Richard Carpenter (musician) - Career

Career

Richard and Karen finally signed with A&M Records on April 22, 1969. "Let's hope we have some hits," Herb Alpert told the two. According to Richard, Herb Alpert gave them carte blanche in the recording studios, but after Offering, their first album, was released, and wasn't a big seller, it was rumored that some of A&M's people were asking Alpert to release the Carpenters, but he believed in their talent, and insisted on giving them another chance.

Alpert suggested that the Carpenters record a Burt Bacharach and Hal David song called "(They Long to Be) Close to You." Though Richard worked up an arrangement, only after Alpert's insistence, his arranging talents clearly shined in the finished product. His arranging and musical talents, as well as Karen's vocals, helped the song climb to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying there for a month. "(They Long to Be) Close to You" gained public recognition seemingly overnight. According to Richard, even though the song became popular overnight, the Carpenters themselves did not.

Sitting at home one night, Richard was watching TV, and saw (and heard) a commercial for Crocker National Bank. He recognized the voices of Paul Williams and Roger Nichols, two A&M songwriters. It was the song "We've Only Just Begun." Richard made some calls to confirm their involvement, and asked if there was a full version of the song, which Williams affirmed. Carpenter managed to turn a bank commercial jingle into an RIAA certified Gold Record. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and has become a popular wedding song. The song also successfully launched the careers of Nichols and Williams, who went on to write multiple hits for the Carpenters, and many other artists.

Richard composed many of the Carpenters' hits as well, with John Bettis as lyricist, such as:

  • "Goodbye to Love" (one of the first pop ballads to have a fuzz guitar solo - #7--influenced the development of the power ballad )
  • "Top of the World" (#1. Though the Carpenters originally opted to not release this song as a single, a version recorded by Lynn Anderson reached #2 on the Billboard Country charts; following the success of Anderson's version, the Carpenters decided to release their version as a single, and it reached the Billboard top ten.
  • "Yesterday Once More" (#2)
  • "Only Yesterday" (#4)

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