![]() “From Close to You (1970) to Now and Then (1973) we were having a hell of a time. We’d always enjoyed our work, and when you get to a point that you’re not enjoying it, you have to call a halt. ![]() ![]() (Nowadays, that wouldn’t be seen as that long of a layoff, but by ’70s standards, it was an eternity.) Richard explained their long absence by saying, “I was tired. I interviewed Karen and Richard for Billboard in the summer of 1981, when they released Made in America, their first non-holiday studio album in nearly four years. 32 on the Hot 100 - about where they usually landed in that frustrating period of their career. It nearly busted through to become a big hit, but it ultimately stalled at No. In 1977, Carpenters released the oddest single of their career: a cover of Klaatu’s spacey, sci-fi epic “Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft.” The single was something of a Hail Mary pass on the duo’s part. Albums Chart for 17 weeks, the third-longest run by any album in the 1970s. The compilation was an even bigger hit in the U.K. In January 1974, The Singles 1969-1973 became their only No. Two weeks later, “Top of the World” - which Richard co-wrote with long-time lyricist John Bettis - became their second No. Herb Alpert, who had signed the duo to A&M Records in 1969, wrote: “When you know a good song, when you can write a good song, and when you have talent-watch out-’cause it can go on forever.”Īs it turns out, the special ran just as Carpenters were approaching their peak. 1 spot on the Hot 100 in August 1970, and Anne Murray, whose “Snowbird” reached the top 10 in September.īillboard ran a special section celebrating Carpenters’ success in its Nov. 2 single, just behind Simon & Garfunkel‘s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” In that same issue, Billboard awarded Carpenters a Trendsetters Award, for leading “a trend toward the softer, melodic rock harmonies that influenced, in turn, many other groups.” Carpenters’ arrival seemed to open doors for other acts in their vein such as Bread, whose “Make It with You” followed “Close to You” into the No. In Billboard‘s year-end issue in 1970, “Close to You” ranked as the year’s No. And Karen was way ahead of her time as a female drummer.Ĭarpenters Lead Guitarist Tony Peluso Dies ![]() In 1975, eight years before Linda Ronstadt‘s celebrated collaboration with arranger Nelson Riddle, What’s New, Carpenters recorded a faithful-to-the-period rendition of the 1938 Tommy Dorsey standard “I Can Dream, Can’t I.” Billy May teamed with Richard to arrange the track. Their 1972 hit “Goodbye to Love,” with Tony Peluso’s memorable fuzz-guitar solo, was one of the first power ballads. ![]() (Bacharach had arranged Dionne Warwick‘s 1964 recording of the song.)Ĭarpenters were ahead of the game on some key trends. He received five Grammy nominations for his arrangements, for such songs as “Close to You,” “Superstar” and “Sing.” In “Close to You,” he did the near-impossible: He improved on a Burt Bacharach arrangement. There was just not anybody like her.” Madonna has said she is “completely influenced by her harmonic sensibility.” Here’s what Rolling Stone said about Karen’s singing style in placing her on its 2010 list of the Greatest Singers of All Time: “Impossibly lush and almost shockingly intimate, Carpenter’s performances were a new kind of torch singing.”Īnd Richard knew just how to frame that voice. The late Leon Russell (who wrote the Carpenters classic “Superstar” and two other songs they recorded, “A Song for You” and “This Masquerade”) once said, “Well, Karen Carpenter was just a singularly amazing singer. Rewinding the Charts: 45 Years Ago The Carpenters Mellowed Out at No. ![]()
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