It was a song that had been bouncing around from artist to artist for several years before The Carpenters got a hold of it. Once they did, that was that, as the combination of Richard’s smart arrangement and Karen’s inimitable vocals realized the song’s untapped potential.
Videos by American Songwriter
That song was “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” which earned the duo their No. 1 breakthrough single in 1970. Here’s how this classic ballad took quite the journey before reaching its home.
A Song Unheard
Do you know how actors these days often try their hands at singing? Well, that stuff happened in the ’60s as well. In the case of “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” Richard Chamberlain, the actor best known for his role in The Thorn Birds, took the first crack at it.
In the early ’60s, he was popular among the teen set for his role on the TV series Dr. Kildare, so the timing was right for him to try singing. And he was quite successful at it, scoring four U.S. Top-20 singles in 1962 and 1963. “Blue Guitar” didn’t scale those heights in ’63, but the B-side was, you guessed it, “(They Long to Be) Close to You.”
The song was written by the heavyweight songwriting team of Burt Bacharach and Hal David, which should tell you something about Chamberlain’s clout at the time. Four years later, a version done by Dusty Springfield popped up as well. But the song was still somewhat unknown when The Carpenters had it indirectly fall into their laps.
Arranging for a Hit
Burt Bacharach brought “(They Long to Be) Close to You” to the attention of Herb Alpert, because Alpert scored big in 1968 with “This Guy’s in Love With You.” But Alpert didn’t feel good about his recording of it, so he passed the song on to The Carpenters, who were on Alpert’s record label (A&M).
Richard Carpenter was told by Bacharach he could do whatever he wanted with the song as long as he kept the little tinkling piano riff at the end of the bridge. Richard then turned in a lush arrangement with a little bit more of a rhythmic swing than what the other artists managed. Ace session drummer Hal Blaine helped in that regard.
In addition, a trumpet solo played by Chuck Findley was added to the middle, along with those layered Carpenters’ harmonies. All that aside, you could argue that all the song ever really needed was Karen Carpenter’s special ability to sound completely deadpan and irreparably wounded all at once. Her vocal gave “(They Long to Be) Close to You” just the slightest bit of a melancholy edge to balance the innate sweetness of the lyrics.
The Meaning Behind “(They Long to Be) Close to You”
Hal David’s lyrics for “(They Long to Be) Close to You” show how songcraft can elevate even the simplest sentiments. How can you tell someone they’re more special than everybody else? The narrator explains it’s evident in the way some of earth’s natural wonders (the birds and the stars) stop what they’re doing to get as near as possible to the object of her affection.
In the bridge, we find this guy was born of nothing less than a heavenly assembly line: On the day that you were born, the angels got together / And decided to create a dream come true. It’s in the final verse where we realize how this is actually a problem for the narrator, in that it means she has endless competition: That is why all the girls in town / Follow you all around.
Perhaps the reason why The Carpenters’ version of “(They Long to Be) Close to You” succeeded where others came up short is Karen Carpenter’s version of the narrator sounds more heartbroken than wonder-filled. For all the highfalutin talk of moon dust and starlight, the song becomes a very relatable tale of unrequited love.
Photo by Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music/Getty Images
Leave a Reply
Only members can comment. Become a member. Already a member? Log in.