First recorded in 1979 by Randy Crawford. The song was chosen for Randy by her producer Tommy Lipuma and released on her solo album, “Secret Combination”, in 1980. The album stayed on the UK charts for sixty weeks and “You Might Need Somebody” reached number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. The song has been cut by multiple artists through the years. notably by Joe Walsh and most famously, Shola Ama in 1997. Shola Ama’s version reached #4 on the UK charts and remained in the top 40 for almost 2 months. It broke airplay records in England and topped charts in France, Italy, Germany, Israel, Australia, New Zealand. It continues to be recorded in many different formats today.

Sometimes trying hard to be clever or sophisticated creates a confused result that falls flat. You Might Need Somebody is a great example of the opposite: the elegant appeal of simplicity. I wrote the music for this and collaborated on the lyric with Nan O’Byrne pretty much in one sitting. And I think it happened in Bonnie Raitt’s living room one night way back in 1978, but don’t quote me on that. This is one of my most recorded songs and it was a hit twice. Once with Randy Crawford in 1979 and eighteen years later with Shola Ama. Shola’s version hit number one in nearly every country in Europe. Joe Walsh, Mick Fleetwood and Turley Richards among many others have recorded versions. There are a number of fun videos of this tune on You Tube. The funny thing is it never achieved hit status in the US. Go figure.