"I" (sometimes billed as "I Who Have Nothing") is a song originally released in English by Ben E. King

Ben E. King

Benjamin Earl King , better known as Ben E. King, is an American soul singer. He is perhaps best known as the singer and co-composer of "Stand by Me", a U.S...

 in 1963.

"I (Who Have Nothing)" is based on the Italian song "Uno Dei Tanti," (English: "One of Many") with music by Carlo Donida and lyrics by Giulio "Mogol" Rapetti

Mogol (lyricist)

Giulio Rapetti , in art Mogol, is an Italian music lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with Lucio Battisti.-Career:...

. "Uno Dei Tanti" was released by Joe Sentieri

Joe Sentieri

Joe Sentieri was an Italian singer and actor.-Career:His first success was the winning of the competition "Canzonissima" in 1959 with his version of the number one hit "Piove " by Domenico Modugno...

 in 1961. The English lyrics for "I (Who Have Nothing)" were written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

Jerome "Jerry" Leiber and Mike Stoller were American songwriting and record producing partners. Stoller was the composer and Leiber the lyricist. Their most famous songs include "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", "Kansas City", "Stand By Me" Jerome "Jerry" Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011)...

, who also produced the Ben E. King record using the backing track from Joe Sentieri's record. Some critics believe that part of this song's melody was later copied for "Nights in White Satin

Nights in White Satin

"Nights in White Satin" is a 1967 single by The Moody Blues, written by Justin Hayward and first featured on the album Days of Future Passed.It is in the key of E minor Aeolian.-Single releases:...

," released by the Moody Blues in 1967.

The song was included in the musical revue "Smokey Joe's Cafe

Smokey Joe's Cafe

Smokey Joe's Cafe is a musical revue showcasing 39 pop standards, including rock and roll, rhythm and blues songs written by songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller...

".

Versions

The original English Ben E. King version was released in 1963 and reached #29 on the Billboard charts. Other versions which reached the Billboard charts were performed by Terry Knight and the Pack

Terry Knight and the Pack

Terry Knight and the Pack was, between 1965 and 1967, an American rock band from Flint, Michigan. The band was signed to the Lucky Eleven label throughout its short recording career.-Career:...

 in 1966 (#46), by Liquid Smoke in 1970 (#82), by Warhorse in 1972 and by Sylvester

Sylvester James

-Studio albums:-Live albums:-Compilation albums:* Mighty Real UK #62* 12 By 12 * Immortal -Singles:-Additional recordings:*Lights Out San Francisco...

 in 1979 (#46). The most popular version in the US was by Tom Jones

Tom Jones (singer)

Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...

, peaking at #14 in 1970.

Shirley Bassey

Shirley Bassey

Dame Shirley Bassey, DBE , is a Welsh singer. She found fame in the late 1950s and was "one of the most popular female vocalists in Britain during the last half of the 20th century"...

 released the song (produced by George Martin

George Martin

Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...

) in September 1963, reaching #6 on the UK charts. She performs the song at almost every live concert she gives, and it is on many of her compilation albums, including I Am What I Am with the London Symphony Orchestra, and her 1989 album La Mujer where she sings it in Spanish ("Hoy No Tengo Nada"). She has also been instrumental in making Donida's music known to English speaking audiences through arranging for translations from the Italian, having performed with the composer conducting his own music on Italian television.

Other versions of "I (Who Have Nothing)" have been recorded by Tom Jones

Tom Jones (singer)

Sir Thomas John Woodward, OBE , known by his stage name Tom Jones, is a Welsh singer.Since the mid 1960s, Jones has sung many styles of popular music – pop, rock, R&B, show tunes, country, dance, techno, soul and gospel – and sold over 100 million records...

, Petula Clark

Petula Clark

Petula Clark, CBE is an English singer, actress, and composer whose career has spanned seven decades.Clark's professional career began as an entertainer on BBC Radio during World War II...

, Al Kooper

Al Kooper

Al Kooper is an American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears , providing studio support for Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965, and also bringing together guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills to...

, The Spectres, who later became Status Quo, Roberta Flack

Roberta Flack

Roberta Flack is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who is notable for jazz, soul, R&B, and folk music...

 & Donny Hathaway

Donny Hathaway

Donny Edward Hathaway was an American soul singer-songwriter and musician. Hathaway contracted with Atlantic Records in 1969 and with his first single for the Atco label, "The Ghetto, Part I" in early 1970, Rolling Stone magazine "marked him as a major new force in soul music."His collaborations...

, Sylvester

Sylvester James

-Studio albums:-Live albums:-Compilation albums:* Mighty Real UK #62* 12 By 12 * Immortal -Singles:-Additional recordings:*Lights Out San Francisco...

, Jedi Mind Tricks

Jedi Mind Tricks

Jedi Mind Tricks is a hip hop duo with Vinnie Paz from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Jus Allah from Camden, New Jersey. The group was founded by two high school friends, rapper Vinnie Paz and former producer/DJ Stoupe the Enemy of Mankind...

