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"Only You"

PBS Kids is running a self-promo between programs that shows kids and PBS characters playing on a beach. It’s black and white with splashes of green and a catchy tune is playing in the background. I couldn’t find any reference to the song anywhere so I wrote PBS. And they wrote back today with the info! Here it is:

    Song: Only You Album: Uncommon Denominators Artist: New Rythm and Blues Quartet (NRBQ) Released: 1986
And, bonus, it's on iTunes. Just search for NRBQ.

Update: Lyrics

Only you, no one else anymore Only you ‘Cause I know you will remember us all Because you have never been pretending Only you

Only you know we’ve taken so long Only you And only you can create a new song Only you, my only inspiration Only you

I’ll always be as I am And I’ll always give a helping hand to who needs it I’ll always do what I can

I’ll always be as I am And I’ll always give a helping hand to who needs it I’ll always do what I can

Only you look for good in us all Only you Because of you life is easier now And to you my love is never ending Only you

Only you

Comments

  1. Vicki on 2005-03-02 07:56:21 wrote: Thanks! I love Google - saw the promo, Googled it, found your info! I’m going to go check it out on iTunes.

  2. jason maurer on 2005-03-04 17:54:01 wrote: If anyone knows where this ad is on the web, e-me please. It’s a really nice spot and I love the song.

  3. Maggie on 2005-03-10 08:16:44 wrote: How cool! I just saw the commercial and heard the song, thinking to myself, “is that NRBQ?” What do you know, Google comes through AGAIN. My next move was going to be to check for the song on iTunes, so thanks for including that tidbit too. The world does have some pretty cool people : - ) Thank you!

  4. on 2005-03-15 20:01:15 wrote: thats so funny. i wrote NJN an email also trying to find the name of it. but they coulndt help me. thanks so much for the info. not being able to find it was driving me crazy

  5. on 2005-03-15 20:04:39 wrote: any chance at a site with the tabs for this song?

  6. anonymous on 2005-03-17 04:28:59 wrote: *THANK you thank you thank you i have been looking for that since that campaign started.. cant wait to put that in my imovie!!! *

  7. on 2005-03-18 17:18:10 wrote: Googled it, found it. Google rules.

  8. lola on 2005-04-16 04:15:24 wrote: Loved it….bought it for less than a buck at walmart.com….click on the music tab and then search under “uncommon denominators” which is the group

  9. lola on 2005-04-16 12:44:23 wrote: actually, “uncommon denominators” is the album name

  10. Sasha on 2005-04-23 08:14:01 wrote: *I looked all over for this song months ago, too. Wrote to PBS but never heard back. The ad just came on again and I ran back to my computer. Thanks for hooking me up, and I LOVE itunes! *

  11. Darcy on 2005-04-30 19:47:12 wrote: PBS has a good ear for music. I finally got around to Googling the lyrics and it brought me here. I am so glad to finally know who does the song so that I can buy the CD. The song reminds me of Simon & Garfunkel.

  12. dave on 2005-05-09 15:18:47 wrote: nrbq rules and has been doing so for 36 years!!!

  13. TVO on 2005-05-10 04:48:40 wrote: The song originally appeared on NRBQ’s 1972 album “Scraps.” Then in ‘86 it appeared on “Uncommmon Denominators” which is a compilation. A great band with a wonderful body of material to discover.

  14. on 2005-05-10 07:44:31 wrote: If you liked “Only You,” check out their children’s album of a few years back, “You’re Nice People, You Are.” My kids love it!

  15. Ban on 2005-05-12 11:08:52 wrote: I’ve seen the promo a few times and was touched. I wanted to usethe song as the background music on a family video, but with me singing an playing. Thanks for putting up this link. When I figure out the chords I’ll send them in so others can play it too! Thanks again, great detective work! B

  16. Jere Dozier on 2005-05-14 11:10:43 wrote: THANK YOU! THANK YOU! I was just about to go crazy trying to find this song! It’s a great song and I really wanted to hear more of it! Thanks you for doing what many had suggested I do but was too stubborn to do.

  17. A mom on 2005-05-27 11:52:30 wrote: Thanks so much! Saw the promo and came to track the song down. I found all my answers here! It’s also available from Music Match too!

  18. Farrah on 2005-05-29 12:39:31 wrote: I love hearing this song every morining on PBS! Its a really peaceful song, and it makes me feel happy when I hear it. Its very soothing!

  19. paul on 2005-07-03 18:49:35 wrote: HEY ALL !!!! WOW! this song is amazing ! heard it on PBS with my daughter. Typed it into Yahoo! first search result took me here… went to ITUNES bought it in less than 2 minutes downloaded to my IPOD ! love technology …. enjoy !!

