Who Did It Better? Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You

Who Did It Better? 

Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You

Ever wonder how some songs become major hits? Back in the day, radio was the number one way for a song to hit the charts. If your song got radio play? That resulted in sales and that got you on the charts. 

Well, today's Who Did It Better? selection tells the tale of a song which, the second time out, would become a major international hit for a young talent show winner from Hawaii; the specifics of which demonstrated the power of radio when it came to breaking a song. And, trust me, it didn't always happen overnight; in fact, as this song proved, sometimes it was a matter of years! 

Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You was written by composers Michael Masser and Gerry Goffin. The pair is responsible for a number of all-time classic ballads, as sung by Diana Ross (Do You Know Where You're Going To (Theme From  Mahogany), Whitney Houston (Saving All My Love For You), and Roberta Flack & Peabo Bryson (Tonight, I Celebrate My Love). 

It was originally recorded by singer and guitarist George Benson for his 1985 album 20/20, on Warner Bros. Records. His version was produced by Michael Masser, and was originally released as the B-side of Benson's version of the old chestnut Beyond The Sea (La Mer) which peaked in the UK at #60. Later, Warner Bros. had a change of heart and decided to flip the single, promoting Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You as the fifth single from the album. Released in Europe only, and despite an appearance on Top Of The Pops, the song failed to chart.

The very next year, sixteen year-old Glenn Medeiros, a native Hawaiian, would win a local radio talent contest in Honolulu. Jay Stone, the program director at the station, KIKI, convinced Medeiros to record Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You, choosing that particular song because another Masser-penned song, The Greatest Love Of All -  a song which first hit the charts as sung by George Benson - had recently gone to #1, thanks to Whitney Houston. 

Produced by Stone, and released on Amhearst Records, Nothing's Gonna Change My Love For You went into high rotation on Honolulu's KIKI, which had sponsored the talent show Medeiros had won. 

Now, it just so happened that a program director from Phoenix's KZZP, Guy Zapoleon, a friend of Stone's, was vacationing in Honolulu. Stone asked Zapoleon to give the song a listen and Zapoleon loved it. He took the record back to Phoenix and began playing the song on the station in October of 1986. The song caught on, and soon, by word of mouth, it spread to other stations. In the meantime, Amhearst Records began making distribution deals with various labels, including Mercury Records and A&M Records to release the single in various markets. The strategy worked; by June of 1988 - a full two years after it was first recorded -  it became an international hit, going #1 in Ireland, the Netherlands, France and the UK, #2 in Norway and Sweden, #8 in Switzerland, #10 in Australia and #12 in the US and Austria.

Medeiros would go on to enjoy a #1 hit in the US, teaming up with Bobby Brown on She's Not Worth It.

And Medeiros was not the only one to chart with the song in 1988. In 1987, Engelbert Humperdinck would record a version for his album Remember I Love You. Released as a single in December of 1987, his version would rise to #93 on the UK Chart in early 1988.

And that's the whole story.

Now? On to the competition.

The Song: Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You

The Competitors: Benson vs. Humperdinck vs. Medeiros

Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You - George Benson

Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You - Engelbert Humperdinck

Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You - Glenn Medeiros

George Benson

That intro is pure Quincy Jones. Do you remember all those lovely duets? And everything that James Ingram did? When Billy Ocean tackled a ballad? This is that magic. It is of a certain time... and no, I don't believe it's aged all that well, pleasant though it might be.

The strings are nicely kept at bay. The keyboard a bit bright and brisk. Knobbed too hot? Benson comes on very softly. I have to say, I keep hearing echoes of Ingram's Just Once here. 

Behind the board? Co-writer Michael Masser. (Remember how many times it took him to get Starting Over Again right?) So far, he's allowing the song to do the heavy lifting. 

Benson is a lovely singer. His voice puts me at ease. I'm not sure if he's in the same league as a singer as James Ingram, but he has a knowing way of turning a phrase and his tone is certainly easy on the ears. Don't be too quick to dismiss this as a bit of nothing song. You know, with this kind of material, it would be easy to simply sing that melody, but not Benson. He's injecting every word with a lilt and a bit of rhythm, finding the syncopation necessary to keep this from being a trite, treacly ballad. 

I don't know that I care for all the reverb on his vocals. Or the multi-tracking on the chorus. It makes him sound a bit airbrushed, over-processed - like that photo on the cover of 20/20. And I have to hand it to Masser, so far we're not being hit over the head with backing vocals. In fact, so far - the first verse, first chorus - it's been pure George. I like the simplicity. Let's see if he sticks with it. 

On the second verse, Peabo Bryson springs to mind - quite the competitive market, huh? 

Second verse, same as the first. Chorus is fine. So far, this is pleasant. I'm not sure I think much of the song. It's so tailored and the lyrics are sort of by-the-numbers.

We get the obligatory key change, and a bit of a counter melody there, mimicking, no doubt, what Benson would have liked to have played on his guitar. Quite frankly, I would have preferred the guitar, but this is fine, as well. 

The instrumental break. The guitar is not what i would have hoped. It's pretty standard. Not so standard? Benson's vocalizing beneath. That's actually quite nice. 

