Kerry Jane Townsend (born 6 May 1979), better known by her maiden name Kerry Ellis, is an English actress and singer who is best known for her work in musical theatre and subsequent crossover into music. Born and raised in Suffolk, Ellis began performing at an early age before attending Laine Theatre Arts from the age of 16.
Ellis made her first professional stage appearance in 1998 and went on to make her West End debut in the 2001 revival of My Fair Lady as Martine McCutcheon's understudy in the role of Eliza Doolittle. After meeting Queen guitarist Brian May in 2002, she landed the role of Meat in the original London cast of We Will Rock You and has subsequently played lead roles in West End musicals Les Misérables, Wicked (which also took her to Broadway), Oliver! and Cats as well as appearing in national tours and concert productions of musicals like Miss Saigon, Chess, The War of the Worlds and RENT. Ellis, who has received several awards and nominations for her performances, has fast become recognised as the First Lady of West End musicals. She has also worked sporadically in film and television.
"I (Who Have Nothing)" (sometimes billed as "I Who Have Nothing") is a song originally released in English by Ben E. King 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. "Uno Dei Tanti" was released by Joe Sentieri in 1961. The English lyrics for "I (Who Have Nothing)" were written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who also produced the Ben E. King record using the backing track from Joe Sentieri's record (orchestra conducted by Luis Enriquez Bacalov).
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 in 1966 (#46), by Liquid Smoke in 1970 (#82), by Warhorse in 1972 and by Sylvester in 1979 (#40). The most popular version in the United States was by Tom Jones, peaking at #11 in Cashbox and at #14 in Billboard in the fall of 1970. Jones lyp-synched to the hit recording on a highly rated Raquel Welch television special that summer.
You have banished me From the land where I was born Here upon a foreign shore forsaken I have followed you And gone thy way Should I kneel to you When I rise you strike me down Once again a little one you've taken Everywhere I turn it's darker still What is it Lord that you want And that I am not seeing? What in my innocent prayers Am I failing to say? Never before have I questioned the truth of your being Never once have I dared Never until today All of a tremble I stand on the edge of confusion Who is to save me If into the darkness I fall? Now that I need more than ever my Lord to be near me Do you hear when I call? Are you there after all? You have to be there, you have to My life I have placed in thy keep And without you I am drifting on a dark and rising sea You have to be there, you have to Without you I'd drown in the deep Too far, too far from land The waters drag me down I reach for your hand Who when I die will throw open his arms to receive me? Who will believe me and take me into his embrace? And when I go to my rest, who will watch me and wake me? When my time comes at last, will you grant me your grace? I am so small of this Earth, I am nothing without you Daring to doubt you at all turns a knife in my heart Little by little I'm losing my way in the shadows I am losing my home and the world fall apart You do have to be there, you have to My life I have placed in thy keep And without you I am drifting on a dark and rising sea You have to be there, you have to Without you I'd drown in the deep Too far, too far from land The waters drag me down I reach for your hand And without you I am drifting on a dark and rising sea You have to be there, you have to Without you I'd drown in the deep Too far, too far from land The waters drag me down I reach for your hand