  20. Lori on 2005-07-28 11:23:09 wrote: THANK you so much for posting the info you found about this song! Does anyone know the name of the song that PBS used to play in that promo? I like this new promo, but also liked the old one and now I can’t even remember the old tune! It was a song that used to play on Pop radio stations in the late 90’s. And help would be great! :)

  21. pam on 2005-07-30 23:40:55 wrote: “Only You” is a beautiful song. Listen to other albums by NRBQ. Joey Spampinato sings so sweetly. NRBQ has some amamzing songs and they have been around since the late 60’s!

  22. Belinda on 2005-08-23 19:01:46 wrote: Thank you! It’s the perfect song! Thank goodness my search was easy, Thanks!

  23. Adam on 2005-08-31 08:37:53 wrote: Next question is trying to ID all of the celebrities in the spot. Jamie Lee Curtis, Liam Neeson, and Levar Burton are the obvious ones. Can anybody add to the list? It’s a wonderful promo.

  24. Anit@ on 2005-09-12 14:27:43 wrote: Thats a beautiful song!!! =)

  25. Don on 2005-09-20 11:17:12 wrote: i love to play the guitar with my 2 and 4yr olds. does anybody know of the tabs or chords to this wonderful song? thanks.

  26. Fruity on 2005-10-02 04:54:44 wrote: Just bought it off iTunes - why it’s categorized under “Rock” is beyond me, though. Would think that Folk or Children’s Music would have been more appropriate (especially since it has a Fisher-Price style piano enter at 1:30 into the song). Great song, though…

  27. mrscrumley on 2005-10-12 15:49:28 wrote: Thanks for posting this. Google brought me to you and from you I went straight to iTunes. My husband will be happy because he keeps singing “Only You…” over and over and not knowing the rest of the words has been driving us nuts.

  28. mom in crandall on 2005-10-19 15:18:28 wrote: i love this song makes me cry!!

  29. Papio Tom on 2005-11-10 12:11:44 wrote: Where would I be without people like you being where I would be without people like you? I’d be hunting the Web and finding lots of references to Spinners tunes. Thanks for doing all the work so I can just Google to here. One-click answers… ain’t tech wonderful? Well, only with the people to back it up!

  30. dr pepper on 2005-11-11 23:41:34 wrote: THANKS!!!!!!!!! I adore the promo and the song :)

  31. Jaime on 2005-12-07 16:14:57 wrote: hey thanks so much for adding this info…I have been singing this song for DAYS and love it. Didn’t know much of the words until now - just basically singing “Only You” over and over! Thanks again…

  32. Jen on 2005-12-08 05:48:36 wrote: Thanks, I too have been searching for this song. I love it, and I can’t wait to learn on my guitar and play it for my son!

  33. Lukas on 2005-12-11 14:29:46 wrote: Theres the mom from Malcom in the Middle in it. Thanks for the info. i love the greeni n this commercial

  34. Soccy on 2006-01-17 07:22:34 wrote: Virginia Madsen is also in the commercial. (blonde hair) and Jane Kaczmarek (Malcom’s mom). Now, does anyone know where to get the They Might Be Giants song “Share a Story”. My girls and I dance around to that one. :)

  35. l newman on 2006-01-22 06:05:12 wrote: my son just stopped eating breakfast and said I love this song…we are looking for songs for a video montage for him. This posting made it so easy!!! thanks for your help

  36. Naomi on 2006-03-12 13:15:54 wrote: Thanks! Hooray for Google! I’ve had this wonderful song stuck in my head - thanks for the help.

  37. Sarah on 2006-05-13 11:58:19 wrote: Thank you so much! I love this song and just bought it off Walmart! Tahnks again!

  38. DZ on 2006-06-01 19:30:31 wrote: Thanks for saving me the time to email to PBS. Great song. Great promo. I get choked up everytime I see Mr. Rogers reading to the kids. Sure miss him.

  39. Ron on 2006-07-13 14:09:39 wrote: Thank you, so much. I love this song and have searched for it with no success until now. Thanks to you and Google.

  40. nikki on 2006-07-19 12:31:59 wrote: I can’t believe that so many of us were touched by the same song. Music is so powerful. The forty of us may have nothing else in common, but here we have found that people can be brought together by music, and that the emotion that it evokes. Thank you for the information. Peace to all.

