3 between the years of 1961 and 1974. It was launched to combat pirate radio charts and was the first official Swedish record cha ...

'', becoming their final chart hit.

References

{{authority control 1963 singles 1966 singles 1970 singles 1979 singles Ben E. King songs Shirley Bassey songs Sylvester (singer) songs Songs written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller Songs written by Mogol (lyricist) Song recordings produced by George Martin Torch songs Disco songs 1963 songs Atco Records singles Songs written by Carlo Donida it:Uno dei tanti/Cara cara