"I've Never Been to Me" is a ballad, written and composed by Ron Miller and Kenneth Hirsch and made popular via a recording by American singer Charlene. Although its original release in 1977 barely registered on the Billboard Hot 100, its re-release in 1982 hit #3 in the US and earned her a gold certification in Australia,[1] where it held the #1 spot for six weeks. In addition, the song topped the charts in Canada (4 weeks), Ireland (3 weeks) and the United Kingdom.[2] It was also a top ten triumph in Norway, Belgium, New Zealand and the Netherlands and became Motown's first top ten hit by a white female solo singer.
The song is best known as lyrically formatted for a female vocalist and as such is addressed to a desperate wife and mother who would like to trade her prosaic existence for the jet setting lifestyle the song's narrator has led. The narrator alludes to various hedonistic episodes in her life, concluding that while she's "been to paradise", she's ultimately failed to find self-fulfillment, expressing this with the line, "I've never been to me." There is also an alternative set of lyrics for the song formatted for a male singer, in which the narrator is an elderly man, destined to die the very next day, begging for a dime for a cup of coffee, addressing a younger man who is "raising hell" the way the old man used to do.
Early versions
Charlene had recorded "I've Never Been to Me" in 1976 for her debut album, the self-titled Charlene, a Prodigal release (P6 10015S1), and the ballad contained a controversial spoken section. Songs of Love (P610018S1) came out six months later in 1977 and was essentially a re-issue of Charlene, having a slightly different track listing but retaining "I've Never Been to Me" without the spoken bridge. In October 1977, "I've Never Been to Me" became Charlene's third consecutive single to stall in the lowest part of Billboard's Hot 100. From the Charlene LP, the first single, "It Ain't Easy Comin' Down", went to No. 97 in March 1977 (and No. 23 on AC). The following single, "Freddie" from the Songs of Love album, made it to No. 96 on the Hot 100 in May 1977 (and No. 40 on AC). The Hot 100 peak of "I've Never Been to Me" in its original formal release without the monologue was No. 97,[3] and while Charlene's preceding two singles had both reached Billboard's Easy Listening chart, "I've Never Been to Me" failed to appear on that chart.
The earliest version of "I've Never Been to Me" to be released was by Randy Crawford which appeared on her 1976 album Everything Must Change. Besides Charlene's version, 1977 also saw the release of versions of the song by Nancy Wilson and Walter Jackson: Nancy Wilson's version served as the title track of her June 1977 album release and was the first version of the song to be released as a single, reaching No. 47 on the Billboard's R&B chart, while Walter Jackson's version – featuring the lyric formatted from a male perspective – was featured on his I Want to Come Back as a Song album released in the spring of 1977.
In February 1978, a mid-tempo recording of "I've Never Been to Me" by Mary McGregor was released as the advance single from her In Your Eyes album: this single reached #29 on Billboard's Easy Listening and Canada's Adult Contemporary charts.[4] A modified version of MacGregor's version was sent out to radio stations with the possibly controversial line in the final chorus, "I spent my life exploring the subtle whoring that costs too much to be free", amended to "I thought my heart would wait but I learned too late that it costs too much to be free". Also in 1978, Marti Caine recorded "I've Never Been to Me" for her album Behind the Smile from which it was issued as a single, and Mary Roos recorded the German rendering by lyricist Michael Kunze entitled "Doch mich selber kenn ich nicht" ("But I do not know myself") for her album Maryland.
Revival
In 1982, Scott Shannon, a disc jockey at Tampa radio station WRBQ-FM, began playing the "I've Never Been to Me" track off the Charlene album (with the original recitative), and response from local listeners was such as to motivate Shannon, a former Motown employee, to alert Motown president Jay Lasker to the track's hit potential. Lasker located Charlene who, discouraged by the poor performance of her 1977 Motown releases and by the label's decision not to release a second album she had recorded, had left the music industry and met and married an Englishman, subsequently accompanying him to his native land and taking a job at a sweetshop in Ilford. Lasker personally telephoned her with the invitation to re-sign with Motown Records to facilitate the re-release of her "I've Never Been To Me" single, which occurred in February 1982.
The Billboard Hot 100 dated March 6, 1982, showed "I've Never Been to Me" by Charlene debuting at No. 84 – already 13 places higher than its 1977 peak. It subsequently rose as high as No. 3 on the Hot 100, where it held for three weeks during May and June, prevented from further chart movement by "Don't Talk to Strangers" by Rick Springfield and "Ebony and Ivory" by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. The song ranked at No. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100-year-end chart for 1982.[5] The track had even greater impact internationally, attaining No. 1 status in Australia (six weeks), Canada (four weeks), Ireland (three weeks), and the United Kingdom (one week).[2] "I've Never Been to Me" also afforded Charlene a top ten hit in Belgium (Flemish Region) (#7), the Netherlands (#7), New Zealand (#5), and Norway (#5). In 1982, Charlene's "I've Never Been to Me" was also a top 10 hit on Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart (#7) and a minor C&W chart crossover (#60).
When the song was revived in 1982, the version being played on radio was the take with the monologue (from the Prodigal LP Charlene, P6 10015S1); this version was the one Motown re-issued, not the Songs of Love single version from 1977 (Prodigal, P610018S1).[6][7] The song was never actually re-recorded by Charlene in 1982.
Music video
A music video was made for the song's 1982 reissue. The video was filmed on location at Blickling Hall, Norfolk, England and features Charlene wearing her actual wedding dress from her marriage to Jeff Oliver, whom she had married at the time of the song's revival.[8]
Legacy
As Charlene was unable to successfully follow up the success of "I've Never Been to Me" – her only subsequent Hot 100 entry "Used to Be" (a duet with Stevie Wonder) got as high as No. 46 – she remains a high-profile one-hit wonder. On the 2002 VH1 special 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders, "I've Never Been to Me" was ranked at No. 75.[9] In the program, it was stated that her entry "expresses the post-'70s hangover."
A Spanish language recording of "I've Never Been to Me" entitled "Nunca He Ido A Mi" was recorded by Charlene and was one of two B-side tracks featured on the re-release of "It Ain't Easy Comin' Down" – the followup to the 1982 release of "I've Never Been to Me" – in its UK format (in other territories "It Ain't Easy Comin' Down" featured only the one B-side "If I Could See Myself").
Charlene re-released the song in the form of a dance remix via download music in 2008.
Worst song lists
The song was listed as the No. 3 worst song of all time in Jimmy Guterman's 1991 book "The Worst Rock n' Roll Records of All Time: A Fan's Guide to the Stuff You Love to Hate."[34]
A 2006 CNN poll listed the song as the No. 4 worst song of all time.[35]
References
^Billboard – Google Books. December 25, 1982. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
^"Charlene Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
^ "Charlene Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
^"Charlene Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 4, 2018.
^. Tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2015. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
^"AMR Top Singles of 1982". Top100singles.net. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
^"Top 100 Singles of 1982 in Canada". Musiccanada.wordpress.com. October 3, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
^"Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1982". Top40.nl. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
^"Top Selling Singles of 1982 – The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
^Rees, Dafydd; Lazell, Barry; Jones, Alan (1983). "The Top 100 UK Singles". Chart File Volume 2. London, England: Virgin Books. pp. 80–81. ISBN0-907080-73-1.
^"Top 100 Hits of 1982/Top 100 Songs of 1982". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
^. Tropicalglen.com. Archived from the original on July 11, 2018. Retrieved August 4, 2018.
^"Platinum and Gold Singles 1982". Kent Music Report. February 28, 1983. Retrieved November 10, 2021 – via Imgur.
^Guterman, Jimmy and O'Donnell, Owen. The Worst Rock n' Roll Records Of All Time (Citadel Press, 1991.)
^"Paul Anka wins worst song poll by CNN". UPI.com. June 27, 2006. Retrieved January 11, 2012.
never, been, nancy, wilson, album, album, ballad, written, composed, miller, kenneth, hirsch, made, popular, recording, american, singer, charlene, although, original, release, 1977, barely, registered, billboard, release, 1982, earned, gold, certification, au. For the Nancy Wilson album see I ve Never Been to Me album I ve Never Been to Me is a ballad written and composed by Ron Miller and Kenneth Hirsch and made popular via a recording by American singer Charlene Although its original release in 1977 barely registered on the Billboard Hot 100 its re release in 1982 hit 3 in the US and earned her a gold certification in Australia 1 where it held the 1 spot for six weeks In addition the song topped the charts in Canada 4 weeks Ireland 3 weeks and the United Kingdom 2 It was also a top ten triumph in Norway Belgium New Zealand and the Netherlands and became Motown s first top ten hit by a white female solo singer I ve Never Been to Me Side A of the 1982 US reissueSingle by Charlenefrom the album Songs of Love 1977 and I ve Never Been to Me 1982 B side It s Really Nice to Be in Love Again 1977 Somewhere in My Life 1982 ReleasedJuly 1977February 1982 re release Recorded1976GenrePopLength3 49 1977 3 47 1982 LabelProdigal 1977 Motown 1982 Songwriter s Ron Miller Kenneth HirschProducer s Ron Miller Don Costa Berry GordyCharlene singles chronology Freddie 1977 I ve Never Been to Me 1977 Are You Free 1978 Hungry 1980 I ve Never Been to Me 1982 Used to Be with Stevie Wonder 1982 Contents 1 Content 2 Early versions 3 Revival 4 Music video 5 Legacy 6 Chart history 6 1 Weekly charts 6 2 Year end charts 7 Certifications and sales 8 Other versions 9 Worst song lists 10 References 11 External linksContent EditThe song is best known as lyrically formatted for a female vocalist and as such is addressed to a desperate wife and mother who would like to trade her prosaic existence for the jet setting lifestyle the song s narrator has led The narrator alludes to various hedonistic episodes in her life concluding that while she s been to paradise she s ultimately failed to find self fulfillment expressing this with the line I ve never been to me There is also an alternative set of lyrics for the song formatted for a male singer in which the narrator is an elderly man destined to die the very next day begging for a dime for a cup of coffee addressing a younger man who is raising hell the way the old man used to do Early versions EditCharlene had recorded I ve Never Been to Me in 1976 for her debut album the self titled Charlene a Prodigal release P6 10015S1 and the ballad contained a controversial spoken section Songs of Love P610018S1 came out six months later in 1977 and was essentially a re issue of Charlene having a slightly different track listing but retaining I ve Never Been to Me without the spoken bridge In October 1977 I ve Never Been to Me became Charlene s third consecutive single to stall in the lowest part of Billboard s Hot 100 From the Charlene LP the first single It Ain t Easy Comin Down went to No 97 in March 1977 and No 23 on AC The following single Freddie from the Songs of Love album made it to No 96 on the Hot 100 in May 1977 and No 40 on AC The Hot 100 peak of I ve Never Been to Me in its original formal release without the monologue was No 97 3 and while Charlene s preceding two singles had both reached Billboard s Easy Listening chart I ve Never Been to Me failed to appear on that chart The earliest version of I ve Never Been to Me to be released was by Randy Crawford which appeared on her 1976 album Everything Must Change Besides Charlene s version 1977 also saw the release of versions of the song by Nancy Wilson and Walter Jackson Nancy Wilson s version served as the title track of her June 1977 album release and was the first version of the song to be released as a single reaching No 47 on the Billboard s R amp B chart while Walter Jackson s version featuring the lyric formatted from a male perspective was featured on his I Want to Come Back as a Song album released in the spring of 1977 In February 1978 a mid tempo recording of I ve Never Been to Me by Mary McGregor was released as the advance single from her In Your Eyes album this single reached 29 on Billboard s Easy Listening and Canada s Adult Contemporary charts 4 A modified version of MacGregor s version was sent out to radio stations with the possibly controversial line in the final chorus I spent my life exploring the subtle whoring that costs too much to be free amended to I thought my heart would wait but I learned too late that it costs too much to be free Also in 1978 Marti Caine recorded I ve Never Been to Me for her album Behind the Smile from which it was issued as a single and Mary Roos recorded the German rendering by lyricist Michael Kunze entitled Doch mich selber kenn ich nicht But I do not know myself for her album Maryland Revival EditIn 1982 Scott Shannon a disc jockey at Tampa radio station WRBQ FM began playing the I ve Never Been to Me track off the Charlene album with the original recitative and response from local listeners was such as to motivate Shannon a former Motown employee to alert Motown president Jay Lasker to the track s hit potential Lasker located Charlene who discouraged by the poor performance of her 1977 Motown releases and by the label s decision not to release a second album she had recorded had left the music industry and met and married an Englishman subsequently accompanying him to his native land and taking a job at a sweetshop in Ilford Lasker personally telephoned her with the invitation to re sign with Motown Records to facilitate the re release of her I ve Never Been To Me single which occurred in February 1982 The Billboard Hot 100 dated March 6 1982 showed I ve Never Been to Me by Charlene debuting at No 84 already 13 places higher than its 1977 peak It subsequently rose as high as No 3 on the Hot 100 where it held for three weeks during May and June prevented from further chart movement by Don t Talk to Strangers by Rick Springfield and Ebony and Ivory by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder The song ranked at No 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 year end chart for 1982 5 The track had even greater impact internationally attaining No 1 status in Australia six weeks Canada four weeks Ireland three weeks and the United Kingdom one week 2 I ve Never Been to Me also afforded Charlene a top ten hit in Belgium Flemish Region 7 the Netherlands 7 New Zealand 5 and Norway 5 In 1982 Charlene s I ve Never Been to Me was also a top 10 hit on Billboard s Adult Contemporary chart 7 and a minor C amp W chart crossover 60 When the song was revived in 1982 the version being played on radio was the take with the monologue from the Prodigal LP Charlene P6 10015S1 this version was the one Motown re issued not the Songs of Love single version from 1977 Prodigal P610018S1 6 7 The song was never actually re recorded by Charlene in 1982 Music video EditA music video was made for the song s 1982 reissue The video was filmed on location at Blickling Hall Norfolk England and features Charlene wearing her actual wedding dress from her marriage to Jeff Oliver whom she had married at the time of the song s revival 8 Legacy EditAs Charlene was unable to successfully follow up the success of I ve Never Been to Me her only subsequent Hot 100 entry Used to Be a duet with Stevie Wonder got as high as No 46 she remains a high profile one hit wonder On the 2002 VH1 special 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders I ve Never Been to Me was ranked at No 75 9 In the program it was stated that her entry expresses the post 70s hangover Chart history EditWeekly charts Edit Nancy Wilson Chart 1977 PeakpositionUS Billboard Hot Soul Singles 47US Record World 10 135Charlene Chart 1977 PeakpositionUS Billboard Hot 100 11 97Mary MacGregor Chart 1978 PeakpositionCanada RPM Adult Contemporary 4 29US Billboard Adult Contemporary 12 29Charlene Chart 1982 PeakpositionAustralia Kent Music Report 13 1Belgium Ultratop 50 Flanders 14 7Canada RPM Adult Contemporary 15 1Canada RPM Top Singles 16 1Ireland IRMA 17 1Netherlands Single Top 100 18 7New Zealand Recorded Music NZ 19 5Norway VG lista 20 5UK Singles OCC 21 1US Billboard Hot 100 22 3US Adult Contemporary Billboard 23 7US Hot Country Songs Billboard 24 60US Cash Box Top 100 25 3 Year end charts Edit Chart 1982 RankAustralia 26 11Canada 27 6Netherlands 28 56New Zealand 29 40UK 30 20US Billboard Hot 100 31 38US Cash Box 32 29Certifications and sales EditRegion Certification Certified units salesAustralia ARIA 33 Gold 50 000 Shipments figures based on certification alone Other versions EditA Spanish language recording of I ve Never Been to Me entitled Nunca He Ido A Mi was recorded by Charlene and was one of two B side tracks featured on the re release of It Ain t Easy Comin Down the followup to the 1982 release of I ve Never Been to Me in its UK format in other territories It Ain t Easy Comin Down featured only the one B side If I Could See Myself Charlene re released the song in the form of a dance remix via download music in 2008 Worst song lists EditThe song was listed as the No 3 worst song of all time in Jimmy Guterman s 1991 book The Worst Rock n Roll Records of All Time A Fan s Guide to the Stuff You Love to Hate 34 A 2006 CNN poll listed the song as the No 4 worst song of all time 35 References Edit Billboard Google Books December 25 1982 Retrieved March 29 2014 a b Roberts David 2006 British Hit Singles amp Albums 19th ed London Guinness World Records Limited p 410 ISBN 1 904994 10 5 Top 100 Songs Billboard Hot 100 Chart Billboard Retrieved November 19 2018 a b Item Display RPM Library and Archives Canada Collectionscanada gc ca May 6 1978 Retrieved February 8 2019 Charlene Billboard Retrieved November 29 2018 Charlene Charlene Discogs Retrieved August 4 2018 Charlene Songs Of Love Discogs com Retrieved August 4 2018 Charlene Classic Motown Classic motown com Retrieved April 23 2021 I ve Never Been To Me enjoys a new release BBC co uk BBC July 4 2008 Retrieved August 8 2012 Record World November 19 1977 Joel Whitburn s Top Pop Singles 1955 1990 ISBN 0 89820 089 X Whitburn Joel 1993 Top Adult Contemporary 1961 1993 Record Research p 146 Kent David 1993 Australian Chart Book 1970 1992 doc Australian Chart Book St Ives N S W ISBN 0 646 11917 6 Charlene I ve Never Been to Me in Dutch Ultratop 50 Retrieved June 4 2018 Item Display RPM Library and Archives Canada Collectionscanada gc ca June 12 1982 Retrieved February 4 2019 Item Display RPM Library and Archives Canada Collectionscanada gc ca July 3 1982 Retrieved February 4 2019 The Irish Charts Search Results I ve Never Been to Me Irish Singles Chart Retrieved June 22 2017 Charlene I ve Never Been to Me in Dutch Single Top 100 Retrieved June 4 2018 Charlene I ve Never Been to Me Top 40 Singles Retrieved June 4 2018 Charlene I ve Never Been to Me VG lista Retrieved June 4 2018 Charlene Artist Chart History Official Charts Company Retrieved June 4 2018 Charlene Chart History Hot 100 Billboard Retrieved June 4 2018 Charlene Chart History Adult Contemporary Billboard Retrieved June 4 2018 Charlene Chart History Hot Country Songs Billboard Retrieved June 4 2018 Cash Box Top 100 6 05 82 Tropicalglen com Archived from the original on June 3 2015 Retrieved August 4 2018 AMR Top Singles of 1982 Top100singles net Retrieved April 23 2021 Top 100 Singles of 1982 in Canada Musiccanada wordpress com October 3 2015 Retrieved April 23 2021 Top 100 Jaaroverzicht van 1982 Top40 nl Retrieved August 4 2018 Top Selling Singles of 1982 The Official New Zealand Music Chart Nztop40 co nz Retrieved August 4 2018 Rees Dafydd Lazell Barry Jones Alan 1983 The Top 100 UK Singles Chart File Volume 2 London England Virgin Books pp 80 81 ISBN 0 907080 73 1 Top 100 Hits of 1982 Top 100 Songs of 1982 Musicoutfitters com Retrieved August 4 2018 Cash Box YE Pop Singles 1982 Tropicalglen com Archived from the original on July 11 2018 Retrieved August 4 2018 Platinum and Gold Singles 1982 Kent Music Report February 28 1983 Retrieved November 10 2021 via Imgur Guterman Jimmy and O Donnell Owen The Worst Rock n Roll Records Of All Time Citadel Press 1991 Paul Anka wins worst song poll by CNN UPI com June 27 2006 Retrieved January 11 2012 External links EditCharlene I ve Never Been to Me on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title I 27ve Never Been to Me amp oldid 1118902859, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