  41. Guitar_Zan_Randy on 2006-07-19 16:56:13 wrote: Here are some easy guitar chords to go with… ….this truly beautiful lyric. The song is most likely in another key but, ‘C’ is as good as any! Following is my interpretation of the music - it’s not perfect but close enough. If you listen to the song enough, the groove will come. intro : C - F - C - F - G/G7 [Country style using alt. bass notes] on the last F chord - riff - the notes F - F# to the G/G7. Verse = Only you [C], no [C/B] one [F] else any [G7]more Only you [C] [G7] ‘Cause I know [C] you, will [C/B] rem[F]ember us [G7] all Because [Am] you have [F] never [Dm7] been pre [G7]tending Only you [Repeat intro minus the ‘G’] Bridge = [riff C/B to ‘F’ chord] I’ll [riff B/C] always [G7]be as I [‘C’ riff down to Am] am [Am/G] And [F] I’ll always [G7] give a helping [C] hand to who needs [D7] it - [F] I’ll always [Dm7] do what I [G7] can Thank you, Thank you John for puttin’ all this on the web!!!! Like most of ya’ll I also first heard this on PBS months ago and have been pluckin’ at it since. Enjoy!

  42. Eve on 2006-07-24 11:57:02 wrote: Thanks so much for taking the time to write this. My 9 month old love this song and I always try to sing it to her but I could never catch all the words. I just tried looking for the lyriks and what do you know here they are. Thanks you so much. “Guard your heart with all diligence for out of it pours the wellsprings of life” (Prov 4:23) Peace Eve

  43. Ailean Ruadh on 2006-08-09 11:41:06 wrote: Am I a late bloomer or what? So my family says. I always thought this song was by ‘TMBG’ - I’m about to dig out my old cassette tapes. Thanks to everyone for their heart-touching stories/input. =^..^= Of all things, this song brings tears to my eyes..? All here know what I mena. Thanks…

  44. triplejmom on 2006-08-28 10:03:12 wrote: My kids and & I love this song! We catch it when it comes on after Angelina Ballerina on Sunday mornings. I made my husband watch to firgure out all the stars. I say that it is Tracy Morgan from Saturday Night Live at the end & he says no….hmmm What do you think????

  45. lyssi-bee on 2006-09-26 17:00:40 wrote: Here’s a list of the celebs in the commercial that I can identify: Jamie Lee Curtis Liam Neeson Levar Burton Mister Rogers Virginia Madsen Raquel Castro (from Jersey Girl)

  46. lyssi-bee on 2006-09-26 18:59:37 wrote: Oops… I forgot to mention: Jane Kaczmarek Denzel Washington

  47. Julian on 2006-10-04 19:34:43 wrote: I just uploaded the clip onto YouTube for everybody’s enjoyment: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_49e3A88DGw :) It’s truly beautiful!

  48. Meg on 2006-11-10 04:03:41 wrote: Thank you from me, too! I’m glad I’m not the only one getting choked up every morning watching that…… I’m headed to iTunes to buy it.

  49. Kobh on 2007-01-15 02:05:13 wrote: Thank you for posting this! I could not find it on the web.

  50. K’s Mommy on 2007-02-05 12:58:51 wrote: Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!! I love that ad and I couldn’t find the song.

  51. Amanda on 2007-02-26 19:54:57 wrote: Thank you so much for the information. My Husband and I love the promo, and the song is fantastic. I really appreciate how easy it was to find the info, thanks to your blog!

  52. Villardy on 2007-06-19 13:03:44 wrote: THANKS SOOO MUCH!!!! Although Im a bit too old for PBS (18) I still watch the shows i used to love…too bad they canceled the good ones(Magic School Bus, Bill Nye The Science Guy)but any who…I heard the commercial and i LOVE that song and Ive been looking for it to put on my myspace, and my photography website and now I have it sooo thank you very much!!!

  53. anne marie on 2007-08-13 17:01:34 wrote: I love that song as well and was wondering if anyone knew the other songs that they are using in their promos. I know one is the Best Friend song by Freddie Mercury but I think there is one other promo and I can not think of the song at all…

  54. laurel on 2007-08-17 05:32:33 wrote: Thank you thank you thank you! I’ve been going nuts trying to figger this out.

  55. Ida on 2007-08-26 20:10:12 wrote: Thank you so much for posting this info! I had looked everywhere and finally put in my “only you” song PBK Kids search on Google and there you were! Thank you, thank you, thank you.

  56. Julie on 2007-09-25 07:53:39 wrote: Thanks for posting these lyrics! Now I can sing along, my son loves it when I sing to him:)

  57. Jennifer on 2007-12-06 11:37:06 wrote: Thanks so much for posting this…I’ve been searching for this info for quite a while!

  58. Colleen on 2008-01-20 18:52:52 wrote: Thankyou so much :D I saw this commercial and thought it was so cute-even had Fred Rogers on it! >>you can also listen to it on myspace<< http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&amp;friendID=101395548

  59. Larc on 2008-01-31 18:33:39 wrote: triplejmom: That Angelina Ballerina song can be found at http://angelina-ballerina.littletoons.com/