We've Only Just Begun
Encyclopedia
"We've Only Just Begun" is the signature song
of The Carpenters
, written by Roger Nichols
(music) and Paul Williams
(lyrics), and is often used as a wedding song. The song was ranked at #405 on Rolling Stone
magazine's list of "the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
The song was recorded by Smokey Roberds, a friend of Nichols, under the name Freddie Allen. It debuted in a wedding-themed television commercial for Crocker National Bank
in California
in the winter of 1970, with Williams on vocals. The bank didn't want a conventional jingle
, and planned the song to play over footage of a couple, in a format similar to the modern day music video
. Direct reference to the bank was left out, in part to make the song more marketable.
Richard Carpenter
saw the commercial and asked if a full-length version was available. Although it only had two verses and no bridge, Williams claimed that there was a bridge and an additional verse, forming a complete song; he and Nichols went on to write them. Carpenter selected the composition for the duo's third single and included it on the LP Close to You
.
Released in the late summer of 1970, the single featured Karen
's lead vocals and the overdubbed harmonies of both siblings. Following their hit "(They Long To Be) Close to You
" onto the charts, "We've Only Just Begun" reached #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100
, becoming the pair's second gold single and was considered by both Karen and Richard to be their signature song
. According to The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (6th edition), on the U.S. Adult Contemporary
singles chart, it was the duo's best-performing tune, lasting seven weeks at #1 (beating the six-week stay at the top of "Close To You"). The song helped them to win two Grammy Award
s in 1971. One was for the Best New Artist (The Carpenters
), and the other was for Best Contemporary Performance by a Duo, Group, or Chorus (Close to You).
In 1998
, the recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for recordings of lasting quality or historical significance.
recorded the song for his 1971 album An Old Fashioned Love Song.
}
covered this song on the tribute album If I Were a Carpenter.
Other covers
, adapted from an short story
by Stephen King
, marking a beginning of a horrible experience the protagonist had to come through. It was also used as the closing song in the 2000 gay ensemble The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy, performed by Mary Beth Maziarz. This song was featured as the end of the Australian film, The Castle
, which was sang by Kate Ceberano
. The song was also played in John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness
, heard when the protagonist has been committed to an insane asylum. The song can be heard playing through the speakers in the halls of the asylum. The song was also sung by Carl Weathers
in the motion picture Happy Gilmore
, and was featured in the film version of Starsky & Hutch
.
Signature song
A signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with or best known for, even if they have had success with a variety of songs...
of The Carpenters
The Carpenters
Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of sister Karen and brother Richard Carpenter. The Carpenters were the #1 selling American music act of the 1970s. Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and...
, written by Roger Nichols
Roger Nichols (songwriter)
Roger Nichols Roger Nichols Roger Nichols (born in Missoula, Montana, is an American composer and songwriter. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays violin, guitar, bass, and piano.-Biography:...
(music) and Paul Williams
Paul Williams (songwriter)
Paul Hamilton Williams, Jr. is an Academy Award-winning American composer, musician, songwriter, and actor. He is perhaps best known for popular songs performed by a number of acts in the 1970s including Three Dog Night's "An Old Fashioned Love Song", Helen Reddy's "You and Me Against the World",...
(lyrics), and is often used as a wedding song. The song was ranked at #405 on Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
magazine's list of "the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
The song was recorded by Smokey Roberds, a friend of Nichols, under the name Freddie Allen. It debuted in a wedding-themed television commercial for Crocker National Bank
Crocker 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 California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in the winter of 1970, with Williams on vocals. The bank didn't want a conventional jingle
Jingle
A jingle is a short tune used in advertising and for other commercial uses. The jingle contains one or more hooks and lyrics that explicitly promote the product being advertised, usually through the use of one or more advertising slogans. Ad buyers use jingles in radio and television...
, and planned the song to play over footage of a couple, in a format similar to the modern day music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
. Direct reference to the bank was left out, in part to make the song more marketable.
