Format 7"
12"
CD Single Length 6:00 | Genre Pop Label CBS | |
Released December 1984 (1984-12) Recorded 1984
CBS Studios International, Frankfurt | ||
"The Power of Love" is a song co-written and originally recorded by Jennifer Rush in 1984. It has been covered by several artists, most notably by Celine Dion, Laura Branigan, Helene Fischer, and Air Supply. Rush's original version went to number one in the United Kingdom in 1985 and became the biggest-selling single of the year in that country. It was also a number one single in several other European countries, as well as Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Dion's version went to number one in the United States, Canada and Australia in 1994. The song has been translated into several languages, becoming a pop standard.
Contents
Overview
"The Power of Love" was first recorded by Jennifer Rush for her 1984 eponymous album. It was released as a single in West Germany in December 1984. In June 1985, "The Power of Love" was issued as a single in the United Kingdom, where it topped the chart for five weeks in October 1985 and became the best-selling single of the year. As of March 2017, it has sold 1.45 million copies in the UK.
The massive success of "The Power of Love" in the UK followed with widespread international success for the single in the last months of 1985 and the first of 1986, including a German re-release with a resultant number-nine charting. Eventually "The Power of Love" reached number one in Australia, Austria, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and Spain (where she topped the chart with a version in Spanish called "Si tú eres mi hombre y yo tu mujer", translated as "If you are my man and I'm your woman"), number three in Switzerland, Sweden and Belgium, and number seven in the Netherlands.
CBS held off on releasing "The Power of Love" in North America feeling the disc was too European. It finally saw release in the United States and Canada in January 1986 but despite rising to number one in Canada, "The Power of Love" failed to become a significant US hit, stalling at number fifty-seven on the Billboard Hot 100 on the week-ending of 5 April 1986 and spending 13 weeks within the Hot 100. The song was performed by Rush on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in March 1986 and American Bandstand in April 1986.
Official versions
Original album version (6:00)
Special radio edit (4:43) [This is an edit of the original album version]
Orchestral remix (6:00)
International album version (5:45) [Remixed by Walter Samuel]
Remix (4:20) [Remixed by Walter Samuel. This is an edit of the international album version]
Extended remix (7:10) [Remixed by Walter Samuel. Different mix to the international album version/remix]
Air Supply version
Australian duo Air Supply covered "The Power of Love" for their 1985 eponymous album. Since the song was sung by Russell Hitchcock, the gender roles were reversed in the lyrics ("I'm your lady and you are my man" became "You are my lady and I am your man"). It was released as a single in July 1985 in the United States, and later in Canada and New Zealand. Their version was titled "The Power of Love (You Are My Lady)" so as not to be confused with "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the News which was on the charts at the same time. Air Supply's version was a moderate success in New Zealand and Canada, reaching the top 40 in both countries in late 1985. In the US, it peaked at number 68.
Personnel
Laura Branigan version
Laura Branigan recorded "The Power of Love" under the title "Power of Love" for her 1987 album, Touch. Produced by David Kershenbaum, the track was released in October 1987 as the album's second single, after "Shattered Glass." In December 1987, "Power of Love" reached number twenty-six on the Billboard Hot 100. It also peaked at number nineteen on the US Adult Contemporary chart.
Personnel
Celine Dion version
Canadian singer Celine Dion covered "The Power of Love" for her third English-language studio album, The Colour of My Love (1993). It was produced by David Foster and released as the first single in November 1993 in North America, in December 1993 in Japan, and in early 1994 in the rest of the world.
A music video for the song was release. It only used the radio edit, which was the opening track for all releases of the song.
"The Power of Love" became Dion's first US number-one song, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks in February 1994. It also became her first Australian chart topper and second number-one single in Canada. The song also topped the adult contemporary charts in the United States and Canada. In the rest of the world, "The Power of Love" reached top ten in France, United Kingdom, Belgium, Sweden and New Zealand. It was certified Platinum in the United States and Australia, Gold in New Zealand and Silver in France. In the United States, it has sold 1.5 million copies.
"The Power of Love" won the ASCAP Pop Award for Most Performed Song in the United States. It was also nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Single, two Billboard Music Awards for Hot 100 Single of the Year and Hot Adult Contemporary Single of the Year, and for the Juno Award for Single of the Year. Thanks to "The Power of Love," David Foster was also nominated for the Juno Award for Producer of the Year.