And we finish with a couple of choruses. Well, no female back up vocals, so that's a plus. I like George's vocals, though by the end his attack on some of the words in the chorus becomes a bit strident and over-pronounced. I do wish we would have heard more of Benson playing the guitar in his signature style. The production is fine, the arrangement simple, though it does feel quite dense - other than what Benson's vocals bring to the mix, there is no air to be found. 

The song strikes me as slight and quite trite. Benson gives it a nice, pleasant MOR/R&B flavor.

But this? This is not a winner.  

Glenn Medeiros

A very Kenny G.-inspired intro. Medeiros' possesses a bit of tremolo/vibrato. I have to say, this arrangement and production work is miles removed from the homogenized state we heard in Benson's version. There's air. Room between instruments - though they are pretty much the same used in Benson's version. The tempo is a bit slower and that's allowing room for interp and thought. But the most compelling difference is how the vocals are treated. Medeiros' have a cleaner, clearer sound. He's not singing through a haze. He sounds very present. 

That's the charm. That's the difference.

The click track is overbearing, but ignorable. I do have issues with some of his vowel sounds. They are strangely enveloped, not hooded, but cowed. It's very odd. He sings 'then', rather than 'than.' Some is words are missing consonants. Not a deal breaker, but worth working on. 'Ow much..' is scooped and odd. I really would like to hear his speaking voice to see if he talks this way. 

Okay, okay... give the kid a break. He's sixteen. 

'My wole life..'? Is that what he's singing? This is so odd. Okay. I'll stop. 

The kid needs vocal lessons.  I can't believe an adult didn't step in and help him. He has a nice voice. Nice inflections. Good instincts. Great tone. But some of the worst diction I've ever heard. 

He borrows a couple of vocal tricks from Michael Jackson, so clever child. Sadly, too, the production values are starting to sound a bit cheap. They've amped up the reverb on his vocals by the 1:40 mark and things sound a bit wobbly. 

Okay... this demonstrates why this is the product of a singer who hasn't quite found his feet. Listen to the break in the line 'I'll help you find forever, too.' It's a small thing. But, musically, what he's doing makes no sense. That is not the way anyone would ever say that phrase - so why would you sing it that way? 

I dunno. Maybe the little girls understand? The ones who bought this. Because, the kid is cute. And he might be talented... but the people orchestrating this? They're not paying much attention. 

Wow, that is one lame instrumental break. And everything after? So painful.

Yeah. 

This was this hit, but this makes George Benson's version look like a total winner. 

Engelbert Humperdinck

Wow. A calliope synth sound? Really? That is horrifying. Like a horror movie.

The arrangement is stilted. Humperdinck sounds to be in good voice. So, why are they making him sing underwater? 

I hate the backing vocals. And this is very Vegas, babies. The lead up to the chorus, again, Humperdinck is in fine form - nice and strong, but they're messing with something in the mix that makes it sound like vinyl melting on the turntable. 

So, I just went to listen to other versions of this song by Humperdinck on Youtube and, nope... that is how it is intended to sound. That is unfortunate. That is unlistenable. 

I keep thinking its a bad recording. Or a damaged one. Too bad they didn't simply allow the man to sing it without all the manipulation. And the arrangement just gets worse. Those strings. Awful. Everything sounds so wavy. This is sad.

He's like in Elvis form, you know? He has a style. Why mess with that?

Oh... there's a steel guitar in there. That's messed up. 

And the backing vocals - I'm not understanding what the intent of any of this could possibly be. Did they want to make it sound Hawaiian? By the 2:19 mark there is so much crazy in the mix it's all clashing. The sole focus is Humperdinck's unbending delivery. That would have been the winning ticket here, but sadly, he's lost in the mix, too. '...sure of..." So funny. His delivery. 

This is... the less said the better.

The Verdict

At first... I was rather amazed that Diana Ross hadn't recorded this. It seemed a natural fit. However, after listening to this song three times in a row I must say... 

I wouldn't wish it on her. 

Wow. Do I apologize for this one. I thought... a Michael Masser song. This should be fun. I had fun with Dionne, Stacy, and Natalie the other week. What could go wrong?

But it did. Oh, so very wrong.

That said, I challenge you to listen to all three versions. Do it. 

The winner here is Benson. 

While I do appreciate the cleanliness of Medeiros' version, he commits so many sins as a vocalist, I can't listen to it and enjoy it. The kid has a nice voice. I hope he eventually took some vocal lessons and learned the basics of singing.

And Humperdinck's version is such a train wreck. That steel guitar? I don't know what any of it was supposed to add up to. Musically? It's a mess. 

So, we end up with Benson. He does a nice, pleasant turn of it. It's over-processed and homogenized, but Benson's natural charm manages to save the day.

I'm not a fan of this song. It bores me on many levels. So sappy.

But, it's Benson for me. 

That's my choice for today. 

--- ---

And that's enough of me.

Okay, your turn; leave your choice and thoughts in the comments section. I love to hear what you're thinking.

That's all for now. Until next time...

Thanks for reading... and listening!

Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You - Glenn Medeiros

Nothing's Gonna Change My Love for You - George Benson