Article Modified: 22.05.2023
Harry Nilsson, at the time best known for his hit “Everybody’s Talkin’” and for composing “One”, recorded by Three Dog Night, heard Badfinger’s recording of “Without You” at a party, and mistook it for a Beatles song. After realising it was not, he decided to cover the song for his 1971 album Nilsson Schmilsson. The single was released by RCA in the autumn of 1971, and first charted on radio stations across the US in early December. “Without You” debuted (at 99) on Billboard’s Hot 100 in the chart dated December 18, 1971, and on its tenth week, in the chart dated February 19, 1972, started its four-week run at number one. Billboard ranked it as the number four single of 1972. The record topped Billboard’s Easy Listening chart for five weeks.