Album: No Dice (1970)

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Songfacts®:

• "Without You" was written by Pete Ham and Tom Evans of Badfinger and included on the group's 1970 album No Dice. It wasn't released as a single and remained a deep cut until Harry Nilsson covered the song in 1972. Nilsson's version, which wrung out every drop of heartache in the song, was one of the biggest hits of the decade, going to #1 in America and the UK.
  
  This should have been great news for Ham and Evans, who you would think would be set for life from those royalties, but the Badfinger story had a tragic ending. The group was signed to The Beatles' Apple Records, and when The Beatles broke up, the label fell into disarray, folding in 1973. The resulting legal morass kept Ham and Evans from getting their due, and took a stark emotional toll on both of them. Ham committed suicide in 1975; Evans did the same in 1983.
• This song is actually a fusion of two songs. Pete Ham wrote a song titled "If It's Love," but found that it lacked a strong chorus. Tom Evans was also independently working on a song with the chorus "can't live if living is without you" - but he was stumped for verses. The two halves of a song fit together like a key in a lock.
• Paul McCartney, who championed Badfinger and produced some of their tracks, once described this ballad as "the killer song of all time."
• "Without You" has been covered by over 150 artists, notably Mariah Carey, who took it to #3 US in 1994. Others to record it include Shirley Bassey, Engelbert Humperdinck, Johnny Mathis, Heart, Air Supply and Glen Campbell.
• This song provided the title for the book Without You: The Tragic Story Of Badfinger, the 1997 biography by Dan Matovina.
• In Al Kooper's memoir Backstage Passes and Backstabbing Bastards, Kooper squarely pins the blame for Ham and Evans' suicides on the band's manager, Stanley Polley. Al Kooper also worked under Polley and had this to say about him: "Polley reminded me of Dr. [Hannibal] Lechter from the Thomas Harris books. An acknowledged brilliant doctor, but one who just happened to eat a few of his patients."
  
  While manager Stanley Polley was embroiled in legal cases, lawsuits, associations with organized crime, and even a Senate-investigation hearing throughout his career, the worst consequence he saw was pleading nolo contendre to a 1991 charge of misappropriating funds and money laundering in California - from an aeronautics engineer who gave him $250,000 to seed a corporation to manufacture airplane engines. He drew five years probation and an order to return the funds, which he never did. Stanley Polley, at the age of 87, died peacefully at his Rancho Mirage, California home in July of 2009.

Comments: 8

• David Harvey from AustraliaIt's mentioned that Stan Polley never returned the missing funds to the aeronautics engineer while out on a 5-year probation and if so, that could've potentially seen him locked up in a California state prison for contempt of court.
  I did read somewhere that although Polley tried to pull a few more scams, he was never again as successful in ripping people off or scamming them, hence that he disappeared from public view and showbusiness, but Al Kooper blamed him for causing Pete Ham and Tom Evans's suicides.
  There is more to this story than just that scenario: Pete was clearly a very troubled man with mental health issues, namely self-harm and burning cigarettes on himself, and I have also read on a forum that Tom Evans was also a troubled man.
  As to how they might've fared with Brian Epstein managing them had he lived, we can only speculate, and don't forget that, regardless of whatever limitations he had, Brian was not a malevolent man nor did he steal money from his acts plus he was managing other musicians and bands in addition to The Beatles, including Cilla Black, Gerry and The Pacemakers, Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas, The Cyrkle and The Fourmost not to mention that he bought instruments, including drums and guitars, for The Beatles.
  I'm not saying that Stan Polley should not be vilified, because his mismanagement of Badfinger's money and his own behaviour was illegal and just outright disgraceful and unforgiveable, but again, I don't know if Brian Epstein managing Badfinger and being millionaires would've made any difference to Tom and Pete's issues or prevented their suicides.
  Sadly, what happened to those two talented men happened and we can only speculate how they might've prospered with different management.
• Steve from Raleigh, Nc, UsaTo Mark of colorado springs: if you want to find stan polley's grave, here it is: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/72635714 in riverside, california
• Caroline from Cumbria, United KingdomOn holiday from the UK I saw a fabulous gig by Air Supply in Massachusetts in July 1990 - They gave a full tribute to Badfinger and a potted history of this song before performing a great version of this song - I ordered their Album "Bread and Blood" on special license to the UK just to have a copy of this track! My friend who was with me at the time had been a close friend of Bad Finger in Liverpool in the 60's and cried... A very moving experience and one I will never forget! Take a listen to Air Supply's version of this song! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qcUhrF8bsFE
• Eric from San Francisco, CaYes the album cover was great, but inside, without much effort, you can see visual similarities to the Beatles. Pete has a Lennonesque-quality, Tom to George. If you cover Joey's face below his eyes, he looks so much like Paul. Ringo, well, no one looks like Ringo except Yassir Arafat.
• Mark from Colorado Springs, CoI like the Badfinger version best and then Harry's. The Pariah Carey version reminds me of all her songs...she sounds like her foot is stuck in a bear trap! WHY can't anyone tell us where stan the bastard is buried?? Rest In Peace Tom, Pete and more recently Mike.
  
• Wayne from New Haven, CtI Love Badfinger's original version! On the "No Dice" album. (Does everyone remember the album cover?)
  I wish there was an alternative instead of suicide for Pete & Tom. That is Soooo sad they had to take their
  own lifes...
• Mellissa from Laguna Beach, CaSadly, the YOUTUBE clip is one of the only surviving Evans/Hamm appearances one will ever find because of the evil Stan Polley. He advised the band not to go on the big shows of the time such as The Old Grey Whistle test or Top of the Pops. There is a special place in hell for that guy. Hamm was loyal to the end.
• Zabadak from London, EnglandObviously, the definitive version of this is Harry Nilsson's 1971 effort. Special mention should also be made of Mariah Carey's "tribute" (even though he didn't write it!), issued shortly after Nilsson's death, which entered the UK singles chart at number one, back in the days when that meant something.

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