(They Long to Be) Close to You

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Close to You (disambiguation).
"(They Long to Be) Close to You"
They Long to Be Close to You by The Carpenters 7-inch US vinyl single.jpg
A-side label of U.S. 7-inch single
Single by The Carpenters
from the album Close to You
B-side"I Kept on Lovin' You"
ReleasedMay 14, 1970
Recorded1970
Genre
Length
  • 4:33 (LP)
  • 3:40 (single)
LabelA&M
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Jack Daugherty
The Carpenters singles chronology
"Ticket to Ride"
(1969) 		"(They Long to Be) Close to You"
(1970) 		"We've Only Just Begun"
(1970)

"(They Long to Be) Close to You" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. The most well-known version is that recorded by American duo The Carpenters for their second studio album Close to You (1970) and produced by Jack Daugherty. Released on May 14, 1970, the single topped both the US Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts. It also reached the top of the Canadian and Australian charts and peaked at number six on the charts of both the UK and Ireland. The record was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in August 1970.

Background[]

The song was first recorded by Richard Chamberlain and released as a single in 1963 as "They Long to Be Close to You".[1] However, while the single's other side, "Blue Guitar", became a hit, "They Long to Be Close to You" did not.[2][3] The tune was also recorded as a demo by Dionne Warwick in 1963, was re-recorded with a Burt Bacharach arrangement for her album Make Way for Dionne Warwick (1964), and was released as the B-side of her 1965 single "Here I Am". Dusty Springfield recorded the song in August 1964, but her version was not released commercially until it appeared on her album Where Am I Going? (1967). Bacharach released his own version in 1971. But the version recorded by Carpenters with instrumental backing by L.A. studio musicians from the Wrecking Crew,[4] which became a hit in 1970, was the most successful.[5]

Carpenters version[]

Karen and Richard Carpenter recorded the most commercially successful version of the song

In 1970, "(They Long To Be) Close To You" was released by the Carpenters on their album Close to You (1970) and became their breakthrough hit. The song stayed at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks. "(They Long to Be) Close to You" was named Billboard's Song of the Summer for 1970.[6]

Bacharach and David gave Herb Alpert the song after he scored a number one hit in 1968 with "This Guy's in Love with You", which the duo had also written. Alpert recorded the song, but he was displeased with the recording and did not release it. After The Carpenters achieved their first chart success with "Ticket to Ride" in 1969, Alpert convinced them to record their version of the song, believing it was well-suited for them.[7]

Carpenter and Alpert collaborated on the song, and the finished product was a 4-minute, 36-second long song. When A&M Records decided to remove the extended coda and release it as a 3-minute, 40-second long single in May 1970, it became A&M's biggest hit since Alpert's "This Guy's in Love with You" from 1968. Billboard ranked it as the number two song for 1970.[8]

"(They Long to Be) Close to You" earned the Carpenters 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.[9] The song was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on August 12, 1970.[10] Reaching number six in the UK Singles Chart in 1970, in a UK television special on ITV in 2016 it was voted fourth in The Nation's Favourite Carpenters Song.[11]

Composition[]

Richard had originally written the flugelhorn solo part for Herb Alpert, but when he was unavailable, Chuck Findley was brought in. Richard later commented: "Chuck didn't play it that way at first, but I worked with him and he nailed it. A lot of people thought it was Herb – Bacharach thought so, too. But it's the way Findley is playing it."[12]

Personnel[]

Chart performance[]

Certifications[]

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[27] Gold 35,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[28] Silver 200,000double-dagger
United States (RIAA)[29] Gold 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
double-dagger Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Other notable versions[]

  • Diana Ross recorded a version for her 1970 album Everything Is Everything and performed it on her TV special Diana! the following year.
  • This song was on Isaac Hayes' 1971 album Black Moses.
  • In 1971, Tina Charles performed a live version of the song on an episode of the BBC comedy series The Two Ronnies.
  • Bobby Womack in his 1971 album Communication sings the song in a medley, after the monologue about producers pushing him to be 'commercial'.
  • In 1972 the song again became a hit when recorded by Jerry Butler and Brenda Lee Eager. It went to number 6 on the Billboard R&B chart.
  • Dionne Warwick recorded a second version for her 1972 album Dionne.
  • In 1972, Stevie Wonder covered the song on talk box in a medley with the Jackson 5's "Never Can Say Goodbye" on a live television appearance on the David Frost show.
  • In 1976 another hit version was released by B. T. Express, peaking at number 31 on the R&B chart.
  • Gwen Guthrie had a UK number 25 hit with a version released in 1986.
  • Matt Monro covered it in 1988; this version was used in From Paris with Love, starring John Travolta and Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
  • The Cranberries have a version of this song as a bonus track on No Need to Argue: The Complete Sessions 1994–1995. This version originally appeared on the tribute album If I Were a Carpenter.
  • In 2001, the Argentinian band Dancing Mood released a version of the song featuring Mimi Maura as their third song of their first album.
  • In 2002, Carl Doy released a orchestral version of the song on his album Together, it was released on January 1, 2002.
  • Josefine Cronholm recorded a version for the 2005 film MirrorMask and was included on the film's soundtrack.
  • In 2014, the young English singer, arranger, composer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Jacob Collier covered the song.
  • In 2015, the character Sam Evans (Chord Overstreet) covered the song on the television program Glee in the episode What the World Needs Now.
  • In 2016, Frank Ocean recorded a short cover of the song that samples Stevie Wonder's 1972 version. "Close To You" was featured on his sophomore album Blonde, released on August 20, 2016.