, Hodges, James & Smith, Luther Vandross

Luther Vandross

Luther Ronzoni Vandross was an American singer-songwriter and record producer. During his career, Vandross sold over twenty-five million albums and won eight Grammy Awards including Best Male R&B Vocal Performance four times...

 & Martha Wash

Martha Wash

Martha Wash is an American R&B, Pop, Soul, House singer/songwriter known for her distinctive and powerful voice.-Early career:...

, Liza Minnelli

Liza Minnelli

Liza May Minnelli is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of singer and actress Judy Garland and film director Vincente Minnelli....

, Brook Benton

Brook Benton

Brook Benton was an American singer and songwriter who was popular with rock and roll, rhythm and blues, and pop music audiences during the late 1950s and early 1960s, when he scored hits such as "It's Just A Matter Of Time" and "Endlessly", many of which he co-wrote.He made a comeback in 1970...

, Neil Diamond

Neil Diamond

Neil Leslie Diamond is an American singer-songwriter with a career spanning over five decades from the 1960s until the present....

, Joe Cocker

Joe Cocker

John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...

, Normie Rowe

Normie Rowe

Norman John "Normie" Rowe AM was a major male solo performer of Australian pop music in the 1960s. Known for his bright and edgy tenor voice and dynamic stage presence, many of Rowe's most successful recordings were produced by Pat Aulton, house producer for the Sunshine Records, Spin Records and...

, Katherine Jenkins

Katherine Jenkins

Katherine Jenkins is a Welsh mezzo-soprano. She is a classical-popular crossover singer who performs across a spectrum of operatic arias, popular songs, musical theatre and hymns.-Early life and education:...

, Linda Jones, Little Milton, Manfred Mann's Earth Band

Manfred Mann's Earth Band

Manfred Mann's Earth Band is a British progressive rock group formed in 1971 by Manfred Mann.-Formation:Having started in the 1960s with a British band that had such hits as "Do Wah Diddy Diddy" and "The Mighty Quinn", then moving on to Jazz Fusion with Manfred Mann's Chapter Three, Manfred's third...

, Sam Sorono (1950-2008), Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain, Warhorse and Vassilikos from Raining Pleasure

Raining Pleasure

Raining Pleasure is an Indie / Rock band originating from Patras, Greece, often credited with spearheading the newest wave of Greek bands with English lyrics. The band was formed in September 1990 under the name "Rest in Peace". A year after their formation the band started appearing live locally....

.

Recent interpretations include those by American Idol

American Idol

American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...

winner Jordin Sparks

Jordin Sparks

Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American pop / R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She hails from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner in Idol history...

, Nikki Kerkhof

Nikki Kerkhof

Nikki Kerkhof is a singer and the winner of the fourth series of Idols the Dutch variant on Pop Idol...

, the winner of Idols

Idols (Netherlands)

Idols is a television show on the Dutch television network RTL 4, which is part of the Idol series based on the popular British show Pop Idol. The show is a contest to determine the best young singer in the Netherlands....

 4, the Dutch version of Pop Idol

Pop Idol

Pop Idol is a British television series which debuted on ITV on 6 October 2001. The show was a talent contest to decide the best new young pop singer in the United Kingdom, based on viewer voting and participation. Two series were broadcast - one in 2001-02 and a second in 2003...

, and Irish

Irish people

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...

 auditionee on The X Factor

The X Factor (UK)

The X Factor is a British television music competition to find new singing talent. Created by Simon Cowell, it began in September 2004 and is contested by aspiring singers drawn from public auditions. It is the originator of the international X Factor franchise. The seven series of the show to date...

 UK Mary Byrne.

Jordin Sparks

Jordin Sparks

Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American pop / R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She hails from Glendale, Arizona who rose to fame as the winner of the sixth season of American Idol. Sparks won when she was 17 years old, making her the youngest winner in Idol history...

 sang the song during British Invasion Week on the sixth season

American Idol (Season 6)

The sixth season of American Idol premiered on the Fox Broadcasting Company as a two-night, four-hour premiere special on January 16 and January 17, and ran until May 23, 2007. Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson returned to judge once again, and Ryan Seacrest returned as host...

 of American Idol. A studio recording of her performance reached #74 on the Billboard Hot 100 following her win.

Haley Reinhart

Haley Reinhart

Haley Reinhart is an American singer from Wheeling, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois who placed third in the tenth season of American Idol. Reinhart is currently signed to 19 and Interscope Records.-Early life:...

 also sang it on season ten

American Idol (season 10)

The tenth season of American Idol premiered on January 19, 2011 and concluded on May 25, 2011, on Fox. The show underwent a number of changes from season nine, including the reduction of the judging panel to its original number of just three judges , a returning executive producer, a new music...

of American Idol in the Top 4 round, receiving a standing ovation from the judges and instant critical acclaim from critics and audiences alike.