You're the First, the Last, My Everything

"You're the First, the Last, My Everything/You are the First, My Last, My Everything"
Single by Barry White
from the album Can't Get Enough
B-side "More Than Anything, You're My Everything"
Released October 25, 1974 (1974-10-25) (UK)[1]
Recorded 1974 (1974)
Genre Rhythm and blues, disco
Length 4:33
3:30 (7" version)
Label 20th Century Records
Writer(s) Peter Radcliffe, Tony Sepe, Barry White
Producer(s) Barry White
Barry White singles chronology
"Can't Get Enough of Your Love, Babe"
(1974)		 "You're the First, The Last, My Everything"
(1974)		 "What Am I Gonna Do with You"
(1975)

"You're the First, the Last, My Everything" or "You're the First, My Last, My Everything" is a popular song recorded by Barry White. Written by White, Tony Sepe and Peter Radcliffe and produced by White, "You're the First, the Last, My Everything" was White's fourth top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, reaching #2; it spent a week at #1 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart.[2] The early disco classic made it to number two on the disco/dance charts.[3] In the UK Singles Chart it fared even better, spending two weeks at the top in December 1974.[4] It appeared on White's 1974 album Can't Get Enough.

Radcliffe originally wrote "You're the First, My Last, My Everything" as a country song with the title "You're My First, You're My Last, My In-Between", which went unrecorded for 21 years. White recorded it as a disco song, keeping most of the structure and about two-third of the title, but he rewrote the lyrics.

The song is featured in the films Money Talks (1997; also on its CD soundtrack album, where White had recorded an alternative version, as simply "My Everything" as a duet with Faith Evans), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004; also on its CD soundtrack album), Zookeeper (2011), and anachronistically in Tim Burton's film Dark Shadows (2012; also on its CD soundtrack album) as the film was set in 1972, two years before the song was released.

It was also in several episodes of the Fox series Ally McBeal, accompanying John Cage (Peter MacNicol) during his life most of the time. Whenever he gets into a difficult situation, he withdraws and concentrates on the song, hearing it and dancing to it, to regain strength and concentrate on whatever comes along.

The song is featured in the music video game Just Dance 4 (2012) for PlayStation 3, Wii, Wii U, and Xbox 360.

Chart positions

Charts (1974-75) Peak
position
US Billboard Hot 100 2
US Billboard Hot Soul Singles 1
United Kingdom (UK Singles Chart) 1
France (IFOP)[5] 7
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[6] 6
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[7] 13

Other notable recordings

A cover version of the song performed by Howard Brown was released in 2005 in the UK as a charity single. It peaked at #13 in the UK singles chart. Prior to its release it had been adapted for a popular television commercial for Halifax Bank in which Brown could be seen singing and dancing.

References

  1. ↑ "Barry White - You're The First, the Last, My Everything / More Than Anything, You're My Everything - 20th Century - UK - BTC 2133". 45cat. 2012-10-30. Retrieved 2014-03-27.
  2. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 620.
  3. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 279.
  4. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. pp. 307–8. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  5. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 20, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Barry White – You're The First, The Last, My Everything" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 2015-04-17.
  7. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Barry White – You're The First, The Last, My Everything" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 2015-04-17.
Preceded by
"Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas and Biddu		 Billboard's Hot Soul number one single
January 18, 1975 		Succeeded by
"Fire" by The Ohio Players
Preceded by
"Gonna Make You a Star" by David Essex		 UK Singles Chart number one single
December 7, 1974 (2 weeks) 		Succeeded by
"Lonely This Christmas" by Mud
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