You Light Up My Life

Album

Bronco

Label

Warner Bros. Records

Genre

Stage & Screen

Composer(s)

Joe Brooks

Entered Chart

Sep 3, 1977

Peak Date

Oct 15, 1977

Released

Unknown

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

Warner Bros. 8455

"You Light Up My Life" was featured in a movie of the same name written and directed by Joseph Brooks, who was also a songwriter. Brooks needed a title song for the movie, so he wrote the song about halfway through the shoot. At first, this was going to be sung by a jingle singer named Kasey Cisyk, and she recorded the original version that was used in the film (the film's director Joseph Brooks was a jingle writer for a while, and was impressed with how Cisyk sang his tunes). For over a year, no movie studio would release the film and no record company would release the song. When the movie finally got picked up, it was time to record the song as a single, and Brooks went with Debby Boone instead of Cisyk, who also plays a bridesmaid in the film. Boone had very little recording experience, but was the daughter of Pat Boone, a very popular singer in the '50s with a loyal and very religious fan base. Boone's vocal was done over the same instrumentation, and Brooks had her do it exactly like Cisyk's; in a number of interviews, she described him as being so mean to her that she was reduced to tears. Only a very discerning ear can tell the difference between Boone's version and the one used in the movie, which apparently was the goal. Why Brooks didn't use Cisyk's recording as the single is unclear, but there was apparently a falling out of some kind, and Cisyk, who died of breast cancer in 1998 at age 44, never told her side of the story, possibly restrained by legal action she took against Brooks. According to Cisyk's husband Ed Rakowicz, Brooks was retaliating against her because she rebuffed his advances. Cisyk never became a recording star, but was heard on many popular commercials, including the "Have You Driven a Ford Lately?" campaign. The movie was about a girl trying to make it in show business. The lead role was played by Didi Conn, who played Frenchy in the movie Grease the next year. She lip-synched the song to Cisyk's voice. The movie use paralleled real life: In the film, Conn is seen recording the song in a studio; later on, it becomes her breakout hit. This won the 1977 Grammy for Song of the Year. Boone also won that year for Best New Artist. In America, this was by far the biggest hit of 1977, spending 10 weeks at #1. It became mainstay of Adult Contemporary radio, but spent only one week at #1 on that chart. On both the Hot 100 and the AC chart, the song was knocked off the top spot by the Bee Gees "How Deep Is Your Love." It was also a #1 hit in Canada, but fared poorly overseas. As for the movie, it had little impact and got mostly poor reviews. When the song became a huge hit it helped the movie do very well. At the 1978 Oscars, it won for Best Song, which created a lot of controversy because it was seen as a sellout to pop culture. Among the songs it beat was one written by renowned composer Marvin Hamlisch, who wrote the elegant type of songs the academy usually looked for. Many songs from Saturday Night Fever, including "Night Fever" and "Stayin' Alive," were eligible that year, but none were nominated, which made it seem very unlikely that a song that appealed to the masses would win an Oscar. Boone sang in a gospel quartet, and like her father was very religious. When asked who she was singing about, her answer was "God." Joseph Brooks, who wrote the song, took exception because that was not what he wrote it about - to him, it was an interpersonal love song. He never asked Boone to record another song, but they did get together once more when they performed this on a 1990 NBC special called Night Of 100 Stars III, with Brooks playing piano while Boone sang. Boone performed this at the Oscars with a group of children using sign language to translate the lyrics; everyone thought the kids were deaf, but they weren't. This was Boone's only hit, and it didn't take her long to fade from the spotlight. She was nominated for an Oscar the next year for the song "When You're Loved," from the movie The Magic Of Lassie. This has been covered by many artists, including Kenny Rogers, Leann Rimes, and Whitney Houston. Rimes' version is the only one to chart, it hit #34 in the US in 1997. Boone's version of the song appeared on her first album, which sold over a million copies. The version heard in the movie (recorded by Kacey Cisyk) was included on the soundtrack album for the film, credited to the "original cast." After Boone's version took off, the movie rendition was released as a single, with an instrumental version credited to Joe Brooks on one side, and Cisyk's recording (credited to "Original Cast") on the other. The "Original Cast" version peaked at #80 US on November 26, 1977, while Boone's single was in its seventh week at #1. For a while, this was a very popular wedding song in America. Boone said she lost count of how many weddings at which she performed it. In June 2009 Joseph Brooks re-entered the public eye when he was accused of rape and sexual abuse by four different women. The incidents occurred between March and May 2008 when he allegedly lured the women to his apartment to audition for movie roles, drugged and molested them. Despite the fact that more women subsequently came forward, he pled not guilty. On May 22, 2011, before his trial had been set, Brooks was found dead by a friend of an apparent suicide. Brooks, who left a three-page suicide note detailing his various health issues, died just months after his son was accused of murdering a swimsuit designer. This was used on The Simpsons in the 1991 episode "I Married Marge." In a flashback sequence, the song plays on the car radio and Marge gives Homer a Songfacts lesson: Homer: "I bet the guy she was singing that about was real happy." Marge: "Actually, she was singing about God." Homer: "Oh. Well, he's always happy. No, wait, he's always mad..."

So many nights I'd sit by my window
Waiting for someone to sing me his song
So many dreams I kept deep inside me
Alone in the dark but now you've come along

And you light up my life
You give me hope to carry on
You light up my days and fill my nights with song

Rollin' at sea, adrift on the water
Could it be finally I'm turnin' for home?
Finally a chance to say, "Hey, I love you"
Never again to be all alone

'Cause you light up my life
You give me hope to carry on
You light up my days and fill my nights with song

'Cause you, you light up my life
You give me hope to carry on
You light up my days and fill my nights with song

It can't be wrong
When it feels so right
'Cause you
You light up my life