"You Needed Me" is a song written by

Randy Goodrum Charles Randolph Goodrum (born July 7, 1947) is an American songwriter, pianist, and producer. Goodrum wrote number one songs in each of the four decades after his first number one hit, 1978's " You Needed Me". Goodrum's songs have appeared on ...

, who describes it as being about "unconditional undeserved love". It was a number-one single in the United States in 1978 for Canadian singer

Anne Murray Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian country, pop and adult contemporary music singer who has sold over 55 million album copies worldwide during her over 40-year career. Murray has won four Grammys including the Grammy ...

, for which she won a Grammy Award. In 1999, Irish pop band

Boyzone Boyzone were an Irish boy band created in 1993 by the talent manager Louis Walsh. Before even recording any material, Boyzone made an appearance on RTÉ's ''The Late Late Show (Ireland), The Late Late Show''. Its most successful line-up was co ...

recorded a hit cover of the song that reached number one on the UK Singles Chart.

Original Anne Murray version

"You Needed Me" was first recorded by singer Anne Murray in 1978. The song peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and revitalized her career after several years of declining popularity as it became her first Top 40 US single since her 1974 remake of

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

' " You Won't See Me". The song, included on her 1978 album '' Let's Keep It That Way'', was also a top-five country single and won Song of the Year at the

Academy of Country Music The Academy of Country Music (ACM) was founded in 1964 in Los Angeles, California, Los Angeles, California as the Country & Western Music Academy. Among the founders were Eddie Miller (songwriter), Eddie Miller, Tommy Wiggins, and Mickey and Chris ...

awards, and is her most successful single in the United Kingdom, where it made the top 30. Murray is quoted in ''The Billboard Book of Number One Hits'' by

Fred Bronson Fredric M. "Fred" Bronson (born January 10, 1949) is an American journalist, author and writer. He is the author of books related to number one songs on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart and other books related to various music charts as well. He ...

as saying she was not surprised by the song's success, as she knew from the start the song would be a hit because she broke down in tears the first time she tried to sing it. Although the song reached number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart (and is her only song to top that chart), it never topped the two ''Billboard'' charts where Murray has had the most success—

Country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...

and

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

. However, it spent a then-record 36 weeks on the Adult Contemporary chart, a record for chart longevity that stood until 1990. The song spent 10 weeks at number one in Malaysia. The song earned Murray the

Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The awar ...

at the

21st Grammy Awards The 21st Annual Grammy Awards were held in 1979, and were broadcast live on American television. They recognized accomplishments by musicians from the year 1978. Award winners *Record of the Year **Phil Ramone (producer) & Billy Joel for " J ...

, the first to be awarded to a Canadian artist. The single was certified Platinum in Canada and Gold in the US. Anne Murray re-recorded the song with

Shania Twain Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( ; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists of all time and the best-sel ...

for Murray's 2007 album '' Duets: Friends & Legends''. The song was featured in an ongoing storyline on the CBS soap ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

'' in 1980–81, as a theme song for the characters Kelly Nelson and Morgan Richards. In 2013, the song was performed by

Seth MacFarlane Seth Woodbury MacFarlane (; born October 26, 1973) is an American actor, animator, writer, producer, director, comedian, and singer. He is best known as the creator and star of the television series ''Family Guy'' (since 1999) and ''The Orvill ...

in character as

Stewie Griffin Stewart Gilligan "Stewie" Griffin is a fictional character from the animated television series ''Family Guy''. He is voiced by series creator Seth MacFarlane and first appeared on television, along with the rest of the Griffin family, in the ...

on the ''

Family Guy ''Family Guy'' is an American animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series premiered on January 31, 1999, following Super Bowl XXXIII, with the rest of the first season airing from April 11, 1999. Th ...

'' episode "Chris Cross", in which Anne Murray herself guest-starred.

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Boyzone version

"You Needed Me" was covered by Irish boy band

in 1999. It was released as the second single from their album '' By Request''. It became their sixth and final single to reach number one on the UK Singles Chart, outselling Spice Girl

Geri Halliwell Geraldine Estelle Halliwell-Horner (''née'' Halliwell; born 6 August 1972) is an English singer, songwriter, television personality, author, and actress. She rose to fame in the mid-1990s as a member of the pop group the Spice Girls, in which ...

's debut single, " Look at Me", by 748 copies. The song received a gold disc for sales of 400,000 copies in the UK.

Track listings

Irish maxi-CD single # "You Needed Me" # " When the Going Gets Tough" # "You Needed Me" (Jewels & Stone Remix) # "Megamix (Love to Infinity)" UK CD1 # "You Needed Me" # "Words Can't Describe" # "Megamix (Love to Infinity)" UK CD2 # "You Needed Me" # "You Needed Me" (Jewels & Stone Remix) # "Too Late Tonight" # "You Needed Me" (video) UK cassette single # "You Needed Me" # "Words Can't Describe"

Credits and personnel

Credits are lifted from the '' By Request'' album booklet. Studio * Engineered and programmed at Rokstone Studios (London, England) Personnel *

– writing *

Wayne Hector Wayne Anthony Hector is a British songwriter who is best known for his work with pop artists such as Nicki Minaj, One Direction, the Wanted, Toše Proeski and Olly Murs. He co-wrote seven of Westlife's number one singles, including " World ...

