If I Can't Have You - Yvonne Elliman (1977-78) 1/12/22

The "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack is one of the top-selling albums of all time--with more than 40 MILLION copies sold to date.

Those of us who were around back in 1977 know just how popular it was...in the discos and on the radio. In fact, just for starters, the first four singles from the album all went to #1 on the charts--and became "Great Songs of the "70s."

They were released in the following order: "How Deep is Your Love," More Than a Woman," "Stayin' Alive, and "If I Can't Have You."

What you may not know about...is the artist switcheroo that went on behind the scenes.

The Bee Gees originally intended to record "If I Can't Have You" and have Yvonne Elliman sing "How Deep is Your Love." They felt the song was perfect for her...because it was a ballad...it suited her voice...and she was not a disco artist.

Well, producer Robert Stigwood, who was in charge of the album, ordered the Bee Gees to record "How Deep is Your Love" and give "If I Can't Have You to Yvonne.

So that's what happened...and although Yvonne did a great job and took it to #1, she disliked the song, and disco in general. She decided she'd never record another disco song, and has never changed her mind.

We highlighted "How Deep is Your Love" back on 12/1/20 (see the link below), and we'll get around to "More Than a Woman" and "Stayin' Alive" in the near future, but today, we salute Yvonne Elliman and "If I Can't Have You:" a "Great Song of 1977" (whether she likes it or not!) :-)

"How Deep is You Love" (Blog post from 12/1/20):