Just When I Needed You Most

"Just When I Needed You Most"
Single by Randy VanWarmer
from the album Warmer
B-side	"Your Light"
Released	February 1979
Studio	Creative Workshop (Berry Hill, Tennessee)[1]
Genre	Soft rock[2]
Length	3:58
Label	Bearsville
Songwriter(s)	Randy VanWarmer
Producer(s)	Del Newman
Music video
"Just When I Needed You Most" (TopPop, 1979) on YouTube

"Just When I Needed You Most" is the title of a 1979 hit single by the American singer-songwriter Randy VanWarmer.

Background

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, two years before it became a hit.^[3] 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".^[4] It has also been asserted that "Your Light" the flip was the original intended A-side of VanWarmer's single.^[5]

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^[5] 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.^[6] In addition, the track reached No. 71 on the Billboard country music chart^[5] and in September 1979 made the Top 10 on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at No. 8.^[7] 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."^[8] VanWarmer also attributed his single's success to the autoharp instrumental break between the second and third verses, performed by John Sebastian.^[5]

Chart performance

Weekly charts Chart (1979) Peak position Australia (Kent Music Report)[9] 17 Canada RPM Top Singles 32 Canada RPM Adult Contemporary 5 Ireland (IRMA)[10] 5 New Zealand (RIANZ)[11] 9 UK Singles Chart[12] 8 US Billboard Hot 100[13] 4 US Billboard Adult Contemporary 1 US Billboard Country Singles 71 US Cash Box Top 100 5

Year-end charts Chart (1979) Rank Australia (Kent Music Report)[14] 94 Canada[15] 192 UK[16] 74 US Billboard Hot 100[17] 29 US Cash Box[18] 46

Cover versions

Tony Wilson of the band Hot Chocolate 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&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.^[19] 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.^[20]

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 dansband Wizex on the 1980 album You Treated Me Wrong.^[21] 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

• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1979 (U.S.)
• List of 1970s one-hit wonders in the United States

References

1. Kirby, Kip (June 16, 1979). "Contemporary Chart Contenders Relying On Nashville Community". Billboard. p. 53. Retrieved November 19, 2024.
2. Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (July 17, 2000). "The Linen: Soft Rock". Night Moves - Pop Music in the Late 70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 112. ISBN 978-0-312-19821-3.
3. Klingman Daily Miner, July 20, 1978, p. 15
4. The Evening Independent, August 24, 1979, p. 15
5. Hyatt, Wesley (1999). The Billboard Book of No. 1 Adult Contemporary Hits (Billboard Publications), pages 228–9.
6. Whitburn, Joel (2004). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits, 8th Edition (Billboard Publications), page 657.
7. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 582. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
8. The Item, August 14, 1988, p. 41
9. 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.
10. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Just When I Needed You Most". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved August 23, 2018.
11. Flavour of New Zealand entry for September 16, 1979
12. "Randy Vanwarmer". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 10, 2016.
13. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 – ISBN 0-89820-089-X
14. "Kent Music Report No 288 – 31 December 1979 > National Top 100 Singles for 1979". Kent Music Report. Retrieved January 10, 2023 – via Imgur.com.
15. "Image : RPM Weekly – Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. July 17, 2013. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
16. "Top 100 Singles of 1979" (PDF). Record Mirror. London: Spotlight Publications. January 5, 1980. p. 30. Retrieved September 27, 2016.
17. "Top 100 Hits of 1979/Top 100 Songs of 1979". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
18. "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1979". Cashbox Magazine. Archived from the original on August 25, 2012. Retrieved April 12, 2016.
19. "Will Pan – Just When I Needed You Most". YouTube. April 4, 2006. Retrieved October 15, 2016.
20. "Various Artists - the Secret Sessions Album Reviews, Songs & More | AllMusic". AllMusic.
21. "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