How Karen Carpenter Helped Turn an Overlooked Song Into a No. 1 Classic

Long before “(They Long to Be) Close to You” became inseparable from Karen Carpenter’s unmistakable voice, the song had already spent years searching for the right performer. Written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, it had been recorded before the Carpenters ever touched it, but none of those earlier attempts produced the enormous success that eventually followed.

Everything changed in 1970. With Richard Carpenter’s carefully constructed arrangement and Karen’s warm contralto at its center, the Carpenters transformed the composition into their breakthrough hit. It spent four weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and helped turn the sibling duo into major stars.

The Song Had Been Around Since the Early 1960s

“Close to You” wasn’t written specifically for Karen and Richard Carpenter.

Bacharach and David’s composition was first released by actor and singer Richard Chamberlain in 1963. His recording appeared alongside “Blue Guitar,” but “Close to You” failed to become a chart hit. Other performers subsequently recorded the composition without turning it into the standard audiences know today.

That history makes the Carpenters’ eventual success even more remarkable. They weren’t introducing audiences to a newly written song. They were finding something new inside material that had already been available for years.

Herb Alpert Saw Something Others Had Missed

A&M Records co-founder Herb Alpert played a crucial role in giving the song another opportunity.

According to the Carpenters’ official biography, Alpert suggested the Bacharach-David composition while Karen and Richard were preparing their second album. Neither sibling was initially enthusiastic about recording it, but Alpert believed Richard’s arranging ability, Karen’s voice and the duo’s layered harmonies could unlock the song’s potential.

Alpert himself had considered recording the song. Smooth Radio’s history of the recording says he was uncomfortable with part of the lyric and ultimately passed the composition to the Carpenters.

His instinct proved extraordinarily valuable.

Richard Carpenter Completely Reworked the Song

Richard wasn’t handed a finished blueprint for the eventual hit.

He recalled receiving essentially the song itself without a developed arrangement and being encouraged by Alpert to interpret it freely. Importantly, Alpert didn’t want Richard listening to his own recording beforehand because he didn’t want it influencing the younger musician’s ideas.

Richard subsequently created the lush arrangement that surrounds Karen’s lead vocal.

His contribution was significant enough to earn a Grammy nomination for Best Arrangement, Instruments and Vocals for “Close to You.”

The recording demonstrated the formula that would become central to the Carpenters’ identity: Richard’s meticulous arrangements combined with Karen’s extraordinarily recognizable singing.

Karen Originally Played Drums on the Recording

Karen Carpenter wasn’t simply the woman standing behind the microphone.

She was an accomplished drummer and initially played drums during the “Close to You” recording sessions. However, Alpert felt the track needed a different rhythmic feel and carefully suggested bringing celebrated session drummer Hal Blaine into the recording.

That allowed Karen’s vocal performance to become the centerpiece.

The change shouldn’t be interpreted as evidence that Karen lacked ability behind the drums. Drumming had been fundamental to her development as a musician, and the Carpenters’ official history notes that Karen became passionate about the instrument after her family moved to California.

For this particular recording, however, her voice became the element that listeners would never forget.

The Famous Horn Part Added Another Signature Touch

Another essential component was the distinctive horn sound.

Alpert, himself a renowned trumpeter and bandleader, influenced that part of the arrangement. Richard originally envisioned Alpert playing it, but scheduling ultimately led to trumpeter Chuck Findley performing the memorable passage. Richard later recalled working with Findley until he achieved the sound they wanted.

The result was an arrangement that sounded delicate without becoming musically empty.

Karen’s restrained delivery, Richard’s harmonies and the instrumental flourishes complemented each other rather than competing for attention.

Close to You Became Their Breakthrough No. 1

The commercial response was dramatically different from what earlier versions had experienced.

On July 25, 1970, “(They Long to Be) Close to You” began a four-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. According to the Carpenters’ official biography, it launched an uninterrupted six-year run of Top 20 hits for the duo.

The success also extended to the Grammy Awards.

At the 1971 ceremony, the Carpenters won Best Contemporary Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus for “Close to You.” They also defeated a Best New Artist field that included Elton John, Anne Murray, Melba Moore and the Partridge Family.

Karen Carpenter’s Voice Gave the Song Its Lasting Identity

What had once been an overlooked composition was now one of the defining recordings of 1970s pop.

Decades later, its reputation remained intact. The Recording Academy inducted the Carpenters’ recording into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2000.

The song’s transformation wasn’t Karen’s achievement alone. Bacharach and David supplied the composition, Alpert recognized its potential, Richard created the defining arrangement, and accomplished musicians contributed to the recording.

Yet Karen provided the element that could never quite be duplicated: that instantly recognizable voice.

A song that had struggled to connect with listeners for years finally found its ideal interpreters. And for Karen and Richard Carpenter, “Close to You” wasn’t simply another successful single. It was the recording that changed everything.

Featured Image: By Billboard Publications Inc (now owned by Eldridge Industries)(Life time: Published before 1978 without a copyright notice) – Original publication: Billboard MagazineImmediate source: Special Section page 24, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=75073431