"The Power of Love" became one of Dion's signature songs. She performed it during all of her concert tours and included it on her live albums. "The Power of Love" was also featured on Dion's greatest hits compilations: All the Way... A Decade of Song (1999), Complete Best (2008), My Love: Essential Collection (2008) and The Best of Celine Dion & David Foster (2012). Live performances are included on À l'Olympia (album), Live à Paris (album), Live à Paris (video), Au cœur du stade (video), Live in Las Vegas: A New Day... (video), Taking Chances World Tour: The Concert (album/video), and Céline une seule fois / Live 2013 (album/video). She also performed the song at the American Music Awards of 1995 and her CBS television special That's Just the Woman in Me on 15 February 2008.
Other cover versions
The Shadows did an instrumental cover on their 1986 album, Moonlight Shadows. Other male artists who have recorded the English version of the song include David Alexander, Michael Crawford, Engelbert Humperdinck and Andrea Bocelli, who recorded it for his second studio album Bocelli (1995). In addition to Jennifer Rush, Laura Branigan and Celine Dion, other female artists who have recorded the English version of the song include Shirley Bassey, Mary Duff and Nana Mouskouri. A Hi-NRG version credited to Beverly reached number sixteen in Australia in March 1994; this version and that by Celine Dion coexisted in the Australian top fifty chart for thirteen weeks. Fits of Gloom featuring Lizzy Mack released a dance version of "The Power of Love" which reached number forty-nine on the UK Singles Chart in November 1994. Japanese singer Yuna Ito recorded the song for her second album Wish (2008). Hollie Cavanagh covered the song on the eleventh season of American Idol in 2012. Sam Bailey, winner of the tenth season of The X Factor in the United Kingdom in 2013 performed The Power of Love during the show and included it on her debut album, also titled The Power of Love (2014).
In 1991 Belgian duo Go-Rich, comprising Peter Fargo and William Rich, recorded a Dutch version of "The Power of Love" entitled "De kracht van een lied." Another Dutch rendering "Land van ons twee" recorded by Sanne Denotté reached number two on the chart in Belgium Flanders in December 1996. The Spanish version of Jennifer Rush's "The Power of Love," "Si tu eres mi hombre y yo tu mujer" was introduced by Dominican singer Angela Carrasco in 1986 and became very popular throughout Latin America. The same version was later recorded by a number of Latin artists including Yolandita Monge, Amanda Miguel, and La India. La India's version of the song peaked at number thirty-eight on Hot Latin Songs chart in the United States. Wilfrido Vargas's New York Band covered the song in merengue which peaked at number thirty-seven on the Hot Latin Songs chart. It was also covered by Los Melódicos and Dulce López from La Academia. Brazilian singer Rosanah Fienngo recorded a Portuguese version "O Amor e o Poder" in 1987.
Petra Janů, a Czech female singer recorded with the band Golem Jana Václavíka a Czechoslovakian version of the song, "Už nejsem volná," which she released as a single from her album Už nejsem volná (1986). Janů also released a live version in 1988 and re-recorded the song in 1997. Romanian singer Eva Kiss also recorded the song with the name of "Puterea dragostei" in the '80s. Angelika Milster recorded a German version of "The Power of Love" entitled "Du bist mein Leben" for her 1995 album Ich liebe dich produced by Jack White. A German version, "Die Macht der Liebe" made it onto West Germany pop charts in the 1980s. A Hindi version of the song ("Sitam", sung by Amar) was featured in the 2002 film Bend It Like Beckham. A Swedish-language lyrics-version of the song with a different theme, "Ängel i natt" ("Angel Tonight"), was written and recorded by Elisabeth Andreassen. "Ängel i natt" on her 1985 album 1985 eponymous album was also recorded by Swedish dansband Sten & Stanley in 1995 on the album Musik, dans & party 10.
Taiwanese singer A-mei released a cover version of the song on her 1997 album "妹力四射". The song can also be heard on the 1998 DVD of the same name, which documents a live show in support of the album.
Polish diva Edyta Górniak covered this song on the stage of Sopot Top of the Top Festival 2013.