– additional backing vocals, backing vocal arrangement * Ali Tennant – additional backing vocals * Yvonne John Lewis – additional backing vocals * John Matthews – additional backing vocals * Paul Gendler – guitars *

Steve Mac Steve McCutcheon (born 15 January 1972), known professionally as Steve Mac, is a British record producer, songwriter and musician. A multi-award-winning producer, he is one of the most prolific songwriters and record producers in modern Briti ...

– production, backing vocal arrangement * Chris Laws – engineering, programming * Matt Howe – mix engineering *

Richard Niles Richard Niles is an American composer, arranger, record producer, guitarist, broadcaster, and journalist. Biography Early years Niles was born May 28, 1951, in Hollywood. He is the son of Tony Romano, a composer, singer, and guitarist who writ ...

– string arrangement

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Other versions

The New Seekers The New Seekers were a British pop group, formed in London, in 1969, by Keith Potger, after the break-up of his group, the Seekers. The idea was that the New Seekers would appeal to the same market as the original Seekers, but their music wou ...

, a late 1978 single. *

Burl Ives Burl Icle Ivanhoe Ives (June 14, 1909 – April 14, 1995) was an American Folk music, folk singer and actor with a career that spanned more than six decades. Ives began his career as an itinerant singer and guitarist, eventually launching his o ...

– included in the album ''The Magic Balladeer '' (1993). *

Daniel O'Donnell Daniel Francis Noel O'Donnell, MBE (born 12 December 1961) is an Irish singer, television presenter and philanthropist. After rising to public attention in 1983, he has since become a household name in Ireland and Britain; he has also had co ...

– in his album ''Songs of Inspiration '' (1996). *

Howard Keel Harold Clifford Keel (April 13, 1919November 7, 2004), professionally Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer known for his rich bass-baritone singing voice. He starred in a number of MGM musicals in the 1950s, including ''Show Boat'' (195 ...

– for his 1985 album ''Reminiscing – The Howard Keel Collection''. This peaked at #20 in the UK album chart during a 12-week stay. *

Lynn Anderson Lynn René Anderson (September 26, 1947 – July 30, 2015) was an American country singer and television personality. Her crossover signature recording, " Rose Garden", was a number one hit internationally. She also charted five number one ...

recorded her version of "You Needed Me" for the 1983 album ''Up Close''. The song was subsequently included in various country and love song compilation albums that include her. *

Patti Page Clara Ann Fowler (November 8, 1927 – January 1, 2013), better known by her stage name Patti Page, was an American singer. Primarily known for Pop music, pop and Country music, country music, she was the top-charting female vocalist and b ...

– for her album ''Best Country Songs'' (2008). *

Perry Como Pierino Ronald "Perry" Como (; May 18, 1912 – May 12, 2001) was an American singer, actor, and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century, he recorded exclusively for RCA Victor for 44 years, from 1943 until 1987 ...

– '' Perry Como Live on Tour'' (1981) *

Val Doonican Michael Valentine 'Val' Doonican (3 February 1927 – 1 July 2015) was an Irish singer of traditional pop, easy listening and novelty songs, noted for his warm and relaxed vocal style. A crooner, he found popular success, especially in t ...

– in the album ''It's Good to See You'' (1988). *

Vic Damone Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018) was an American traditional pop music, pop and big band singer and actor. He was best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit "You're Breaking My ...

– included in his album ''Now'' (1981). *

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

– included on her ''

Especially for You "Especially for You" is a song performed by Australian recording artists Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan from Donovan's debut album, '' Ten Good Reasons'' (1989). The song was released as his album's second single on 28 November 1988 and was w ...

'' album (1980) *

Kenny Rogers Kenneth Ray Rogers (born Kenneth Donald Rogers) (August 21, 1938 – March 20, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame in 2013. Rogers was particul ...

Dottie West Dottie West (born Dorothy Marie Marsh; October 11, 1932 – September 4, 1991) was an American country singer and songwriter. She also had several credits as an actress. A distinguished figure in the country genre, West was among several people ...

– included in the album Classics (1978)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1978 singles 1999 singles Songs written by Randy Goodrum Anne Murray songs Boyzone songs Lynn Anderson songs Shania Twain songs Song recordings produced by Jim Ed Norman Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Number-one singles in New Zealand Number-one singles in Scotland UK singles chart number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Capitol Records singles Canadian soft rock songs Pop ballads 1970s ballads 1978 songs Polydor Records singles Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance