VanWarmer was inspired to write "Just When I Needed You Most" by two events: his old car, that he loved and used for years, broke down on his way to work in Denver, Colorado, and he experienced a "devastating" breakup with a girlfriend. He wrote the song six months after that breakup, co-writing it with Tony Wilson of the group Hot Chocolate[1] two years before it became a hit.[2] After recording "Just When I Needed You Most" for an album recorded for the UK division of Bearsville Records, VanWarmer then flew to the US to pressure Bearsville's head office to promote the album which was duly remixed and released with "Just When I Needed You Most" as lead single although VanWarmer would recall that Bearsville evinced little enthusiasm for the track: "Nobody thought my version was an especially good version of the song [which] a few other people were thinking of cutting...Everybody just assumed mine was a demo for people to listen to who'd [then] cut the definitive version".[3] It has also been asserted that "Your Light" the flip was the original intended A-side of VanWarmer's single.[4]
Released as a single in February 1979, VanWarmer's "Just When I Needed You Most" spent two weeks atop the US Billboardadult contemporary chart in May of that year[4] and in June 1979 reached its peak position of No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, accruing an overall Top 40 tenure of 14 weeks and earning RIAA Gold record status.[5] In addition, the track reached No. 71 on the Billboardcountry music chart.[4] and in September 1979 made the Top 10 on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 8.[6] VanWarmer attributed his single's success to empathy for its heartbreak scenario: "It's happened to everyone. That emotion is universal...I always hoped the record wasn't wallowing in self-pity and it had some redeeming value, and I guess it does."[1] VanWarmer also attributed his single's success to the autoharp instrumental break between the second and third verses, performed by John Sebastian.[4]
In 1978, before it was a hit, "Just When I Needed You Most" was recorded by Ian Hunter, Mick Ronson, Corky Laing, and Felix Pappalardi. This version of the song was not released until 1999 when it was included on the "Secret Sessions" CD.[18]
A Finnish rendering of "Just When I Needed You Most" entitled "Juuri Kun Tarvitsin Sua" was recorded by ELF (fi) for their 1979 album Tarantella-Joe. Ingela "Pling" Forsman wrote lyrics in Swedish as När jag behövde dig mest, which was recorded by Swedish dansbandWizex on the 1980 album You Treated Me Wrong.[19] A Spanish rendering entitled "Necesitando Tu Amor" was recorded by Mocedades for their 1982 album Amor De Hombre. An Austrian rendering entitled "Ausg´lacht" was recorded by Wolfgang Ambros for his 2012 album 190352. Francine Jordi sang the song 2013 in Switzerdeutsch dialect as "Wo di am meischte ha brucht".
^Steffen Hung. . Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
^"Image : RPM Weekly – Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
^"Top 100 Singles of 1979" (PDF). Record Mirror. London: Spotlight Publications. January 5, 1980. p. 30. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
^"Top 100 Hits of 1979/Top 100 Songs of 1979". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
^"Top 100 Year End Charts: 1979". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
^"Will Pan – Just When I Needed You Most". YouTube. April 4, 2006. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
^"Various Artists - the Secret Sessions Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic.
^"You treated me wrong | Svensk mediedatabas". SMDB.kb.se. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
External links
Single release info from discogs.com
Randy VanWarmer - Just When I Needed You Most on YouTube
January 07, 2023
just, when, needed, most, title, 1979, single, american, singer, songwriter, randy, vanwarmer, single, randy, vanwarmerfrom, album, warmerb, side, your, light, releasedfebruary, 1979genrepop, rock, country, rock, soft, rocklength3, 58labelbearsvillesongwriter,. Just When I Needed You Most is the title of a 1979 hit single by the American singer songwriter Randy VanWarmer Just When I Needed You Most Single by Randy VanWarmerfrom the album WarmerB side Your Light ReleasedFebruary 1979GenrePop rock country rock soft rockLength3 58LabelBearsvilleSongwriter s Randy VanWarmer Tony WilsonProducer s Del NewmanMusic video Just When I Needed You Most TopPop 1979 on YouTube Contents 1 Background 2 Chart performance 2 1 Weekly charts 2 2 Year end charts 3 Cover versions 4 See also 5 References 6 External linksBackground EditVanWarmer was inspired to write Just When I Needed You Most by two events his old car that he loved and used for years broke down on his way to work in Denver Colorado and he experienced a devastating breakup with a girlfriend He wrote the song six months after that breakup co writing it with Tony Wilson of the group Hot Chocolate 1 two years before it became a hit 2 After recording Just When I Needed You Most for an album recorded for the UK division of Bearsville Records VanWarmer then flew to the US to pressure Bearsville s head office to promote the album which was duly remixed and released with Just When I Needed You Most as lead single although VanWarmer would recall that Bearsville evinced little enthusiasm for the track Nobody thought my version was an especially good version of the song which a few other people