My World b/w I'll Always Love You

This is where Craig Ruhnke's recording career starts. In 1974 he was a 24-year-old Toronto piano teacher and songwriter, and WEA's Canadian office put out his first single on Reprise, in Canada only. He did all of it himself: he wrote both songs, arranged them and produced the record, at a time when most Canadian newcomers were assigned a staff producer. His publisher, Don Valley Music, was WEA's own publishing company, so his first record came out through the same company that handled his songs.

The B-side already had a history. In the spring of 1973 the Pinky Dauvin Group, who had just changed their name from Pinky, chose 'I'll Always Love You' for their fourth single on United Artists. It was the first song Ruhnke placed with another artist, and it reached the radio before he had a record of his own. His version runs 3:50, long for a 1974 B-side.

The single didn't make him a star, but it showed what he could do. Within months he had moved to United Artists, the label that had released the Pinky Dauvin version, and his next single, 'Summer Girl', became a national hit that summer. He brought both songs with him to his first album, Sweet Feelings (1975), where 'I'll Always Love You' closes side two.