"If I Can't Have You" is a disco song written by the Bee Gees in 1977. The song first appeared on the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack in a version performed by Yvonne Elliman, released in November 1977. The Bee Gees' own version was released a month later as the B-side of "Stayin' Alive."
The song later appeared on the Bee Gees' compilation Their Greatest Hits: The Record. A remixed and remastered version was included in the 2007 compilation Bee Gees Greatest, which helped the Bee Gees return to the US Hot Dance Tracks charts after 28 years. Maurice said this track was the first song they recorded while working on other songs for the film. The recording began at Château d'Hérouville as a basic track and was completed later at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles.
Yvonne Elliman version
The song "If I Can't Have You" was recorded by American singer, songwriter, and actress Yvonne Elliman for the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.
Yvonne Elliman recorded her 1976 album Love Me with producer Freddie Perren, who was an important figure in the disco movement. Perren had produced the Sylvers' 1976 number 1 song "Boogie Fever" and later worked with Gloria Gaynor on the disco song "I Will Survive." However, Love Me showed Elliman as a pop ballad singer, not a disco artist. The album’s title track, written by Barry and Robin Gibb, became an international hit. It was originally planned that Elliman would record another Gibb brothers ballad, "How Deep Is Your Love," for the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.
At the same time, the Bee Gees recorded their own version of "If I Can't Have You" for the film. Robert Stigwood, who was the chairman of RSO Records and the Bee Gees’ manager, decided that the Bee Gees should record "How Deep Is Your Love" and that Elliman would sing "If I Can't Have You."
Stigwood’s choices were successful. The soundtrack’s first single, the Bee Gees’ version of "How Deep Is Your Love," reached number 1. The second and third singles, "Stayin' Alive" and "Night Fever," also reached the top. Elliman’s "If I Can't Have You," produced by Freddie Perren, was released as the fourth single from the Saturday Night Fever album in February 1978. Billboard Magazine said Elliman’s vocal performance was strong. Cash Box described the song as "pop music with a very danceable beat" and noted that her voice was different enough to avoid confusion with the Bee Gees’ recordings. As the first single from the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack not performed by the Bee Gees, "If I Can't Have You" became the fourth number 1 hit from the album. It reached the top of the US Hot 100 on May 13, 1978, ending an eight-week run by "Night Fever." The song was the fourth number 1 in a row co-written by Barry Gibb and the sixth number 1 in a row for the RSO record label. The B-side of the Elliman single was a song from the Love Me album called "Good Sign," written by Melissa Manchester and Carole Bayer Sager. This song had also been the B-side of Elliman’s hit "Hello Stranger."
"If I Can't Have You" was included on Elliman’s February 1978 album Night Flight, which was produced by Robert Appère and did not focus on disco music. No song from Night Flight was released as a follow-up single to "If I Can't Have You." Elliman’s next single was a rock ballad called "Savannah," which did not help her achieve lasting mainstream success. In 1979, Elliman returned to disco with "Love Pains," which brought her back to the US Top 40. She left the music scene in the 1980s.
The song "If I Can't Have You" was also included in the 1999 film Big Daddy and on its soundtrack album.
- Yvonne Elliman – lead vocals
- Bob Bowles – guitar
- Sonny Burke – keyboards
- Paulinho da Costa – percussion
- Scott Edwards – bass
- James Gadson – drums
- Freddie Perren – synthesizer, percussion
- Julia Tillman Waters, Marti McCall, Maxine Willard Waters – backing vocals
- Bob Zimmitti – percussion
Kim Wilde version
"If I Can't Have You" was covered by British singer Kim Wilde in 1993. It was included as one of two new songs on her second compilation album, The Singles Collection 1981–1993 (1993). The single was produced by Ricki Wilde and released by MCA Records in June 1993. It reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart and number six on the UK Dance Singles Chart. The song also reached the top 10 in Australia, Belgium, and Ireland. It was released in longer versions on 12-inch and CD singles. The B-side was a non-album track titled "Never Felt So Alive." The music video for "If I Can't Have You" was directed by Irish filmmaker Michael Geoghegan.
Larry Flick of Billboard magazine described the song as an "energetic rendition," calling it "a fun and enjoyable version filled with lots of strings and angelic background vocals. Kim performs it well, and listeners enjoy it." Music & Media noted that the Bee Gees wrote the song for Yvonne Elliman during the disco era of the late 1970s, and Wilde reused it during the dance music era, predicting that "young people will love it." Alan Jones of Music Week gave the song three out of five stars, stating that "this version is not as good as the original and likely will not be one of Wilde's most successful songs."
Other versions
The song "If I Can't Have You" was performed by John Robinson Reid, who later became a singer for the Nightcrawlers, and Roy Hay, a guitarist from the Culture Club. They released the song under the name This Way Up in 1987. Roy Hay produced the single, which was their second release. It reached number 76 on the UK Singles chart in October 1987.
On 2 November 2007, Rhino and Reprise Records released a remixed version of "If I Can't Have You" by the German house music group the Disco Boys. The remix was part of a remastered version of Bee Gees Greatest, originally released in 1979. The song debuted at number 71 on Germany's Top 100 Singles chart in its first week, on 16 November 2007, and reached number 47 on the US Hot Dance Club Play chart in January 2008.
In 2016, English singer Jess Glynne re-recorded "If I Can't Have You" to support the French musical Saturday Night Fever, which opened in 2017. Warner Music France released the version as a promotional single on 22 May 2016. It reached number 104 on the charts.