Richard Carpenter
Richard Carpenter (musician)
Richard Lynn Carpenter is an American pop musician, best known as one half of the brother/sister duo The Carpenters, along with his sister Karen Carpenter. He was a producer, arranger, pianist and keyboardist, and occasional lyricist, as well as joining with Karen on harmony...
saw the commercial and asked if a full-length version was available. Although it only had two verses and no bridge, Williams claimed that there was a bridge and an additional verse, forming a complete song; he and Nichols went on to write them. Carpenter selected the composition for the duo's third single and included it on the LP Close to You
Close to You (Carpenters album)
-We've Only Just Begun:We've Only Just Begun started out as a commercial for Crocker Citizen's Bank in 1970, composed by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols. The commercial showed a couple getting married and starting their life together...
.
Released in the late summer of 1970, the single featured Karen
Karen Carpenter
Karen Anne Carpenter was an American singer and drummer. She and her brother, Richard, formed the 1970s duo The Carpenters. She was a drummer of exceptional skill, but she is best remembered for her vocal performances of idealistic romantic ballads of true love...
's lead vocals and the overdubbed harmonies of both siblings. Following their hit "(They Long To Be) Close to You
(They Long to Be) Close to You
" Close to You" is a popular song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It was first recorded by Richard Chamberlain and released as a single in 1963 as "They Long to Be Close to You," without parentheses. However, it was the single's flip side, "Blue Guitar," that became a hit...
" onto the charts, "We've Only Just Begun" reached #2 on the U.S. 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...
, becoming the pair's second gold single and was considered by both Karen and Richard to be their signature song
Signature song
A signature song is the one song that a popular and well-established singer or band is most closely identified with or best known for, even if they have had success with a variety of songs...
. According to The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits (6th edition), on the U.S. Adult Contemporary
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
singles chart, it was the duo's best-performing tune, lasting seven weeks at #1 (beating the six-week stay at the top of "Close To You"). The song helped them to win two Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s in 1971. One was for the Best New Artist (The Carpenters
The Carpenters
Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of sister Karen and brother Richard Carpenter. The Carpenters were the #1 selling American music act of the 1970s. Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and...
), and the other was for Best Contemporary Performance by a Duo, Group, or Chorus (Close to You).
In 1998
1998 in music
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1998.-Events:*January 28 – "Weird Al" Yankovic gets LASIK surgery to cure his myopia...
, the recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for recordings of lasting quality or historical significance.
| Chart (1970) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Canadian Singles Chart | 2 |
| Oricon (Japanese) Singles Chart | 71 |
| UK Singles Chart | 28 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 2 |
| U.S. Billboard Easy Listening | 1 |
Paul Williams version
Songwriter Paul WilliamsPaul Williams (songwriter)
Paul Hamilton Williams, Jr. is an Academy Award-winning American composer, musician, songwriter, and actor. He is perhaps best known for popular songs performed by a number of acts in the 1970s including Three Dog Night's "An Old Fashioned Love Song", Helen Reddy's "You and Me Against the World",...
recorded the song for his 1971 album An Old Fashioned Love Song.
}
Carpenters compilation appearances
- 1973 - The Singles: 1969-1973The Singles: 1969-1973The Singles 1969-1973 is an album by the brother/sister pop duo The Carpenters. A greatest hits collection, it topped the charts in the U.S. and the United Kingdom and became one of the best-selling albums of the 1970s. Features of this compilation include a newly recorded version of "Top Of The...
(1973 remix) - 1980 - Beautiful Moments
- 1985 - Yesterday Once More: Their Greatest Hits (1985 remix)
- 1989 - Anthology
- 1991 - From The Top (1991 remix)
- 1995 - Interpretations: A 25th Anniversary Edition
- 1997 - Carpenters: Their Greatest Hits And Finest Performances
- 1998 - Love Songs
- 2000 - The Singles: 1969-1981The Singles: 1969-1981In 2000, Richard Carpenter wanted to release another Carpenters compilation, called The Singles: 1969–1981. In this compilation, there is a never before released track, called "For All We Know "...
