"The Power of Love" is a power ballad co-written and
originally recorded by Jennifer Rush. It has been covered by
several artists, most notably by Laura Branigan and Céline
Dion, and translated into several languages, becoming a pop
standard.
In 1985, Jennifer Rush's version spent 5 weeks at number 1
on the UK Singles Chart. However, the song spent much of the
summer of 1985 being largely ignored, taking a massive 13 weeks
of yo-yoing outside of the top 40, before the song climbed to
No.1 in its 17th week on the chart. In total, it spent 33 weeks
on the chart and effectively eclipsed the success of the three
follow-up singles: "Ring of Ice" (#14), "Madonna's Eyes" (#84)
and "Destiny" (#96). It became the first single by a female
solo artist to sell a million copies in the United Kingdom and
it remains among the UK's best-selling singles of all time.
This initial success stood in contrast to the song's reception
in the United States, where Rush's original could only scrape
to number 57 on the Billboard Hot 100 and did not even hit the
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks despite a performance by Rush on
the April 12, 1986 broadcast of
American Bandstand. The song was a major hit in the rest
of Europe — notably so in Germany, where Rush was based at the
time. Her accompanying album became one of the biggest sellers
of the decade there. The song itself is a straightforward love
song, with the narrator telling of her first experience of true
love. The song gained interest due to the strength of Rush's
voice, which was classically trained and unusual in a pop
ballad.
The song was subsequently covered by other artists, two of
whose recordings eclipsed all earlier versions on the U.S.
charts. A recording by Laura Branigan became a top 40 hit on
both Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts in late 1987; Céline
Dion enjoyed a number 1 U.S. hit on both Billboard Hot 100 and
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks with her version, which was
nominated for a 1995 Grammy Award.
Though best known for dance classics like "Gloria" and "Self
Control," Branigan had previously had major success introducing
the ballad "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" (number 1
AC, number 12 Pop) and minor success introducing the ballad "I
Found Someone" (number 25 AC, number 90 Pop), among others.
Incorrectly supposed by some to have introduced "Power of Love"
as well, Branigan was the first to take the song into the U.S.
top 40, where it spent 9 weeks. While the single actually
peaked at number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, its sales
points outranked its pop airplay points, reaching number 19
during the 1987-88 holiday season. Branigan's recording also
peaked at number 19 on the AC chart. This success came without
benefit of a music video.
"Power of Love" (Branigan's version omitted the "The") was
the second single from the 1987 album
Touch, following the number 13 Dance hit "Shattered
Glass." Produced by Grammy winner David Kershenbaum, Branigan's
vocal brought a rawer rock edge than Rush's mutedly operatic
sheen. The song was a favorite of Branigan's to sing, and it
continued to appear in even abbreviated set lists throughout
the rest of her life.
The song appears on the 2007 re-release of
Touchon Wounded Bird Records and on the collections
The Best of Branigan,
The Essentials: Laura Braniganand
The Platinum Collection.
7" vinyl single/cassette single
"The Power of Love" is the second (if counting "When I Fall
in Love" as first) single from Céline Dion's 1993 album,
The Colour of My Love. It was released on November 1,
1993 in North America, in December in Japan, and the next year
in the rest of the world.
"The Power of Love" is the second Jennifer Rush song Dion
has covered. Earlier the same year she recorded a French
adaptation of "Higher Ground," called "Plus haut que moi."
The music video made for the radio edit was directed by
Randee St. Nicholas and released in November 1993. It appeared
on Dion's 2001 DVD video collection
All the Way… A Decade of Song & Video.
The song was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Female
Pop Vocal Performance and an American Music Award for Favorite
Pop/Rock Single in 1995.
"The Power of Love" was included on Céline Dion's greatest
hits compilations:
All the Way… A Decade of Songin 1999 and
My Love: Essential Collectionin 2008. Live versions of
this song can be found on
À l'Olympiaand
Live à Parisalbums. It's one of the most often performed
songs by Céline Dion. She sang it also five nights a week in
her show
A New Day...at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, and later
during her 2008-09 Taking Chances Tour.
"The Power of Love" became an international smash hit. The
song rose to the top of the charts in the United States,
Australia and Canada. In the U.S. it topped the Billboard Hot
100 for 4 weeks, the first Céline Dion single to do so. It also
went to number 1 for 5 weeks on the Hot 100 Singles Sales and
to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay. It was also
number 1 for 4 weeks on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks.
The song spent 12 weeks at the top in Canada and 70 weeks on
the chart in total. "The Power of Love" was a top 10 hit in the
rest of the world (number 3 in France, number 4 in the United
Kingdom and Belgium, number 6 in Sweden, number 7 in New
Zealand). It was certified platinum in the U.S. (1,120,000
copies sold) and Australia (70,000), gold in New Zealand
(5,000) and silver in France (225,000 copies sold).
Japanese CD single
Worldwide CD single
European CD maxi single
Japanese CD maxi single
Anglo-Australian duo Air Supply reversed the pronouns in the
chorus ("You are my lady, and I am your man") in their
recording of the song from their 1985 album. It only peaked at
number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100 but peaked at number 13 on
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks. Other male artists to have
recorded the English version of the song include Andrea Bocelli
and Michael Crawford. In addition to Jennifer Rush, Laura
Branigan and Celine Dion, other female artists to have recorded
the English version of the song include Nana Mouskouri and
Shirley Bassey.
In Spanish the song was dubbed "Si Tú Eres Mi Hombre" ("If
You Are My Man") and has been recorded by many Latin artists
like Yolandita Monge, Amanda Miguel, Angela Carrasco, La India,
also by Los Melódicos, and Operación Triunfo alumna Dulce. Some
versions of the song have been made in a Latin style featuring
salsa and merengue rhythms. Brazilian singer Rosana recorded a
Portuguese version, "O Amor e o Poder," in the 1980s. Dominican
singer Anaís sang a Spanglish version of the song in her Así
Soy Yo Tour concerts.
Petra Janů, a Czech female singer, recorded with the band
Golem Jana Václavíka a Czechoslovakian version of the song, "Už
nejsem volná", which she released as a single from her album
Už nejsem volná(1986). Janů released a live version in
1988 and re-recorded the song in 1997. A German version, "Die
Macht der Liebe," made it onto West German pop charts in the
1980s. A Punjabi version of the song ("Sitam," sung by Amar)
was featured in the 2002 film
Bend It Like Beckham. Japanese singer Yuna Ito recorded
the song for her sophomore album
Wish.
A Swedish song with a different theme, "Ängel i natt"
("Angel Tonight"), was written and recorded to the music of
"The Power of Love" in 1985 by Elisabeth Andreassen. In 1995,
Swedish dansband Sten & Stanley recorded "Ängel i
natt."