"(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 1963as "They Long to Be Close to You", without parentheses. However, it was the single's flip side, "Blue Guitar", that became a hit. The tune was also recorded as a demo byDionne 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, which became a hit in 1970, is the best known.
Contents[]
[hide] *1 The Carpenters version
The Carpenters version[edit][]
| "(They Long to Be) Close to You" | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| [1]
The Carpenters release as a single in 1970. | |||||||
| Single by The Carpenters | |||||||
| from the album Close to You | |||||||
| A-side | "(They Long to Be) Close to You" | ||||||
| B-side | "I Kept on Lovin' You" | ||||||
| Released | May 15, 1970 | ||||||
| Format | 7" single | ||||||
| Recorded | 1970 | ||||||
| Genre | Pop | ||||||
| Length | 4:33 (LP version)
3:40 (7" single) | ||||||
| Label | A&M
1183 | ||||||
| Writer(s) | Burt Bacharach; Hal David | ||||||
| Producer(s) | Jack Daugherty | ||||||
| Certification | Gold single | ||||||
| The Carpenters singles chronology | |||||||
| |||||||
| |||||||
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 theBillboard Hot 100 for four weeks. This song was originally given to Herb Alpert as a follow up to his Number 1 hit, "This Guy's in Love with You". Alpert was not thrilled with his version and shelved the recording. He decided to give it to the new act he had signed to A&M Records, The Carpenters. Alpert's version finally saw an official release in 2005 on a new Tijuana Brass release called Lost Treasures 1963–1974. Richard had stated that when Alpert introduced the song to him back in early 1970, he was a bit apprehensive about the song.[citation needed] 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.
Charts[edit][]
| Chart (1970) | Peak
position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| U.S. Billboard Easy Listening | 1 |
| Record World | 1 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Oricon (Japanese) Singles Chart | 71 |
| UK Singles Chart | 6 |
In popular culture[edit][]
"(They Long to Be) Close to You" is Homer and Marge's love song on The Simpsons. The song plays in the background when Homer sees Marge for the first time in "The Way We Was". The song would later appear in The Simpsons Movie, as the first song Homer and Marge dance at their wedding in a video. The affection for this song can also explain Marge's melody choice when buying a musical doorbell in "Maximum Homerdrive" episode (The Simpsons Season 10 Episode 17).
In the 1989 film "Parenthood", Nathan (Rick Moranis) comes to his wife Susan's (Harley Jane Kozak) class and sings the song to serenade her.
In the Red Dwarf episode "Back in the Red", the Cat quotes the song when he says "There's a six-month waiting list for birds to suddenly appear every time that I am near!"
David Alan Grier's character, Don 'No Soul' Simmons, covered the song in a sketch for Amazon Women on the Moon.
Janet Jackson used an interpolation of the song for her single "I Want You".
In a 2013 episode of Coronation Street, characters Roy and Hayley Cropper danced to an organ version of the song in the Blackpool Tower Ballroom.
Personnel[edit][]
- Karen Carpenter - lead and backing vocals
- Richard Carpenter - backing vocals, keyboards
- Joe Osborn - bass guitar
- Hal Blaine - drums
- Chuck Findley - trumpets
Other cover versions[edit][]
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- In 1964, the song was recorded by Dusty Springfield, but released on her 1967 album Where Am I Going?.
- In 1970, the Cartoon Hit Series Josie & The Pussycats went to the studio and did a cover,. It was released on LP, later on CD.
- In 1970, Hawaiian singer Al Stroud recorded the song as a demo, with Nick De Caro as the producer and arranger, just prior to the Carpenter's release. Artie Price told Stroud's managers the song would never be a hit.
- In 1970, Diana Ross recorded the song as "Close to You" for her album Everything Is Everything
- 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 andBarbra Streisand.
- In 1971, Frank Sinatra recorded the song for his album Sinatra and Company.
- In 1971, Isaac Hayes recorded a nine-minute arrangement of the song on his album Black Moses.
- Also in 1971, Cilla Black recorded the song for her 1971 album Images.
- The Ladybirds recorded the song for The Benny Hill Show (episode 9, recorded March 4, 1971 for broadcast Mar. 24, 1971)[1]
- 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.
- In 1974, Andy Williams released a version as the B-side to his single, "Love's Theme".
- In 1974, The Clams recorded the song in a spoof style reminiscent of Spike Jones.
- Jazz pianist Erroll Garner played a highly re-worked instrumental version on the last album he recorded before his death, Magician, in 1973.
