The melody of the "hook" line, or chorus of "When I Need You" is identical to the part of theLeonard Cohen song "Famous Blue Raincoat", where the lyrics are as follows: "Jane came by with a lock of your hair, she said that you gave it to her that night, that you planned to go clear". The melody of these lyrics matches the lyrics of "When I Need You" as follows: "(When I) need you, I just close my eyes and I'm with you, and all that I so want to give you, is only a heart beat away".
I once had thatnicking happen with Leo Sayer. Do you remember that song 'When I Need You'?" Cohen sings the chorus of Sayer's number one hit from 1977, then segues into 'And Jane came by with a lock of your hair', a lyric from 'Famous Blue Raincoat'. 'Somebodysued them on my behalf ... and they did settle', even though, he laughs, 'they hired amusicologist, who said, that particular motif was in the public domain and, in fact, could be traced back as far asSchubert.[6]
Julio Iglesias released the song as the third and final single from his 1990 album of covers,Starry Night.[32] It peaked at number 59 on the UK Airplay Chart.[33]
"When I Need You" is a promotionalsingle fromCeline Dion'sLet's Talk About Love album, released on 7 September 1998 in Brazil only.[35]Entertainment Weekly editor David Browne called the cover, "an obligatory remake (a precisely enunciated version of Leo Sayer'sWhen I Need You)".[36] The New York Observer editor Jonathan Bernstein: "A sliver of redemption is found in the passable version of Leo Sayer's “When I Need You”".[37]
Lani Hall recorded a Spanish version of the song, retitled "Si me amaras (If you Loved Me)," for her 1985 albumEs Fácil Amar, produced by Albert Hammond.
^3 December 2014: Leo Sayer has paid tribute to his friend Bobby Keys who died at the age of 70. Keys, the sax player for the Rolling Stones since 1969, also played on Sayer's global hit ‘When I Need You’.In a statement Sayer said, “R.I.P. Bobby Keys. Bobby played the solo on “When I Need You”, 20 secs of tenor sax that no other player has ever been able to emulate. We toured together in the mid 70s, and Bobby was always fun to work with, a great musician everybody now knows as the sax man with the Rolling Stones. I'm so proud to have known you ‘Texas’!”[citation needed]