In popular culture[]

  • In the 1978 TV special Mickey's 50, on which The Carpenters made a guest appearance, Karen Carpenter sings the lyrics "M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E" to the opening bars of the song.
  • In 1976, the song was performed by Kermit the Frog, Fozzie Bear and Connie Stevens in the second filmed episode of The Muppet Show.
  • In the 1986 film The Best of Times, Reno Hightower (played by Kurt Russell) serenades his estranged wife Gigi Hightower (played by Pamela Reed) in an attempt to win her back.
  • In the 1989 film Parenthood, Nathan (played by Rick Moranis) serenedes his teacher wife Susan (Harley Kozak) during one of her classes with this song in a (successful) attempt to win her back.
  • On the television series The Simpsons, it is Homer and Marge's song. It was first featured in the episode "The Way We Was" which depicts Homer and Marge first getting together, and has been used numerous times since. It is also the tune for the doorbell that wouldn't stop in the episode Maximum Homerdrive. It is revealed in The Simpsons Movie that they danced to the song at their wedding.
  • It was a theme song for the 2002 Hong Kong action film So Close, starring Shu Qi, Zhao Wei, and Karen Mok.
  • In the 2014 miniseries Olive Kitteridge, Martha Wainwright performs a cover of the song.
  • In 2015, the song was played in the South Korean drama She Was Pretty.[30]
  • In the 2019 animated film Spies in Disguise, during the chase scene's climax when Lance (in his pigeon form) and Walter narrowly escape, and as Lance's Audi spy car careens off the highway and begins a slow-motion scene, the song plays.

References[]

  1. ^ "Richard Chamberlain – They Long To Be Close To You (Song)". Hung Medien. 1963. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  2. ^ "Hot 100 - Billboard". Billboard. 1963. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  3. ^ "Adult Contemporary Chart - Billboard". Billboard. 1963. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  4. ^ Hartman, Kent (2012). The Wrecking Crew. St. Martin's Griffin. pp. 261–263. ISBN 978-1-250-03046-7.
  5. ^ McCormick, Scott (2019-09-04). "Fifth time's the charm: The Carpenter's smash hit, "Close to You"". Disc Makers.
  6. ^ Billboard Staff (2020-06-22). "Summer Songs 1958-2020". Billboard.
  7. ^ "Carpenters Close To You (Album 1970) Karen Carpenter". leadsister.com. Retrieved May 1, 2016.
  8. ^ Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1970
  9. ^ "GRAMMY Award Results for Carpenters". The Recording Academy. Retrieved May 20, 2019.
  10. ^ "The Carpenters - (They Long to Be) Close to You - RIAA Gold Certification". RIAA. August 12, 1970. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
  11. ^ "The Nation's Favourite Carpenters Song". ITV. Retrieved 25 May 2020.
  12. ^ Schmidt, Randy L. (2012). Yesterday Once More: The Carpenters Reader. Chicago Review Press. p. 303. ISBN 9781613744147.
  13. ^ Schmidt, Randy L. (13 August 2017). Yesterday Once More: The Carpenters Reader. Chicago Review Press. ISBN 9781613744178. Retrieved 13 August 2017 – via Google Books.
  14. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1970-08-15. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
  15. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – (They Long to Be) Close to You". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  16. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Carpenters" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40.
  17. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Carpenters – (They Long To Be) Close To You" (in Dutch). Single Top 100.
  18. ^ "Carpenters: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  19. ^ "Carpenters Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  20. ^ "Carpenters Chart History (Adult Contemporary)". Billboard. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
  21. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 8/08/70". Tropicalglen.com. 1970-08-08. Archived from the original on 2015-06-08. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  22. ^ "Australian Chart Book". Austchartbook.com.au. Archived from the original on 2016-03-05. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  23. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". collectionscanada.gc.ca. 17 July 2013.
  24. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1970/Top 100 Songs of 1970". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  25. ^ "Cash Box YE Pop Singles - 1970". Tropicalglen.com. 1970-12-26. Archived from the original on 2019-07-22. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
  26. ^ "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart". Billboard. Retrieved May 9, 2019.
  27. ^ "Aussie Success" (PDF). Cash Box. Vol. 33 no. 51. June 10, 1972. p. 33. Retrieved January 29, 2020 – via American Radio History.
  28. ^ "British single certifications – Carpenters – (They Long to Be) Close to You". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 10, 2020.
  29. ^ "American single certifications – Carpenters – Close to you". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved January 29, 2020.
  30. ^ "She Was Pretty: Episode 1 » Dramabeans Korean drama recaps". Dramabeans. 2015-09-16. Retrieved 2018-09-10.

External links[]

Retrieved from ""