| "You Light Up My Life" | |
|---|---|
 Vocal side of the US single | |
| Single byKasey Cisyk(credited to Original Cast) | |
| from the albumYou Light Up My Life: Original Soundtrack | |
| A-side |
|
| Released | August 16, 1977 (Charted the week of September 3) |
| Recorded | 1977 |
| Genre | Pop |
| Length | 3:29 |
| Label | Arista |
| Songwriter | Joe Brooks[1] |
| Producer | Joe Brooks |
| Music video | |
| "Kasey Cisyk and Didi Conn - You Light Up My Life (1977)" onYouTube | |
| Flip side | |
 Instrumental side of the US single | |
"You Light Up My Life" is aballad written byJoseph Brooks, and originally recorded byKasey Cisyk for thesoundtrack album to the 1977film of the same title.[1] The song waslip synced in the film by its lead actress,Didi Conn. The cover version of the song byDebby Boone, the daughter of singerPat Boone, was number one on theBillboard Hot 100 chart for ten consecutive weeks in 1977 and toppedRecord World magazine's Top 100 Singles Chart for a record 13 weeks.[2]
Cisyk's original soundtrack recording was included in the film's soundtrack album. It was then later released as a single to bolster sales of the soundtrack album after Debby Boone included her version on her first solo album (also titledYou Light Up My Life). The soundtrack album was certifiedGold, peaking at No. 17 on theBillboard 200 albums chart.
Cisyk's single was credited to "Original Cast", not to Cisyk herself, and Brooks is listed on the A-side of the single. The single charted on theBillboard Hot 100 and reached No. 80. Brooks also released an instrumental version of the song from the soundtrack as a promotional single, but that version failed to chart.
Following the success of Boone's version, the song earned Brooks aGrammy Award for Song of the Year, anAcademy Award for Best Original Song, aGolden Globe Award for Best Original Song and anAmerican Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) award.[1]
7" vinyl single
| Chart (1977) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard Hot 100 | 80 |
In a 2013 biographical essay about Cisyk,[3] Cisyk's second husband, Ed Rakowicz (who worked as a sound engineer, but not for this song), wrote that songwriter Brooks was initially pleased with Cisyk's recording of the song with orchestra (and her version appeared in the movie and soundtrack) but "tried to evade payment by false promises and by asking her to be an incidental actor in his film, implying huge rewards yet to come..."[3] Rackowicz claimed that Brooks made improper advances toward Cisyk, that after being rebuffed, he refused to speak directly to her again, and that he continued to evade payments to her while commissioning another recording with Debby Boone.
According to Rackowicz, "Besides wanting Boone to copy Kacey's [sic][4] iconic hit reading of his songs, Brooks needed to cover up Kacey's vocal leakage in the microphones in the piano recorded at the original demo session on which was overdubbed the orchestral track used in the film. Brooks didn't want to pay to re-record the piano and orchestra again."[3] In 2003, Boone admitted, "I had no freedom whatsoever. Joe told me exactly how to sing it and imitate every inflection from the original recording." in an interview withEntertainment Weekly Magazine.[5] Cisyk later retained a lawyer and sued Brooks for the fees she had earned for her work on the record and for credit on the soundtrack, which she later received.[3]
| "You Light Up My Life" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Side A of the US single | ||||
| Single byDebby Boone | ||||
| from the albumYou Light Up My Life | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | August 16, 1977 | |||
| Recorded | April 1977 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:35 | |||
| Label | Warner Bros.-Curb | |||
| Songwriter | Joe Brooks[1] | |||
| Producer | Joe Brooks | |||
| Debby Boone singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
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In 1977,Debby Boone,Pat Boone's daughter, recorded the song under the guidance ofCurb Records executiveMike Curb[7] and songwriterJoseph Brooks.[5] Boone recorded her vocals over a pre-existing instrumental track that Brooks already had developed for the film's soundtrack.[7] The song was released as both a Warner-Curb Recordssingle and as the title track to her first solo album,You Light Up My Life, which she released onWarner Bros. Records, Curb Records' parent label.
