from the album No Dice

"Without You" is a song written by musicians Pete Ham and Tom Evans of British rock group Badfinger. According to ASCAP, the ballad has been recorded by more than 180 artists and has made many appearances on the Billboard Hot 100, including the number one position. Beatle Paul McCartney once described the ballad as "...the killer song of all time.".

First recorded by the rock group Badfinger, the song was composed by two of its members. Pete Ham had written a song originally titled "If It's Love" but it had lacked a strong chorus. Tom Evans had written a song during this same period but he was disappointed with the verse section, so the duo fused their pieces together. The protagonist of this ballad lets a lover know that he "can't live if living is without you." Both Ham and Evans said they did not consider the song to have much potential at the time Badfinger recorded it, and the track was slotted to close Side A of their 1970 No Dicealbum. Badfinger's recording of the song, which is more brusque than its successors' versions, was never released as a single. In parallel to the song lyrics, both Ham and Evans later committed suicide.

Harry Nilsson, at the time best known for his hit "Everybody's Talkin'" and for composing such hits as Three Dog Night's "One", heard Badfinger's recording of "Without You" at a party, and mistook it for a Beatles song. After realizing it was not, he decided to cover the song for his album Nilsson Schmilssonin 1971; it stayed at number 1 on the U.S. pop chart for four weeks, from February 13 to March 11, 1972. The song also spent five weeks atop the U.S. adult contemporary chart. In the UK, the song spent five weeks at number 1 on the British pop chart, beginning on March 11, and sold almost 800,000 copies. The single was produced by Richard Perry, who later explained, "It was a different record for its time. It was a big ballad with a heavy backbeat, and although many artists have cut songs like it since, no one was doing it then." Gary Wright, then known as a member of the British group Spooky Tooth, and later a successful solo artist in his own right, played piano on the recording.

While Nilsson rarely performed live, he did perform the song with Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas in September 1992, and also performed the song with the house band, Liverpool, at various Beatlefest fan conventions.

Mariah Carey's version was released as the third single off Music Boxin the first quarter of 1994, and in the United States it was released on January 24, 1994, just over a week after Nilsson had died following a heart attack on January 15, 1994. In the U.S. it was promoted as a double A-side with "Never Forget You". In the song Carey dips into her lower register and is accompanied by backup singers (including herself) magnified to sound like a mighty gospel chorus. Carey said that she decided to cover the song when she heard it in a restaurant. Her version has been considered very popular on talent shows. "Without You" was later included on some non-U.S. pressings of her compilation album #1's(1998).

"Without You" reached number 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining in the top forty for twenty-one weeks and on the chart for twenty-three. It reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay and number 3 on the Hot 100 Singles Sales. Both radio airplay and sales were strong, and it was certified gold by the RIAA. It was ranked 16 on the Hot 100 1994 year-end charts.

"Without You" remains Carey's biggest hit outside the U.S., being largely successful across Europe. It became her first UK number 1 single, and still remains her only number 1 there as a solo artist. It debuted at number 1 on the chart and stayed at number 1 for four weeks. It was also her first chart-topper in Italy, but was most successful in Switzerland (with ten non-consecutive weeks at number 1) and the Netherlands (twelve weeks). It also topped the singles chart in Germany for four weeks and Austria for eight weeks, where Carey's success had previously been limited. It also topped the Swedish Singles Chart for eight weeks, was number 1 in Ireland for five weeks and in New Zealand for one week. It was able to make the top three in Canada, France, Norway and Australia. It was certified platinum in Australia by ARIA and in Germany and Austria by IFPI. It was also certified gold in the United Kingdom by BPI, in New Zealand by RIANZ and in France by SNEP.

On 15 May 1995, ASCAP held its twelfth annual Pop Music Awards in Beverly Hills, California, and "Without You" was recognized as one of the 50 most-played songs of 1994 (due largely to Carey's recording). Discrepancies in ASCAP's books incorrectly attributed the song as being composed not only by Ham and Evans, but also by Badfinger's other bandmembers, Mike Gibbins and Joey Molland, and their former manager, Bill Collins. This designation and a lack of correction by ASCAP prompted the Ham Estate to boycott the ceremony. The song was also nominated for "Song Of The Year" in London at the Ivor Novello Awards.

Worldwide CD single

European maxi-CD single #1

European maxi-CD single #2

In the film The Rules of Attraction, a college girl commits suicide in a bathtub while this song plays on the soundtrack.

Nilsson's version of "Without You" was also used as the opening tune to 1979's Porridgefeature film.

In the film Casino, the Harry Nilsson version is playing during one of Ginger's manic episodes.