The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face
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| "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" | ||
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| Single by Roberta Flack | ||
| from the album First Take | ||
| Released | 1972 | |
| Recorded | 1969 | |
| Genre | Pop | |
| Length | 5:22 4:15 (1972 radio edit) |
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| Label | Atlantic Records | |
| Writer(s) | Ewan MacColl | |
| Producer(s) | Joel Dorn | |
| Chart positions | ||
| Roberta Flack singles chronology | ||
| You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling (1971) |
The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face (1972) |
Where Is the Love? (1972) |
| "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" | ||
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| Single by Céline Dion | ||
| from the album All the Way... A Decade of Song | ||
| Released | March 27, 2000 | |
| Format | CD single, Cassette single | |
| Recorded | Paradise Sounds, Chartmarker Studios | |
| Genre | Pop | |
| Length | 4:09 | |
| Label | Columbia, Epic | |
| Writer(s) | Ewan MacColl | |
| Producer(s) | David Foster | |
| Chart positions | ||
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| Céline Dion singles chronology | ||
| "Live (For the One I Love)" (2000) |
"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" (2000) |
"I Want You to Need Me (2000) |
| Alternate covers | ||
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| Promotional single | ||
"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is a 1957 pop song written by Ewan MacColl for his wife Peggy Seeger. It was popularized by Roberta Flack and became a breakout hit for the singer after it appeared in the film Play Misty for Me. Though the song first appeared on Flack's 1969 album First Take, it topped the Billboard Hot 100 and won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year three years later.
MacColl wrote the song for Seeger, a folk singer, after she asked him to pen a song for a play she was in. The song, as performed by Seeger, featured a faster tempo than the Flack version and clocked in at two and a half minutes long.
Flack's slower, more sensual version, was used by Clint Eastwood in his 1971 directorial debut Play Misty for Me during a lovemaking scene. With the new exposure, Atlantic Records cut the song down to four minutes and released it to radio. It stayed at number one in the United States for six weeks and reached number fourteen in the United Kingdom.
As a folk song, First Time has been covered by artists such as Marianne Faithfull, the Kingston Trio, the Chad Mitchell Trio-Mike Kobluk solo, Gordon Lightfoot, and Maria Taylor. Since Flack's version, it has been covered by numerous artists, including Johnny Cash, the Chi-Lites, Marcia Griffiths, Isaac Hayes, Bert Jancsch, Bradley Joseph, Joanna Law, George Michael, Elvis Presley, the Stereophonics, Mel Torme, Mary Travers, and Vanessa L. Williams. Céline Dion had a minor hit in England with her 2000 rendition. It has also been used as a sample in the Drum & Bass song Dimensional Entity, released by Teebee and the Future Prophecies.
Contents |
"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" is the third single from Céline Dion's All the Way... A Decade of Song album. It was released on March 27, 2000 in the United Kingdom and Ireland only.
Céline Dion performed it earlier, during the Let's Talk About Love Tour and on her CBS Special in 1998. She also sang it in a German TV show at the end of 1999. The song was included later on the 2004 Miracle album.
"The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" music video was taken from Dion's second CBS Special in 1999 and released in 2000. It was directed by Bud Schaetzle, and included later on Céline Dion's All the Way... A Decade of Song and Video DVD.
The single peaked at number 19 in the United Kingdom and number 32 in Ireland.
Céline Dion performed this song between March 2003 and August 2004, during her A New Day... show in Las Vegas.
2-Track Cassette Single - (UK)
- "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" 4:09
- "Then You Look at Me" 4:11
3-Track CD-Single - (UK)
- "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" 4:09
- "Then You Look at Me" 4:11
- "When I Fall in Love" 4:20
3-Track CD-Single - (UK)
- "The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face" 4:09
- "These Are Special Times" 4:08
- "Ave Maria" 4:55
| Chart (2000) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Irish Singles Chart | 32 |
| UK Singles Chart | 19 |
| Celine Dion |
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| Albums | Singles | Videography | Tours | Awards |
- Superseventies.com - with quotes from Roberta Flack and information on the song's background
| Preceded by "A Horse With No Name" by America |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single (Roberta Flack version) April 15, 1972 |
Succeeded by "Oh Girl" by The Chi-Lites |