Close to You (Carpenters album)
Encyclopedia
We've Only Just Begun
We've Only Just Begun started out as a commercial for Crocker Citizen's BankCrocker National Bank
Crocker National Bank was a United States bank headquartered in San Francisco, California. It was acquired by and merged into Wells Fargo Bank in 1986.-History:The bank traces its history to the Woolworth National Bank in San Francisco...
in 1970, composed by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols. The commercial showed a couple getting married and starting their life together. Richard Carpenter decided it was a great tune for their next album, "Close to You." In August 1970, it became the Carpenters' second RIAA Certified Gold Single. Richard regards this as the duo's signature song.
Love Is Surrender
Originally written by Ralph Carmichael for the early contemporary Christian musical "Tell It Like It Is," Love Is Surrender was a song Richard and Karen heard during their teen years. Several of the overtly Christian lyrics were changed for this version, notably from "Without Him, love is not to be found" to "Without love you are not to be found" and "Love is surrender to His will" to "Love is surrender if you care." The arrangement is based on one recorded by Carmichael on his album, "I Looked For Love." The original Carmichael recording was mid-tempo, but Richard recorded it up-tempo with extra percussion.Maybe It's You
Maybe It's You is a song written by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis for their previous band, Spectrum. It's a very low-key song, with an oboe solo by Doug Strawn.Reason to Believe
Reason to Believe is a song composed by Tim HardinTim Hardin
James Timothy "Tim" Hardin was an American folk musician and composer. He wrote the Top 40 hits "If I Were a Carpenter", covered by, among others, Joan Baez, Bobby Darin, Johnny Cash, Ramblin' Jack Elliot, and Robert Plant, and "Reason to Believe", covered by many, including Rod Stewart, as well...
in the 1960s. Rod Stewart made a hit with this song in 1971, although it was the B-side to the even more popular "Maggie May." The Carpenters liked it, and Karen claimed in a live concert that the reason why they love the song is because it was one of the first songs they performed together as a group.
Help!
Help! is a song written by John LennonJohn Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
and Paul McCartney
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
in early 1965. Richard has stated that he was inspired by three "B's": The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys
The Beach Boys are an American rock band, formed in 1961 in Hawthorne, California. The group was initially composed of brothers Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and friend Al Jardine. Managed by the Wilsons' father Murry, The Beach Boys signed to Capitol Records in 1962...
, and Burt Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
. Carpenters produced three Beatles covers ("Ticket to Ride
Ticket to Ride
"Ticket to Ride" is a song by The Beatles from their 1965 album, Help!. It was recorded 15 February 1965 and released two months later. -Composition:...
," "Help
Help! (song)
"Help!" is a song by The Beatles that served as the title song for both the 1965 film and its soundtrack album. It was also released as a single, and was number one for three weeks in both the United States and the United Kingdom....
," and "Can't Buy Me Love
Can't Buy Me Love
"Can't Buy Me Love" is a song composed by Paul McCartney and released by The Beatles on the A-side of their sixth British single, "Can't Buy Me Love"/"You Can't Do That".-Interpretation:...
," the last from Your Navy Presents). (They also included a Beach Boys cover "Fun, Fun, Fun
Fun, Fun, Fun
"Fun, Fun, Fun", written by Brian Wilson and Mike Love, was a hit single by The Beach Boys that was released in 1964 on the band's album Shut Down Volume 2.- Composition :...
" on their Now & Then album, and recorded Burt Bacharach covers.)
(They Long to Be) Close to You
(They Long to Be) Close to You was the first composition by Burt BacharachBurt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
and Hal David
Hal David
Harold Lane "Hal" David is an American lyricist. He grew up in Brooklyn, New York. David is best known for his collaborations with composer Burt Bacharach.-Career:...
the Carpenters covered. The song was released time and time again during the sixties, but didn't do well at all, until the Carpenters did a cover on it. It ultimately became Richard and Karen Carpenter's first RIAA Certified Gold Single, as well as their first Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
single that reached the Top 10. It stayed at #1 for 4 weeks, and became the Carpenters' iconic song.
This music was used as a soundtrack in a Hong Kong film, So Close
So Close
*So Close* is a 2002 action film directed by Corey Yuen and starring Shu Qi, Karen Mok and Zhao Wei. The English title is derived from The Carpenters' song Close to You, which has a prominent role in the film.-Plot:...
. The story is about a woman who used this tune to hypnotize all of the security officer and get control of the main security.