- 2002 - The Essential Collection
- 2004 - Gold: 35th Anniversary EditionGold: 35th Anniversary EditionCarpenters Gold: 35th Anniversary Edition is a two-disc compilation released by The Carpenters in early 2004. It peaked at #4 in the UK Album Charts.-Disc one:#"Superstar" #"Rainy Days and Mondays" #"Top of the World" #"Maybe It's You"...
- 2009 - 40/4040/4040/40 is a two-disc compilation by American pop group the Carpenters. The album features 40 songs which spans their entire career , and first issued by Universal Japan on April 22, 2009...
Notable cover versions
In 1994, Grant Lee BuffaloGrant Lee Buffalo
Grant Lee Buffalo is a rock band based in Los Angeles, California, consisting of Grant-Lee Phillips , Paul Kimble and Joey Peters . All three were previously members of another Los Angeles band, Shiva Burlesque.-Career:...
covered this song on the tribute album If I Were a Carpenter.
Other covers
- Perry ComoPerry ComoPierino Ronald "Perry" Como was an American singer and television personality. During a career spanning more than half a century he recorded exclusively for the RCA Victor label after signing with them in 1943. "Mr...
(1970) - Dionne WarwickDionne WarwickDionne 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....
(1970) - Mark LindsayMark LindsayMark Lindsay is an American musician, best known as the singer for the group Paul Revere & the Raiders.-Biography:Lindsay was born in Eugene, Oregon and was the second of eight children...
(1970) - Ray ConniffRay ConniffJoseph Raymond Conniff was an American bandleader and arranger best known for his Ray Conniff Singers during the 1960s.-Biography:...
(1970) - Andy WilliamsAndy WilliamsHoward Andrew "Andy" Williams is an American singer who has recorded 18 Gold- and three Platinum-certified albums. He hosted The Andy Williams Show, a TV variety show, from 1962 to 1971, as well as numerous television specials, and owns his own theater, the Moon River Theatre in Branson, Missouri,...
(1971) - Claudine LongetClaudine LongetClaudine Georgette Longet is a French singer and recording artist who was popular during the 1960s and 1970s. She is also an actress and a dancer.Born in Paris, France, Longet was married to pop singer Andy Williams from 1961 until 1975...
(1971) - Grant GreenGrant GreenGrant Green was a jazz guitarist and composer....
(1971) - Curtis MayfieldCurtis MayfieldCurtis Lee Mayfield was an American soul, R&B, and funk singer, songwriter, and record producer.He is best known for his anthemic music with The Impressions during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960's and for composing the soundtrack to the blaxploitation film Super Fly, Mayfield is highly...
(1971) - Johnny MathisJohnny MathisJohn Royce "Johnny" Mathis is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standards, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum status, and 73 making the Billboard charts...
(1971) - Barbra StreisandBarbra StreisandBarbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
(1971), unreleased until 1991 - Henry ManciniHenry ManciniHenry Mancini was an American composer, conductor and arranger, best remembered for his film and television scores. He won a record number of Grammy Awards , plus a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award posthumously in 1995...
(1972) - Seija SimolaSeija SimolaSeija Simola is a Finnish singer. She began her career musical in the mid 1960s in the band Eero Seija & Kristian Trio, and her debut solo album was released in 1970: Seija Simola 1 ....
(as "Nyt Alun Uuden Nään") (1972) - The TempreesThe TempreesThe Temprees were an American soul vocal trio from Memphis, Tennessee, most popular during the 1970s. The band released several albums under We Produce records, an offshoot of Stax Records...
(1972) - El ChicanoEl ChicanoEl Chicano is an American chicano rock and brown-eyed soul group from Los Angeles, California, whose style incorporates various modern music genres including rock, funk, soul, blues, jazz, and salsa...
(1973) - Lea LavenLea LavenLea Laven is a Finnish pop singer....
(as "Niin Paljon") (1974) - LiberaceLiberaceWladziu Valentino Liberace , best known simply as Liberace, was a famous American pianist and vocalist.In a career that spanned four decades of concerts, recordings, motion pictures, television and endorsements, Liberace became world-renowned...
