How Am I Supposed to Live Without You

"How Am I Supposed to Live Without You"
Single by Laura Branigan
from the album Branigan 2
Released	July 1, 1983
Format	7"
Genre	Pop
Length	4:29
Label	Atlantic
Writer(s)	Michael Bolton Doug James
Producer(s)	Jack White
Laura Branigan singles chronology
"Solitaire" (1983) "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" (1983) "Self Control" (1984)

"How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" is a song written in 1983 by Doug James and Michael Bolton. The ballad has been recorded by many artists around the world, in several languages, becoming something of a modern pop standard. Instrumental versions of the song have been recorded featuring variously the piano, guitar, saxophone, pan flute, steel drum, and music box.

"How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" was supposed to be recorded by the duo Air Supply. But when Arista President Clive Davis asked for permission to change the lyrics of the chorus, Bolton refused, and Davis released the song.^[1] Subsequently Laura Branigan recorded it as written, and it became the first major hit for the two songwriters. The song was also performed by actress Lisa Hartman on the soap opera Knots Landing. Bolton's own rendition became a worldwide hit in early 1990.

History

As the second single from Branigan's second album Branigan 2, "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" spent three weeks at number one on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart and peaked at number twelve on the Hot 100 in early October 1983. Branigan's single also hit the number one spot on the Adult Contemporary chart in Canada. This success came without benefit of a music video. Branigan performed the song on the syndicated music countdown show Solid Gold in late 1983 and on the popular holiday special Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Branigan 2 went out of print in 2004, but Branigan's original version can still be heard on the compilation albums The Best of Branigan (1995), The Essentials (2002) and The Platinum Collection (2006).

The single's B-side was a newly written song over the music to the Italian song "Mama", by Giancarlo Bigazzi and Umberto Tozzi. Branigan's first major hit had been with "Gloria", another English song written to an Italian hit by the duo.

Track listings

7" single[2] No. Title Length 1. "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You"   4:29 2. "Mama"   3:56 7" single – Promo[3] No. Title Length 1. "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" (Short version) 3:57 2. "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You"   4:29 7" single (Canada)[4] No. Title Length 1. "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You"   4:29 2. "Don't Show Your Love"   3:30

Charts

Chart (1983)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	46
Canadian Adult Contemporary	1
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	12
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary	1

Michael Bolton version

"How Am I Supposed to Live Without You"
Artwork for U.S. commercial cassette single
Single by Michael Bolton
from the album Soul Provider
B-side	"Forever Eyes"
Released	October 14, 1989 (U.S.)[5]
Format	7" CD
Recorded	June 1989
Genre	Soft rock[6]
Length	4:48
Label	Columbia
Producer(s)	Michael Omartian
Michael Bolton singles chronology
"Soul Provider" (1989) "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" (1989) "How Can We Be Lovers?" (1990)
Soul Provider track listing "It's Only My Heart" (3) "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" (4) "How Can We Be Lovers?" (5)

In 1989, Michael Bolton recorded a version of the song for the album Soul Provider. The single reached number one on both the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts and also won him a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The release marked a turning point in Bolton's career. After years of being primarily known as a songwriter,^[7] the single got him recognition as a performer and made him a certified superstar.^[8]

The single took off in October 1989,^[9] slowly climbed the Hot 100 and by mid January became the first new number one single of the 1990s, following "Another Day in Paradise" by Phil Collins.

Music video

The beginning of the music video shows Bolton performing the selection whilst he is sitting in his living room, and small bits of story about his and his girlfriend's relationship are told through fade-outs. As he is about to leave the apartment, already having packed his suitcases, he thinks of her and the time they spent together and seemingly decides against the decision; he then cuddles with his girlfriend. It is revealed, the next night, that he plans to give her a bracelet, which he quickly hides as he reads a newspaper before she enters the room. She surprises him with breakfast and they cuddle again. Later on, the two have a fight about something and she storms out of the apartment, and Bolton visibly feels guilty.^[10]

Track listings

7" single No. Title Length 1. "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" (Edit) 4:14 2. "Forever Eyes"   4:23 CD single No. Title Length 1. "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You"   4:48 2. "Forever Eyes"   4:23 3. "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay" (7" version) 4:56 4. "That's What Love Is All About" (Live) 4:23

Charts

Chart (1989/1990)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	2
Austrian Singles Chart	17
Belgian Singles Chart	1
Dutch Top 40	3
German Singles Chart	15
New Zealand Singles Chart	10
Swedish Singles Chart	9
UK Singles Chart	3
US Billboard Hot 100[11]	1
US Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary	1

Year-end chart (1990)	Position
US Billboard Hot 100[12]	12

See also

• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1983 (U.S.)
• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1990 (U.S.)
• List of Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles of 1990

References

1. Hyatt, Wesley. The Billboard Book of Number One Adult Contemporary Hits, Billboard Books, 1999, p. 277, 354.
2. "Laura Branigan - How Am I Supposed to Live Without You (Vinyl) at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
3. "Laura Branigan - How Am I Supposed to Live Without You (Vinyl, Promo) at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
4. "Laura Branigan - How Am I Supposed to Live Without You (Vinyl, Canada) at Discogs". Discogs. Retrieved October 7, 2015.
5. Billboard Magazine. Vol. 101; No. 41; October 14, 1989; p. 83
6. "VH1's 40 Most Softsational Soft-Rock Songs". Stereogum. SpinMedia. May 31, 2007. Retrieved July 31, 2016.
7. Hyatt, Wesley. The Billboard Book of Number One Adult Contemporary Hits, Billboard Books, 1999, p. 277, 354.
8. "Michael Bolton biography". Retrieved 16 January 2016.
9. "Billboard Hot 100 the week of October 28, 1989". Retrieved 15 January 2016.
10. "Michael Bolton". MyVideo.
11. "Michael Bolton – Chart history" Billboard Hot 100 for Michael Bolton.
12. "Billboard Top 100 - 1990". Retrieved 2009-09-15.