One by One (song)


"One by One" is the first American and second European single by American singer-actress Cher from her twenty first studio album, It's a Man's World. It was released on January 5, 1996, by Reprise Records and WEA. It was written by Anthony Griffiths of The Real People and had been released by Irish singer Johnny Logan in 1990. Cher is credited as composer on the US edition of It's a Man's World. The song received warm chart reception, reaching the top 40 in Canada, Europe, and the United Kingdom.

Song information

In 1987, Liverpool-based musician Anthony Griffiths penned the song for his band, "Jo Jo & The Real People", who later shortened their name to The Real People. It was not intended to be released as a single and was not included among the 12 tracks of their eponymous debut album The Real People, released in 1991 on CBS Records.
Irish singer Johnny Logan recorded the song in 1990. It was released as a double A-sided single and reached the Irish top 20.
In 1995, Cher recorded the song and released it in 1996 as the first US and second European official single for her twenty-first album It's a Man's World.
For Cher, although "Walking in Memphis" was chosen as the first single, "One by One" proved to be more successful in the United Kingdom, when it charted at number seven. In the United States, the single performed moderately on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 52, but was a big hit on Billboards Adult Contemporary, Hot Dance Club Play and Hot Dance Singles Sales charts.

Critical reception

was positive by calling it "irresistible, mid-tempo soul".

Music video

The original video was released in the United Kingdom, which follows the story of an unhappy couple who struggle with problems, but later make up when they realize how much they actually love each other. When the video was released in the United States it followed the same concept, but some scenes were added and others removed; the beginning was also much different, including animations that followed the beat of the song. A third video was also released due to the popularity of the single's club remix. Dan Rucks or most famously known as Dan-O-Rama remixed the video by using a combination of both original videos. The remix used for the video was the Junior Vasquez vocal edit.

Notable live performances

Europe CD maxi-single
  1. "One by One"
  2. "One by One"
  3. "If I Could Turn Back Time"
  4. "It's a Man's Man's Man's World"
Germany CD single
Same track list of the European CD single but, without the "Junior Vasquez Mix".
US 12" vinyl
US CD maxi-single
  1. "One by One"
  2. "I Wouldn't Treat a Dog "
  3. "One by One"
  4. "One by One"
  5. "One by One"
  6. "One by One"
US 12" vinyl
Same track list of the US CD Maxi-Single but, without the "X Beat Dub".
UK 12" vinyl
UK 12" vinyl
US CD single
  1. "One by One"
  2. "I Wouldn't Treat a Dog "
  3. "One by One"
UK 12" vinyl
US 12" vinyl promo

Weekly charts

Year-end charts