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  1. #1
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    Diana Ross "I Won't Last a Day Without You"

    So with the conversation in the "Sleepin" thread turning toward possible singles from Touch Me In the Morning, I don't think this one was mentioned. Apparently the song was relegated to a Carpenters' album track in 1972 and wouldn't be released as a single until 1974. I'm mostly of the opinion that Touch Me In the Morning is a classic album with a classic hit song title track but really didn't have to be anything more than that. It's just that good. However, if a second single had to be lifted I'm thinking "I Won't Last a Day" makes the most sense considering that the other version was released the following year and became a hit.


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    I love Diana's voice during this period. And when she overdubs her own vocals, it is even better. So yeah, this recording is a fave of mine.

    I agree that TMITHM is a classic album but I don't hear any other singles on it. If I had to release one, I probably would have done like the UK and gone with ALL OF MY LIFE or maybe LEAVE A LITTLE ROOM.

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    I feel certain this would have been another sizeable hit for Diana. This is my least favourite song on the album, even though it's a really lovely song. That's how strong the album really is.
    For the life of me i can never understand why "All Of My Life" was never released in the USA as a single??. To me it's a no brainer.
    I do wonder how "Leave A Little Room" might have fared as a single. The lyrics have a universal appeal that we can all relate to. That in itself is a good start.

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    Quote Originally Posted by reese View Post
    I love Diana's voice during this period. And when she overdubs her own vocals, it is even better. So yeah, this recording is a fave of mine.

    I agree that TMITHM is a classic album but I don't hear any other singles on it. If I had to release one, I probably would have done like the UK and gone with ALL OF MY LIFE or maybe LEAVE A LITTLE ROOM.
    Motown UK wanted a 3rd single from TMITM. They earmarked We need you, but Motown USA wanted them to focus on Diana and Marvin and Last time i saw him. I think it would have made the top 20 but probably not the top 10.

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    wow that hurts my ears. it's one thing to reach her highest notes here and there , but not through the entirety of the song ! And this arrangement , too clappity, and with too much drumming, sounds kind of J5 like [[during their decline), and this version out "Richard Carpenters" the back up vocal over his version with Karen [[ on which he's surprisingly more absent than usual), which seems out of place for Diana Ross, does she have other male dominated backup vocal tracks like this on other songs?

    I'm maybe being too harsh , not my cup of tea, I'm glad it wasn't released as a single ahead of Karen's, it likely would've diluted her success with it , which she deserved.

    Good song spotting though ! Whoever in the Diana camp noticed it!



    Song seems more suited for Karen's husky voice. Or Maybe I've just heard it too many times that way.

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    'Leave a little room' is, IMHO, the greatest track Diana recorded that should have but was never a single. I think that could easily have been a top 3 in the U.K.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    wow that hurts my ears. it's one thing to reach her highest notes here and there , but not through the entirety of the song ! And this arrangement , too clappity, and with too much drumming, sounds kind of J5 like [[during their decline), and this version out "Richard Carpenters" the back up vocal over his version with Karen [[ on which he's surprisingly more absent than usual), which seems out of place for Diana Ross, does she have other male dominated backup vocal tracks like this on other songs?

    I'm maybe being too harsh , not my cup of tea, I'm glad it wasn't released as a single ahead of Karen's, it likely would've diluted her success with it , which she deserved.

    Good song spotting though ! Whoever in the Diana camp noticed it!



    Song seems more suited for Karen's husky voice. Or Maybe I've just heard it too many times that way.
    I haven't heard The Carpenters version in a long long time so it's interesting to compare the two versions. We have to extremely different interpretations of the song here. Karen's vocal is quite no nonsense and forthright, while Diana's is more subtle and delicate. She sounds very vulnerable singing these lyrics. For me Diana's is the best, but only by a pip.

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    As Ollie9 says it was a no-brainer that All Of My Life should have been a follow-up tp Touch Me in the US.

    At the time of release AOML actually slightly outsold TMITM in the UK.

    If Motown UK had gone for a third single from the album I would have chosen Leave A Little Room rather than We Need You.

    However they did well with the Diana and Marvin album, it went top 10 and the lead single from it in the UK - You Are Everything was a biggie going top 5, receiving a Silver Disc and was one of Diana's biggest selling singles here.

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    I love "Leave a little room" as it really fit's Diana's voice [[much better fit then the original version by Fifth Dimension's Billy Davis' Jr.), particularly how she sings the ending. I prefer the alternate version released on the TMITM expanded edition, without those hysterical backing vocals. In the liner notes, Deke Richards explains that he added the backing vocals to both "Leave a little room" and "All of my life" as their composer and producer Michael Randall apparently was out of the picture at the time of the final mixing of the album. Definitely prefer both songs without the bombastic backing vocals.

