Anne Murray - You Needed Me (R. Goodrum) ~ Erwin Lazaro 011

This week's video post is a special request by my cousin Jasmine in the Philippines.  It is also a special song that my Auntie Lorna sings.  My Auntie Lorna is an incredible vocalist.  As a child, my Auntie Lorna and two of her siblings had their own radio program in the Philippines.  As an adult, she led a combo that toured Europe and Asia for many years.  She is a true performer.  When I was young, I remember her singing "You Needed Me".  Her voice left a wonderfully nostalgic and lasting impression upon me.  I recall my mom telling me how much Auntie Lorna loved to sing that song.  So, when my cousin Jasmine requested that I sing "You Needed Me", a flood of memories and lost feelings overcame me, bringing me back to 1989; the last time we were all together when my mom was still with us.

I would rather post a video of my Auntie Lorna singing "You Needed Me". Instead, I am dedicating "You Needed Me" to my Auntie Lorna who lives in Germany.

From Wikipedia:
"You Needed Me" is a song written by Randy Goodrum, who describes it as being about "unconditional undeserved love."  It was a number one single in the United States in 1978 for Canadian singer Anne Murray.  The song, included on her 1978 album Let's Keep It That Way, was also a top-five country single and won Song of the Year at the Academy of Country Music awards.  The Anne Murray version was number one in Malaysia for ten weeks.  Although the song reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, it never topped the two Billboard charts where Murray had the most success - Country and Adult Contemporary.

In 1979, Kenny Rogers and Dottie West released a cover on their album Classics.

Anne Murray re-recorded the song with Shania Twain for Murray's 2007 album Anne Murray Duets: Friends & Legends.

The song was featured in an ongoing storyline on the CBS soap Guiding Light in 1980-81, as a theme song for the characters Kelly Nelson and Morgan Richards.

You Needed Me also became the second single for Irish Boyband Boyzone from their album By Request.  The single became number #1 on the UK Singles Chart, beating the debut solo single of Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, outselling her by just 700 copies.  The song has received a Silver sales status certification for sales of over 200,000 copies in the UK.