were thinking of cutting Everybody just assumed mine was a demo for people to listen to who d then cut the definitive version 3 It has also been asserted that Your Light the flip was the original intended A side of VanWarmer s single 4 Released as a single in February 1979 VanWarmer s Just When I Needed You Most spent two weeks atop the US Billboard adult contemporary chart in May of that year 4 and in June 1979 reached its peak position of No 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart accruing an overall Top 40 tenure of 14 weeks and earning RIAA Gold record status 5 In addition the track reached No 71 on the Billboard country music chart 4 and in September 1979 made the Top 10 on the UK Singles Chart peaking at No 8 6 VanWarmer attributed his single s success to empathy for its heartbreak scenario It s happened to everyone That emotion is universal I always hoped the record wasn t wallowing in self pity and it had some redeeming value and I guess it does 1 VanWarmer also attributed his single s success to the autoharp instrumental break between the second and third verses performed by John Sebastian 4 Chart performance EditWeekly charts Edit Chart 1979 PeakpositionAustralia Kent Music Report 7 17Canada RPM Top Singles 32Canada RPM Adult Contemporary 5Ireland IRMA 8 5New Zealand RIANZ 9 9UK Singles Chart 10 8US Billboard Hot 100 11 4US Billboard Adult Contemporary 1US Billboard Country Singles 71US Cash Box Top 100 5 Year end charts Edit Chart 1979 RankAustralia 12 94Canada 13 192UK 14 74US Billboard Hot 100 15 29US Cash Box 16 46Cover versions EditThe song s co writer Tony Wilson recorded Just When I Needed You Most for his 1979 album Catch One Dolly Parton recorded a cover version of the song for her 1996 album Treasures this version which like the VanWarmer original featured John Sebastian on autoharp reached No 62 on the Billboard country music chart Other artists who either recorded or performed the song in concert include country music singers Tim McGraw Donna Fargo Skeeter Davis Rhonda Vincent and Conway Twitty R amp B vocalist Millie Jackson the German disco musician Peter Griffin British glam rock band Smokie reggae artists Barbara Jones and Eddie Lovette Filipino singer Pops Fernandez Bob Dylan Paul Butterfield Billy Joe Royal and the Spanish group Mocedades In 2002 the American Taiwanese singer Will Pan released a bilingual English Chinese version of the song 17 Dana Winner recorded Just When I Needed You Most for her 2011 album Unforgettable Anne Nolan recorded Just When I Needed You Most for her 2013 debut solo album Just One Voice In 1978 before it was a hit Just When I Needed You Most was recorded by Ian Hunter Mick Ronson Corky Laing and Felix Pappalardi This version of the song was not released until 1999 when it was included on the Secret Sessions CD 18 A Finnish rendering of Just When I Needed You Most entitled Juuri Kun Tarvitsin Sua was recorded by ELF fi for their 1979 album Tarantella Joe Ingela Pling Forsman wrote lyrics in Swedish as Nar jag behovde dig mest which was recorded by Swedish dansband Wizex on the 1980 album You Treated Me Wrong 19 A Spanish rendering entitled Necesitando Tu Amor was recorded by Mocedades for their 1982 album Amor De Hombre An Austrian rendering entitled Ausg lacht was recorded by Wolfgang Ambros for his 2012 album 190352 Francine Jordi sang the song 2013 in Switzerdeutsch dialect as Wo di am meischte ha brucht See also EditList of number one adult contemporary singles of 1979 U S List of 1970s one hit wonders in the United StatesReferences Edit a b The Item August 14 1988 p 41 Klingman Daily Miner July 20 1978 p 15 The Evening Independent August 24 1979 p 15 a b c d Hyatt Wesley 1999 The Billboard Book of No 1 Adult Contemporary Hits Billboard Publications pages 228 9 Whitburn Joel 2004 The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits 8th Edition Billboard Publications page 657 Roberts David 2006 British Hit Singles amp Albums 19th ed London Guinness World Records Limited p 582 ISBN 1 904994 10 5 Kent David 1993 Australian Chart Book 1970 1992 illustrated ed St Ives N S W Australian Chart Book p 320 ISBN 0 646 11917 6 The Irish Charts Search Results Just When I Needed You Most Irish Singles Chart Retrieved August 23 2018 Flavour of New Zealand entry for September 16 1979 Randy Vanwarmer Official Charts Company Retrieved October 10 2016 Joel Whitburn s Top Pop Singles 1955 1990 ISBN 0 89820 089 X Steffen Hung Forum Top 100 End of Year AMR Charts 1980s ARIA Charts Special Occasion Charts Australian charts com Archived from the original on October 6 2014 Retrieved October 15 2016 Image RPM Weekly Library and Archives Canada Bac lac gc ca Retrieved October 15 2016 Top 100 Singles of 1979 PDF Record Mirror London Spotlight Publications January 5 1980 p 30 Retrieved September 27 2016 Top 100 Hits of 1979 Top 100 Songs of 1979 Musicoutfitters com Retrieved October 15 2016 Top 100 Year End Charts 1979 Cashbox Magazine Retrieved April 12 2016 Will Pan Just When I Needed You Most YouTube April 4 2006 Retrieved October 15 2016 Various Artists the Secret Sessions Album Reviews Songs amp More AllMusic AllMusic You treated me wrong Svensk mediedatabas SMDB kb se Retrieved October 15 2016 External links EditSingle release info from discogs com Randy VanWarmer Just When I Needed You Most on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Just When I Needed You Most amp oldid 1121557358, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