Baby It's You
Baby It's You is a song composed by Burt BacharachBurt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
, Barney Williams
Luther Dixon
Luther Dixon was an American songwriter, record producer, and singer. Dixon's songs achieved their greatest success in the 1950s and 60s, and were recorded by Elvis Presley, The Beatles, The Jackson 5, B.B. King, Dusty Springfield, and others...
, and Mack David
Mack David
Mack David was an American lyricist and songwriter, best known for his work in film and television, with a career spanning from the early 1940s through the early 1970s. Mack was credited with writing lyrics and/or music for over one thousand songs...
. It was sung by Richard and Karen in 1970, and performed on their TV show, "Make Your Own Kind of Music."
I'll Never Fall in Love Again
I'll Never Fall in Love Again is the third consecutive Burt BacharachBurt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
composition on this album. It was included on their medley the following year, on the album "Carpenters
Carpenters (album)
Carpenters is the third studio album by the Carpenters. Released on May 14, 1971, the album was successful, reaching #2 on the Billboard 200 chart and #12 in the UK...
." According to Tom Riddle of "Your Navy Presents," there was a 29 vocal harmony on the song. Originally part of the score for Bacharach and David's 1968 musical "Promises, Promises
Promises, Promises
Promises, Promises is a musical based on the 1960 film The Apartment. The music is by Burt Bacharach, lyrics by Hal David, and book by Neil Simon. Musical numbers for the original Broadway production were choreographed by Michael Bennett; Robert Moore directed and David Merrick produced...
," the song had provided a top-ten hit for Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick
Dionne Warwick is an American singer, actress and TV show host, who became a United Nations Global Ambassador for the Food and Agriculture Organization, and a United States Ambassador of Health....
in January 1970.
Crescent Noon
Originally performed by Karen and Richard in the California State University Long Beach choir in 1969, Crescent Noon is a song composed by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis. The song describes the gloomy months of fall and winter:"Green September burned to October brown.
Bare November led to December's frozen ground.
The seasons stumble 'round;
our drifting lives are bound to a falling crescent noon."
Mr. Guder
This song was dedicated to Richard Carpenter and John Bettis's boss at Disneyland, Vic Guder. It was a bit of a last tease to the man who fired the duo. They were hired to play old-time music on piano and banjo at the park's "Coke Corner" on Main Street U.S.A., but they persisted in playing contemporary tunes that the patrons requested. The lyrics say:You're everything a robot lives for: walk in at nine and roll out the door at five. You reflect the company image; you maintain their rules to live by. Shine your shoes, let's keep a neat haircut now that you're wearing a coat and tie.... Someday soon you may realize you've blown your life just playing a game where no one wins but everyone stays the same.
Many of their later recordings that were composed in the late 1960s were written during their Disneyland career.
I Kept On Loving You
A song written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols, it features Richard on lead vocals.Another Song
Another Song was another Carpenter/Bettis creation that was very different from the typical Carpenters song and is separated into two halves; a vocal part (0:00-1:45) and an instrumental part (1:45-4:22). The song opens with a short prelude based on the harmony and melodic contour of the accompanied recitative "And, lo! the angel of the Lord came upon them" from Part I of George Frideric HandelGeorge Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
's oratorio Messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
(1742).
Charts
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| United States | 2 |
| United Kingdom | 23 |
| Japan | 53 |
| Australia | 16 |
| Canada | 1 |
Album credits
- Producer: Jack Daugherty
- Arrangements & Orchestration: Richard Carpenter
- All Vocals: Karen and Richard Carpenter
- Drums: Karen Carpenter and Hal BlaineHal BlaineHal Blaine is an American drummer and session musician. He is most known for his work with the Wrecking Crew in California. Blaine played on numerous hits by popular groups, including Elvis Presley, John Denver, the Ronettes, Simon & Garfunkel, the Carpenters, the Beach Boys, Nancy Sinatra, and...
- Keyboards: Richard Carpenter
- Bass: Joe OsbornJoe OsbornJoe Osborn is an American bass guitar virtuoso, notable for his work as a session musician in Los Angeles and Nashville during the period from the 1960s through the 1980s. Osborn's work is widely admired by fellow musicians.Osborn began his career working in local clubs, then played on a hit...
and Danny Woodhams - Woodwinds: Jim HornJim HornJim Horn is an American saxophonist and woodwind player. He was born in Los Angeles, and after replacing saxophonist Steve Douglas in 1959, he toured with member Duane Eddy for five years, playing sax and flute on the road, and in the recording studio...
, Bob Messenger, Doug Strawn - Engineer: Ray Gerhardt and Dick Bogert
- Art Direction: Tom Wilkes
- Photography: Kessel/Brehm Photography