Too Much, Too Little, Too Late

For the EP by Silver Sun, see Too Much, Too Little, Too Late (EP).
"Too Much, Too Little, Too Late"
Single by Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams
from the album You Light Up My Life
B-side"Emotion"
ReleasedFebruary 21, 1978
Recorded1977
Genre
Length3:00
LabelColumbia
Songwriter(s)John Vallins, Nat Kipner
Producer(s)Jack Gold
Johnny Mathis singles chronology
"Yellow Roses On Her Gown"
(1976) 		"Too Much, Too Little, Too Late"
(1978) 		"You're All I Need to Get By"
(1978)
Deniece Williams singles chronology
"Baby, Baby My Loves All for You"
(1978) 		"Too Much, Too Little, Too Late"
(1978) 		"You're All I Need to Get By"
(1978)

"Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" is a song performed by singers Johnny Mathis and Deniece Williams, written by Nat Kipner and John Vallins. The single was a comeback of sorts for Mathis, because his last U.S. top 10 hit had been 1963’s "What Will Mary Say" and his last U.S. #1 hit had been 1957's "Chances Are."[3]

Released as a single in 1978, it reached #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop chart, Adult Contemporary chart,[4] and R&B chart.[5] It also reached #1 on Record World's Single Chart,[6] but peaked at #2 on the Cashbox Top 100.[7] Outside the United States, the song peaked at #9 on the Canadian Singles Chart[8] and #3 on the UK Singles Chart.

"Too Much, Too Little, Too Late" was certified gold and silver in the United States and the United Kingdom by the RIAA and the British Phonographic Industry respectively.[9][10]

Later in 1978, the duo released a follow-up single, "You're All I Need to Get By" (which peaked at #47 on the Hot 100), and a full album of duets, That's What Friends Are For. The success of the duets with Williams prompted Mathis to record duets with a variety of partners including Jane Olivor, Dionne Warwick, Natalie Cole, Gladys Knight and Nana Mouskouri. A compilation album, also called Too Much, Too Little, Too Late, released by Sony Music in 1995, featured the title track among other songs by the Mathis–Williams duo.

Chart performance

Silver Sun version

English power pop band Silver Sun recorded a cover of the song for their EP of the same name and album Neo Wave. It was also released as a single, reaching number 20 on the UK Singles Chart in 1998.

See also

References

  1. ^ Breihan, Tom (December 4, 2019). "The Number Ones: Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams' "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late"". Stereogum. Retrieved July 5, 2023. ...it just felt right that one of the old romantic-crooner titans was now singing adult-contempo soul about not being able to stay together...
  2. ^ Breithaupt, Don; Breithaupt, Jeff (July 17, 2000). "Movin' On Up: Corporate Soul". Night Moves - Pop Music in the Late 70s. St. Martin's Griffin. p. 101. ISBN 978-0-312-19821-3.
  3. ^ "The Number Ones: Johnny Mathis & Deniece Williams' "Too Much, Too Little, Too Late"". Stereogum. 2019-12-13. Retrieved 2021-06-02.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 161.
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 383.
  6. ^ "Record World Singles Chart, page 36" (PDF). Record World: 92. May 27, 1978.
  7. ^ "Cashbox Top 100, page 4" (PDF). Cashbox Magazine: 52. June 10, 1978.
  8. ^ Lwin, Nanda (2000). Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide.
  9. ^ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
  10. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-09-28. Retrieved 2010-08-01.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^ a b Steffen Hung. "Forum - 1970 (ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts)". Australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-02. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
  12. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1978-05-20. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
  13. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Too Much, Too Little, Too Late". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  14. ^ "NZ Top 40 Singles Chart | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1978-06-25. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
  15. ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  16. ^ "Top 100 1978-06-10". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
  17. ^ "Kent Music Report No 236 – 1 January 1979 > National Top 100 Singles for 1978". Kent Music Report. Retrieved January 8, 2022 – via Imgur.com.
  18. ^ "Image : RPM Weekly - Library and Archives Canada". Bac-lac.gc.ca. 17 July 2013. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
  19. ^ "Top Selling Singles of 1978 | The Official New Zealand Music Chart". Nztop40.co.nz. 1978-12-31. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
  20. ^ "Top 100 1978 - UK Music Charts". Uk-charts.top-source.info. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
  21. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1978/Top 100 Songs of 1978". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-14.
  22. ^ "Top 100 Year End Charts: 1978". Cashbox Magazine. Retrieved 2015-11-03.