"One" is a song written and recorded by Harry Nilsson and made famous by Three Dog Night whose recording reached number five on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100[2] in 1969 and number four in Canada. 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.
In 1968, Al Kooper released the song on his debut album I Stand Alone. In 1969, it was recorded by Australian pop singer Johnny Farnham, reaching number four on the Go-Set National Top 40 Chart.[3]
Three Dog Night played "One" in the key of F minor, and it was released as the second single from Three Dog Night's eponymous first album. It became their first of seven gold records over the next five years.
The song reached number five on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and spent three weeks at number two on the Cash Box Top 100.[4] It also reached number four in Canada.
The song was recorded by the rock band Filter for the soundtrack to the 1998 film The X-Files: Fight the Future. There is also a scene in the movie where Mulder says to a bartender (played by an uncredited Glenne Headly), "You know, one is the loneliest number."
Electric Six recorded a cover version of the song for use in the trailer for Army of Two, but their version was rejected in favor of the Mastodon version.[11] It was subsequently included on their 2015 compilation album Mimicry and Memories.[12]
In media
In 1990, in the episode "Mistaken Identity" of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, this song's lyrics intro was sung by Bob the Prisoner.
In 1995, the song was sung briefly on The Drew Carey Show at the Warsaw Pub between both Carey and his boss, Mr. Bell, in the first-season episode "Nature Abhors a Vacuum".
In Disney's Recess: School's Out (2001), the song is played when the main character T.J. misses his friends after they leave for their individual summer camps.
The song was sung by Nathan Lane and was featured on the soundtrack of Stuart Little 2 in 2002.
In 2004, the song appears in the third episode of House ("Occam's Razor"). Dr. House references the song's opening line during a discussion with his team, and the song later plays over the episode's last scene.
Also in 2004, the song is briefly sung by Donkey in the film Shrek 2.