Cash Box said that "Ms. Boone builds it to a powerful emotional peak as a massive string section lends support."[8]
The single became the biggest single of the 1970s in the United States,[9] setting a newBillboard Hot 100 record for most weeks spent at number one.Elvis Presley's double-sided hit "Don't Be Cruel/Hound Dog", then recognized as the longest-running number one song of the rock era, spent eleven weeks atop theBillboard Best Sellers chart in 1956, before the 1958 debut of the Hot 100. The previous Hot 100 record was held by Bobby Darin's "Mack the Knife",Percy Faith's recording of "Theme fromA Summer Place" (1960) andthe Beatles' "Hey Jude" (1968), all three of which remained at No. 1 for nine weeks.[10] The ten-week record was matched in 1982 byOlivia Newton-John's "Physical",[11] but was not surpassed until a 1991 change in chart methodology allowed songs to achieve longer reigns at No. 1. In 1992, "End of the Road" byBoyz II Men would set the new record with 13 weeks.[12]
Besting her chart performance inBillboard, Boone's "You Light Up My Life" single toppedRecord World's Top 100 Singles Chart for an unbroken record of 13 weeks.[2] OnBillboard's chart, Boone was unseated from No. 1 bythe Bee Gees, with "How Deep Is Your Love", the first of three No. 1 singles from theSaturday Night Fever soundtrack. OnRecord World's chart, Boone kept the Bee Gees out of the number-one spot. InCash Box magazine, "You Light Up My Life" managed only an eight-week stay at the top of the chart, before being dethroned byCrystal Gayle's "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue". Its least-lengthy run was on theRadio and Records chart, with six weeks at No. 1 before relinquishing the spot to the Bee Gees;[13] it had knockedCarly Simon's "Nobody Does It Better" out of the top spot after only one week.
The single, which was certifiedplatinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA), also hit No. 1 on theAdult Contemporary chart and reached No. 4 on theCountry chart. The single peaked at No. 48 on theUK Singles Chart.[14] Boone's hit single led to her winning the1978Grammy Award for Best New Artist, with additionalGrammy nominations forBest Pop Vocal Performance, Female andRecord of the Year. Boone also won the 1977American Music Award for Favorite Pop Single.
In 2008, it was ranked at No. 7 onBillboard's "Hot 100 All-Time Top Songs" list (August 1958 - July 2008).[7] An updated version of the all-time list in 2013 ranked the song at No. 9.[15]
*Note: Produced and arranged byJoe Brooks.
**Note: Produced byMike Curb and arranged byAl Capps.
| Chart (1977–1978) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Kent Music Report | 7 |
| Canada Top Singles (RPM)[16] | 1 |
| Canada Adult Contemporary (RPM)[17] | 1 |
| Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[18] | 6 |
| New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[19] | 12 |
| South African Singles Chart | 3 |
| UK Singles (OCC)[1] | 48 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[20] | 1 |
| USAdult Contemporary (Billboard)[21] | 1 |
| USHot Country Songs (Billboard)[22] | 4 |
| USRecord World Singles Chart | 1 |
| USCashbox Top 100 Singles | 1 |
| Chart (1977) | Rank |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[23] | 30 |
| Brazil[24] | 3 |
| Canada[25] | 1 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[26] | 51 |
| USCashbox Magazine | 1 |
| USRecord World | 1 |
| Chart (1978) | Rank |
|---|---|
| South Africa[27] | 10 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[28] | 3 |
| USBillboard Easy Listening[29] | 46 |
| Chart (1958–2018) | Position |
|---|---|
| USBillboard Hot 100[30] | 11 |
| "You Light Up My Life" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byLeAnn Rimes | ||||
| from the albumYou Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs | ||||
| B-side | "I Believe" | |||
| Released | August 26, 1997 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 3:37 | |||
| Label | Curb | |||
| Songwriter | Joe Brooks[1] | |||
| Producers | Mike Curb Chuck Howard Wilbur C. Rimes | |||
| LeAnn Rimes singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "You Light Up My Life" by LeAnn Rimes onYouTube | ||||
LeAnn Rimes released a version of "You Light Up My Life" as a single in 1997, 20 years after Boone's version was released, and on the same record label, the Warner Bros. Records label'sCurb Records label. Her version fared modestly by comparison to the original at radio (No. 48 Country). However, her single was certified gold and was the title track to her No. 1 pop and country album,You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs.
*Note: Produced by Wilbur C. Rimes, Chuck Howard and Mike Curb.[32]
**Note: Produced by Wilbur C. Rimes.[32]
| Chart (1997–1998) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canada Country Tracks (RPM)[33] | 57 |
| USBillboard Hot 100[34] | 34 |
| USHot Country Songs (Billboard)[35] | 48 |
| USAdult Contemporary (Billboard)[36] | 35 |
| USRhythmic Airplay (Billboard)[37] | 71 |
| US Top Country Singles Sales (Billboard)[38] | 2 |
Many artists have covered "You Light Up My Life" since 1977.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)| Westlife | |
|---|---|
| Coast to Coast | |
| World of Our Own | |
| Unbreakable | |
| Turnaround | |
| ...Allow Us to Be Frank | |
| Face to Face | |
| The Love Album | |
| Back Home | |
| Where We Are | |
| Gravity | |
| Greatest Hits | |
| Spectrum | |
| Wild Dreams |
|
| Other songs | |