- In 1976, another hit version was released by B.T. Express, peaking at number 31 on the R&B chart. A year later it was performed on The Muppet Show by Connie Stevens with Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear.
- In 1977, Brazilian singer Ronnie Von covered the song on his self-titled album.
- In 1983, Circle Jerks covered the song as one of the six cover versions on "Golden Shower of Hits (Jerks on 45)", which appears on their third album with the same title.
- Gwen Guthrie had a UK number 25 hit with a version released in 1986.
- The song is sung a capella by Nathan (Rick Moranis) in the 1989 comedy movie Parenthood.
- An Indian translation was sung at Apu's wedding on the Simpsons. An Indian vocal group was hired to sing, while Alf Clausen wrote the instrumental part.
- Irish rock band The Cranberries recorded the song and released it as the B-side to their 1995 single "I Can't Be with You", from the album No Need to Argue.
- Carl Winslow (Played by Reginald VelJohnson) sang the song to his wife Harriet Winslow (Played by Jo Marie Payton) at the end of the episode "Talk's Cheap" on the sitcom Family Matters in 1995.
- In 1998, Japanese-American singer Hikaru Utada (using the stage name Cubic U) released Close to You as the first and only single from her 1998 album Precious.
- Cantonese pop–rock singer Karen Mok covered the song to promote the 2002 girls with guns action film So Close, in which she stars. Mok's version, titled Close to You, was used as the main theme of the movie.
- Paul Daniels recorded an intentionally off-pitch version, along with several other celebrities, for a series of commercials for Heineken in the UK, circa 2001.
- Corrinne May's cover version of the Burt Bacharach classic "Close to You" was featured prominently in the movie So Close released by Columbia-Tristar films (2002).
- The song was covered by Paul Weller on his 2004 covers album Studio 150.
- In 2004, the song was sampled in Janet Jackson's single "I Want You".
- The song has been recorded by many other artists, including Bobby Womack, Perry Como, Barenaked Ladies, Isaac Hayes (on Black Moses, 1971), Les Mouches, Jimmy Bo Horne, Ethyl Meatplow, Freya Lin,Corrinne May, Rie fu, Rick Astley, Emil Chau, Johnny Mathis, Vincy Chan Tuck & Patti and Tamia as a duet with Gerald Levert.
- In 2005, an eerie and very mechanical version the song was featured in the film MirrorMask Sung by Josefine Cronholm
- Vincy Chan, a singer from Hong Kong, released a cover for the song in her 2007 album "Close To You".
- In 2008, Tina Arena covered the song on her chart topping album Songs of Love & Loss 2.
- In 2008, Soledad Giménez covered a Spanish version with the name of "Junto a ti" on her album La Felicidad.[2]
- In 2009, Japanese singer BENI covered the song for the Japanese tribute album for The Carpenters. In the same year the Japanese duo Every Little Thing covered the song, inserted in their single CD "Tsumetai Ame."
[2][3]"Close to You",Harry Connick, Jr.single (2009)*In 2009, Faryl Smith covered the song in her album Wonderland.
- The song is the lead single from Harry Connick, Jr.'s 2009 album, Your Songs, and it was released exclusively on Amazon.com, on August 25, 2009, by Sony Music. The album is a collaboration between Connick and leading music executive Clive Davis, who recommended "(They Long to Be) Close to You" for the album. Connick sings backed by his big band, a piano, and a string orchestra. The song features New Orleans trumpeter Leroy Jones.[3] Barnes & Noble streamed the song in its entirety, from two weeks before its release, on their website for the Your Songs album.[4] On the single's release date, a music video of the song, featuring pictures and film from the recording of the album, was put up at Amazon.com.
- In Open Season 2, the song is parodied by many characters during the final scene.
- The Smashing Pumpkins released a cover of the song in their Live Smashing Pumpkins album series.
- The song was covered by saxophonist Gerald Albright on his 2010 album Pushing The Envelope.[5][6]
- A cover version of the song by Ronald Isley and Lauryn Hill was leaked onto the internet on September 8, 2010. The duet will be on Isley's forthcoming album, Mr. I.[7]
- Michael Feinstein sang the song, and partially accompanied himself, In Performance at the White House, aired May 21, 2012, on PBS, honoring Burt Bacharach and Hal David, 2012 recipients of The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize (http://www.pbs.org/inperformanceatthewhitehouse/).
- ±Scepter/Wand Forever recorded (They Long to be) Close to you BY B.J. Thomas "B" side of Raindrops keep fallin' on my head record identified as 61453-2B