One (Harry Nilsson song)

"One Is the Loneliest Number" redirects here. For the novel, see Tom Clancy's Net Force Explorers: One is the Loneliest Number.

"One"
side-B label
Side B of the UK single; solid center variant
Single by Harry Nilsson
from the album Aerial Ballet
B-side"Sister Marie"
Released1968
Recorded1967
StudioRCA (Hollywood, California)
Genre
LabelRCA Records
Songwriter(s)Harry Nilsson
Producer(s)Rick Jarrard
Harry Nilsson singles chronology
"Good Old Desk"
(1967) 		"One"
(1968) 		"Everybody's Talkin'"
(1968)
Audio
"One" by Harry Nilsson on YouTube

"One" is a song by American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson from his 1968 album Aerial Ballet. It is known for its opening line "One is the loneliest number that you'll ever do". Nilsson wrote the song after calling someone and getting a busy signal. He stayed on the line listening to the "beep, beep, beep, beep..." tone, writing the song. The busy signal became the opening notes.

A better-known cover version, recorded by Three Dog Night, reached number five on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100[4] in 1969 and number four in Canada. In 1969, the song was also recorded by Australian pop singer Johnny Farnham, reaching number four on the Go-Set National Top 40 Chart.[5]

  1. ^ "Playlist: Best Harry Nilsson songs for what would be his 75th birthday". Azcentral.com. June 16, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  2. ^ Coleman, Mark; Matos, Michaelangelo (2004). "Harry Nilsson". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide (4th ed.). Simon & Schuster. pp. 586–587. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
  3. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Harry Nilsson – Everybody's Talkin' [BMG]". AllMusic. Retrieved October 9, 2023.
  4. ^ "One (song by Three Dog Night) ••• Music VF, US & UK hits charts". Musicvf.com. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  5. ^ Nimmervoll, Ed (September 13, 1969). "National Top 40". Go-Set. Waverley Press. Retrieved May 16, 2014.