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The following features interesting facts and stories behind classic oldies from the past 50 years, and on rare occasions, even older. Songs are chosen arbitrarily. The debut date of the single on the Billboard charts is listed to the right of the title, followed by its peak position and weeks on chart in parenthesis. Taking requests at chapworld@charter.net. |
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"(They Long To Be) Close To You" (1970) |
June 20, 1970 - #1 (17) |
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"We've Only Just Begun" (1970) |
September 12, 1970 - #2 (17) |
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"Rainy Days And Mondays" (1971) |
May 15, 1971 - #2 (12) |
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"Sing" (1973) |
February 24, 1973 - #3 (14) |
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"(They Long to Be) 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. Although Richard Chamberlain recorded the first version, the tune was also recorded as a demo by Dionne Warwick in 1963 and re-recorded with a Burt Bacharach arrangement for her 1964 album Make Way for Dionne Warwick, and was released as the B-side of her 1965 single "Here I Am." Bacharach released his own version in 1968. But the version recorded by The Carpenters is the most well known, which became a big hit in 1970...
In 1970, it was released by Karen and Richard Carpenter on their album Close to You, and it became their breakthrough hit. The song stayed at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks. Richard had stated that when Herb Alpert introduced the song to him back in early 1970, he was a bit apprehensive about the song, and didn't have confidence in it. He and Alpert collaborated on the song, and the finished product was a 4-minute, 36-second long song. When A&M Records decided to release it in May 1970, it became A&M's biggest hit since Alpert's "This Guy's in Love with You" from 1968...
With "(They Long to Be) Close to You," The Carpenters earned a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus in 1971. It became the first of three Grammy Awards they would win during their careers...  In 1971, Claudine Longet recorded the song and included some lyrics in French on her album, We've Only Just Begun. That same year, it was performed on The Burt Bacharach Show by the show's host and Barbra Streisand... The song was featured in the 1989 movie Parenthood, starring Steve Martin. It was used in a scene where Rick Moranis' character sings to apologize to his wife in the middle of teaching her class...
"We've Only Just Begun" is The Carpenters' signature song. Although it was recorded in early 1970, it is still much in demand as a wedding anthem...
Written by the songwriting team of Roger Nichols (music) and Paul Williams (lyrics), the song originally debuted in a commercial for Crocker National Bank in California in 1970, with Williams providing the vocals. Williams has said they left out a direct reference to the bank in part to make it salable as a pop song, and also because they couldn't conceive a reasonable rhyme for "Crocker." It is ranked #405 on the Rolling Stone magazine's list of "the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"...
The song was originally recorded by Smokey Roberds, a friend of Nichols, under the name Freddie Allen (his Christian name). Although fairly successful in California, it made no impact nationally, which Roberds attributed to promotion and distribution problems... Believing that the song had hit potential, Richard 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 his sister 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" crested at #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 (besting the six-week stay at the top of "Close To You"). The song helped them to win two Grammy Awards 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...
Williams went on to write several more hits for The Carpenters, as well as songs for Barbra Streisand, Carole King and Three Dog Night. He also worked on many films as both a songwriter and an actor, composing the classics "Evergreen" from A Star Is Born and "Rainbow Connection" for The Muppet Movie. He attributes his songwriting success to authenticity, explaining: "When 'We've Only Just Begun' was a #1 record, I think the #1 album in the country was "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida." So it was as far away from what was happening in the music scene as you can get...
"Rainy Days and Mondays" is a 1971 song by The Carpenters that went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was certified Gold by the RIAA. It was also the duo's fourth #1 song on the Adult Contemporary singles chart; however, it failed to chart in the United Kingdom until it went to #63 in a reissue there in 1993...
The song was composed in 1971 by then fairly unheard-of composers Roger Nichols and Paul Williams. It was released as the first track on the album Carpenters. The B-side on the single is "Saturday." ... The 5th Dimension passed on this song, but The Carpenters picked it up, giving them their second hit written by Williams and Nichols, who also wrote "We've Only Just Begun." William's acting career took off, as he landed roles in Battle For The Planet Of The Apes and Smokey And The Bandit... "Sing" is a popular song created for Sesame Street that gained popularity when performed by The Carpenters. It has become one of the most performed songs on Sesame Street, sung in English, Spanish, and sign language...
"Sing" was written by Joe Raposo, the staff songwriter for the children's television series Sesame Street. In its initial appearance, the song was sung by adult human cast members of the show, and Muppet puppets, including Big Bird. "The Kids" sang "Sing" for The Sesame Street Book & Record, a recording re-released on the 2003 Songs from the Street CD set...
Although Barbra Streisand had had an Easy Listening hit in 1972 with "Sing", Karen and Richard Carpenter heard the song for the first time as guests on ABC television special Robert Young with the Young in 1973. The Carpenters loved the song and said in retrospect that they knew it would "be a hit". Their associates thought they were "nuts". The song acted as their debut single from the LP album Now & Then, released in 1973. "Sing" reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number-one on the easy listening chart, and it became the group's seventh gold single... Their recording of the song was produced and arranged by Richard Carpenter, and engineered by Ray Gerhardt. The lead vocal was sung by Karen Carpenter, with backing vocals by Karen and Richard Carpenter and the Jimmy Joyce Children's Choir. Keyboards were by Richard Carpenter, bass by Joe Osborn, drums by Karen Carpenter, and recorders by Tom Scott... In 1974 while touring Japan, The Carpenters recorded their first live album in Osaka. The album contained a new version of "Sing" with the children's chorus sung by the Kyoto Children's Choir. The song is featured on the album Live In Japan which was recorded in June 1974 and released in Japan only on March 7, 1975. This album has since been released on CD and is available as an import...
An additional recording and remix of the Carpenters version was done in 1994, that time with sound engineer Roger Young... The Streisand version, which was a medley with "Make Your Own Kind of Music," reached #28 on Billboard's Easy Listening chart; on the Billboard Hot 100 it reached #94... Lily Tomlin sang and signed this song to a group of deaf children on Sesame Street in 1975. In 1976, on the eleventh episode of The Muppet Show, guest Lena Horne sang this song. Later, Alaina Reed (in her character of Olivia) sang this song, while Linda (Linda Bove) signed the lyrics. After the hurricane struck Sesame Street in 2001, Big Bird sang "Sing" in celebration of his nest being rebuilt...
Raposo added a second verse to the song for The Carpenters. Their version of "Sing" became so popular that their version is now the standard version used on Sesame Street...
We've only just begun to live, Before the rising sun we fly, Sharing horizons that are new to us, And when the evening comes we smile,
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