Peak
6
Weeks
21
Score
2,838
Chart Year
1974
This was written by the songwriting team of Albert Hammond and Mike Hazlewood shortly after they moved to Los Angeles. Before Hazlewood's death in 2001, they wrote songs for many artists, including Johnny Cash and Olivia Newton-John. The song is about a guy whose every desire is fulfilled by the woman he loves. His list of things he can live without as long as he has her love: cigarettes sleep light sound food books In the book Behind The Hits, Albert Hammond explained the inspiration for the song: "I just fell in love with a girl," he said. "We had some kind of short affair. I just fell in love so bad, I guess I needed to be with my family. I was so lonely in Los Angeles." So he moved to LA for a girl, but the song isn't really about her - it's more inspired by the loneliness he felt living there and his longing to be back with loved ones in a familiar place - he learned that in Los Angeles, everyone has a car and there's no mingling in the streets like there is in New York. And then there's the smog... In a 1992 interview on BBC radio, Hammond said: "When you listen to the song, you'd think this is a show stopper, and lyrically, you'd think I wrote it probably for the most beautiful woman that ever existed in the world. And in fact, The air that I breathe was written for quite an ugly person actually, I mean ugly outside, physically outside. She wasn't a great looking girl, but she was a terrific person inside. She was warm and kind. This person was the person who gave me shelter in Los Angeles when I didn't have any place to stay. I had no money, I had no Green Card, I couldn't work, I could have been a homeless. I sat down with Mike Hazlewood, and I said 'Mike, this is what's happened to me, and this is the person.' And I think Mike came up with [the line] 'the air that I breathe.' More than my story, it was because we lived in LA, and for the first time in our lives, we were introduced by smog. And every time we woke up, we'd look at the Hollywood Hills, and there was like a yellow monster up there. And I think that was his reason for coming up with [the line] 'the air that I breathe.' My reason was a love story, his was ecology or whatever you want to call it, you know. But it worked." Hammond was the first to record this - it appeared on his 1972 album It Never Rains In Southern California. Phil Everly recorded it in 1973 on his album Star Spangled Banner. Hammond Recorded a Spanish version in 1976 called "Necesito poder respirar." In 1998, this was a UK #6 hit for Simply Red. >> This was the last big hit for The Hollies, who were on the charts for much of the previous 10 years. Founding member Graham Nash left in 1968 and move on to Crosby, Stills & Nash, but Tony Hicks, Bobby Elliott and Allan Clarke kept the band going long after their hits dried up. KD Lang recorded this on her 1997 covers album Drag. She did it as a slow blues song. Two artists have had hits on the Country Chart with covers of "The Air That I Breathe": Rex Allen Jr's version peaked at #37 in 1983, and The Mavericks' interpretation reached #59 in 2003. The Hollies' version plays in the trailer for the 2023 horror movie Saw X.
If I could make a wish I think I'd pass Can't think of anything I need No cigarettes, no sleep, no light, no sound Nothing to eat, no books to read Making love with you Has left me peaceful warm and tired What more could I ask There's nothing left to be desired Peace came upon me and it leaves me weak So sleep, silent angel go to sleep Sometimes all I need is the air that I breathe And to love you All I need is the air that I breathe Yes to love you All I need is the air that I breathe Peace came upon me and it leaves me weak So sleep, silent angel go to sleep Sometimes all I need is the air that I breathe And to love you All I need is the air that I breathe Yes to love you All I need is the air that I breathe Sometimes all I need is the air that I breathe And to love you All I need is the air that I breathe Yes to love you All I need is the air that I breathe And to love you All I need is the air that I breathe Yes to love you
| Week | Chart Date | Position | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Apr 20, 1974 | 98 | 28 |
| 2 | Apr 27, 1974 | 96 | 30 |
| 3 | May 4, 1974 | 88 | 38 |
| 4 | May 11, 1974 | 82 | 44 |
| 5 | May 18, 1974 | 71 | 55 |
| 6 | May 25, 1974 | 59 | 67 |
| 7 | Jun 1, 1974 | 43 | 83 |
| 8 | Jun 8, 1974 | 35 | 91 |
| 9 | Jun 15, 1974 | 27 | 99 |
| 10 | Jun 22, 1974 | 21 | 105 |
| 11 | Jun 29, 1974 | 11 | 115 |
| 12 | Jul 6, 1974 | 11 | 115 |
| 13 | Jul 13, 1974 | 9 | 117 |
| 14 | Jul 20, 1974 | 9 | 117 |
| 15 | Jul 27, 1974 | 7 | 119 |
| 16 | Aug 3, 1974 | 6 | 120 |
| 17 | Aug 10, 1974 | 17 | 109 |
| 18 | Aug 17, 1974 | 31 | 95 |
| 19 | Aug 24, 1974 | 46 | 80 |
| 20 | Aug 31, 1974 | 67 | 59 |