(1989) - Richard ClaydermanRichard ClaydermanRichard Clayderman is a French pianist who has released numerous albums including the compositions of Paul de Senneville and Olivier Toussaint, instrumental renditions of popular music, rearrangements of movie soundtracks, ethnic music, and easy-listening arrangements of most popular works of...
(1986) - Grant Lee BuffaloGrant Lee BuffaloGrant Lee Buffalo is a rock band based in Los Angeles, California, consisting of Grant-Lee Phillips , Paul Kimble and Joey Peters . All three were previously members of another Los Angeles band, Shiva Burlesque.-Career:...
(1994) - Kate CeberanoKate CeberanoKate Ceberano is an Australian singer. She achieved success in the soul, jazz and pop genres as well as in her brief forays into musicals with Jesus Christ Superstar and film...
(for the soundtrack of Australian movie The CastleThe Castle (film)The Castle is a 1997 Australian comedy film directed by Rob Sitch. It starred Michael Caton, Anne Tenney, Stephen Curry, Sophie Lee, Eric Bana and Charles 'Bud' Tingwell. The screenwriting team comprised Sitch, Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Jane Kennedy of Working Dog Productions.The Castle was...
, 1997) - Bradley JosephBradley JosephBradley Joseph is an American composer, arranger, and producer of contemporary instrumental music. His compositions include works for orchestra, quartet, and solo piano, while his musical style ranges from "quietly pensive mood music to a rich orchestration of classical depth and breadth".Active...
(2005)
In cinema
The song was used in a rather unusual context in the film 14081408 (film)
1408 is a 2007 American psychological horror film based on the Stephen King short story of the same name directed by Swedish director Mikael Håfström, who earlier had directed the horror film Drowning Ghost. The cast includes John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, and Mary McCormack. The film was released...
, adapted from an short story
1408 (short story)
"1408" is a novella by Stephen King. It is the second tale in the audiobook collection titled Blood and Smoke, released in 1999. In 2002, it was collected in written form as the twelfth story in King's collection Everything's Eventual...
by Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
, marking a beginning of a horrible experience the protagonist had to come through. It was also used as the closing song in the 2000 gay ensemble The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy, performed by Mary Beth Maziarz. This song was featured as the end of the Australian film, The Castle
The Castle (film)
The Castle is a 1997 Australian comedy film directed by Rob Sitch. It starred Michael Caton, Anne Tenney, Stephen Curry, Sophie Lee, Eric Bana and Charles 'Bud' Tingwell. The screenwriting team comprised Sitch, Santo Cilauro, Tom Gleisner and Jane Kennedy of Working Dog Productions.The Castle was...
, which was sang by Kate Ceberano
Kate Ceberano
Kate Ceberano is an Australian singer. She achieved success in the soul, jazz and pop genres as well as in her brief forays into musicals with Jesus Christ Superstar and film...
. The song was also played in John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness
In the Mouth of Madness
In the Mouth of Madness is a 1995 American horror film directed by John Carpenter and written by Michael De Luca, who was at the time of the film's release in charge of New Line Cinema...
, heard when the protagonist has been committed to an insane asylum. The song can be heard playing through the speakers in the halls of the asylum. The song was also sung by Carl Weathers
Carl Weathers
Carl Weathers is an American actor, as well as former professional football player in the United States and Canada. He is best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky series of films...
in the motion picture Happy Gilmore
Happy Gilmore
Happy Gilmore is a 1996 sports comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan and produced by Robert Simonds for Universal Studios. It stars Adam Sandler as the title character, an unsuccessful ice hockey player who discovers a talent for golf. The screenplay was written by Sandler and Tim Herlihy...
, and was featured in the film version of Starsky & Hutch
Starsky & Hutch (film)
Starsky & Hutch is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Todd Phillips. The film stars Ben Stiller as David Starsky and Owen Wilson as Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson and is a film adaptation of the original television series of the same name from the 1970s....
.