"How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" is a song co-written in 1982 by Doug James and Michael Bolton. The track was originally recorded by Laura Branigan in 1983, charting at number one in both the US and Canadian Adult Contemporary charts. Bolton later recorded his own version of the song that topped the US Billboard Hot 100 and became a worldwide hit.
"How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" was supposed to be recorded by Australian duo Air Supply, but when Arista President Clive Davis asked for permission to change the lyrics of the chorus, Bolton refused, and Davis let go of the song.[1] Subsequently Laura Branigan recorded it as written, and it became the first major hit for the two songwriters. Bolton's own rendition became a worldwide hit in early 1990.
As the second single from Branigan's second album Branigan 2, "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" spent three weeks at number one on the BillboardAdult Contemporary chart and peaked at number twelve on the Hot 100 in early October 1983.[2][3] Branigan's single also hit the number one spot on the Adult Contemporary chart in Canada.[4] This success came without benefit of a music video. Branigan performed the song on the syndicated music countdown show Solid Gold in late 1983 and on the popular holiday special Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve. Branigan 2 went out of print in 2004, but Branigan's original version can still be heard on the compilation albums The Best of Branigan (1995), The Essentials (2002) and The Platinum Collection (2006).
The single's B-side was a newly written song over the music to the Italian song "Mama", by Giancarlo Bigazzi and Umberto Tozzi. Branigan's first major hit had been with "Gloria", another English song written to an Italian hit by the duo.
Laura Branigan demoed songwriter Gary William Friedman's "Promise Me I'll Feel This Way Tomorrow", several years before she recorded "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You".[10] Branigan did not meet the songwriters Michael Bolton and Doug James before the recording.[10] In 1986, songwriter Friedman filed lawsuit against Branigan, the songwriters, and other parties involved in the recording, alleging that "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" copied his song "Promise Me I'll Feel This Way Tomorrow".[10][11] In her testimony of the August 5, 1986, trial, Branigan performed Bolton and James's song and two other songs recorded by various artists, "Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow" (recorded by Branigan for her 1984 album Self Control) and "MacArthur Park".[12] Toward the end of August 1986, juries of a New York federal court cleared the case defendants from the charges.[10]
Michael Bolton recorded a version of the song for his sixth studio album, Soul Provider (1989). The single reached number one on both the BillboardHot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts and also won Bolton a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance. The release marked a turning point in Bolton's career. After years of being primarily known as a songwriter,[1] the single got him recognition as a performer and made him a certified superstar.[14]
The single debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1989.[15] It slowly climbed the chart and by mid-January became the first new number one single of the 1990s.
Philip Rose and Greg Gold directed the song's music video.[16] The beginning of the video shows Bolton performing the selection whilst he is sitting in his living room, and small bits of story about his and his girlfriend's relationship are told through fade-outs. As he is about to leave the apartment, already having packed his suitcases, he thinks of her and the time they spent together and seemingly decides against the decision; he then cuddles with his girlfriend. It is revealed, the next night, that he plans to give her a bracelet, which he quickly hides as he reads a newspaper before she enters the room. She surprises him with breakfast and they cuddle again. Later on, the two have a fight about something and she storms out of the apartment, and Bolton visibly feels guilty.[17]