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    My vote for single release goes to "Leave A Little Room" with back-up vocals intact -- my favorite track on the TMITM album, followed by "We Need You".

    Gotta agree with Boogiedown on "I Won't Last A Day Without You". As much as I love Diana, those stratospheric-high Minnie-Mouse notes were an annoying stretch which Diana herself surely didn't appreciate, either. Karen Carpenter gets my nod on that one.

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    Barbra Streisand does a great job on this song. I've heard both hers and DR's in malls at various times.

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    Reading through the comments just reinforces my original opinion, that there is only one single on the album. All of the other songs are great together but, aside from possibly "Last a Day", none of them really had a chance on US radio.

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    Reading through the comments just reinforces my original opinion, that there is only one single on the album. All of the other songs are great together but, aside from possibly "Last a Day", none of them really had a chance on US radio.
    Your overlooking the beautiful "All Of My Life" Ran. It was a big hit here in the UK and most certainly commercial enough to repeat that success in the USA. I feel pretty certain "Last A day" would have followed suit.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Ollie9 View Post
    Your overlooking the beautiful "All Of My Life" Ran. It was a big hit here in the UK and most certainly commercial enough to repeat that success in the USA. I feel pretty certain "Last A day" would have followed suit.
    Maybe. For the record I adore "All of My Life". I'm just not convinced US record buyers would've run out to pick it up. Radio probably would've played it some, but...I don't know. I will say I was not at all surprised to see that "All Of My Life" was a big UK hit. I wonder if Diana ever included it in her shows over there?

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    Maybe. For the record I adore "All of My Life". I'm just not convinced US record buyers would've run out to pick it up. Radio probably would've played it some, but...I don't know. I will say I was not at all surprised to see that "All Of My Life" was a big UK hit. I wonder if Diana ever included it in her shows over there?
    I think someone posted that Diana was asked to sing it on one of her more recent tours over there and she tried, but needed help with the lyrics.

    Other than that, I haven't seen it performed in any of the UK concerts I've seen over the years. It seems like I'M STILL WAITING might have been one of the few UK-only hits she added until TFBTP album.

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    Quote Originally Posted by reese View Post
    I think someone posted that Diana was asked to sing it on one of her more recent tours over there and she tried, but needed help with the lyrics.

    Other than that, I haven't seen it performed in any of the UK concerts I've seen over the years. It seems like I'M STILL WAITING might have been one of the few UK-only hits she added until TFBTP album.
    That would be me. I think it was at Sheffield in the late 90's. It had been requested many ti.es by fans in the UK since the 70's, and whilst she liked the song she had never performed it live and had forgotten the lyrics. She finally made an attempt to learn them and tried it out when fans begged her to sing it. She made a valiant attempt but ultimately came unstuck. The audience kindly sang it for her. It was a wonderful sight to see, but she never attempted it again!

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    Quote Originally Posted by RanRan79 View Post
    Maybe. For the record I adore "All of My Life". I'm just not convinced US record buyers would've run out to pick it up. Radio probably would've played it some, but...I don't know. I will say I was not at all surprised to see that "All Of My Life" was a big UK hit. I wonder if Diana ever included it in her shows over there?
    I think it would have been a sizeable hit for her. She was hot following Touch me in the morning and i believe the momentum would have resulted in a major hit. Top 20 at the very least and probably top 10. However we shall never know.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Bluebrock View Post
    That would be me. I think it was at Sheffield in the late 90's. It had been requested many ti.es by fans in the UK since the 70's, and whilst she liked the song she had never performed it live and had forgotten the lyrics. She finally made an attempt to learn them and tried it out when fans begged her to sing it. She made a valiant attempt but ultimately came unstuck. The audience kindly sang it for her. It was a wonderful sight to see, but she never attempted it again!
    Ha ha that's a great story bluebrock ! I'm glad she was willing to give it a try! I'm sure the fans appreciated the gesture!


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    BTW , I WON'T LAST A DAY was released on a single , it was the B side to TOUCH ME, but I guess no DJs were drawn to it enough to flip it and make it a double sided hit.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Boogiedown View Post
    BTW , I WON'T LAST A DAY was released on a single , it was the B side to TOUCH ME, but I guess no DJs were drawn to it enough to flip it and make it a double sided hit.
    Touch me was such an iconic song. It was unlikely to be ever flipped however good the B side may have been.

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