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. Believing the original title to be too long, Richard Carpenter added parentheses around "They Long to Be". Los Angeles station
KHJ was the first U.S. radio station to play "Close to You", reported
Record World on June 6, 1970. The song charted on the
Billboard Hot 100 for 17 weeks, including
four consecutive weeks at number one during July and August, becoming Carpenters' first top 10. It was also no. 2 in the
Billboard Year-End Hot 100 singles of 1970. In 2018,
Billboard ranked "Close to You" the top single of the summer of 1970. Additionally, the success of "Close to You" helped
A&M Records set a new record for singles sales in 1970. 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 entry on the Billboard Hot 100 chart with "
Ticket to Ride" in 1969, Alpert approached them to record their version of the song, believing it was well-suited for them. "(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. The song was certified
gold by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on August 12, 1970.
Arrangement Instrumental backing was provided by L.A. studio musicians from the
Wrecking Crew. Richard had originally written the
flugelhorn solo part for
Herb Alpert but when he was unavailable at the time of recording,
Chuck Findley was hired in his stead. 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." The arrangement was completely different from the version Bacharach cut with Richard Chamberlain, with one exception. When Richard Carpenter asked Bacharach for permission (as a courtesy) to redo the song, Bacharach requested that he keep the two "quin
tuplets" (five note groupings) (piano ornaments) at the end of the first bridge. Bacharach recalled his initial reaction on hearing the finished product: "Man, this is just great! I completely blew it with Richard Chamberlain but now someone else has come along and made a record so much better than mine."
Reception Billboard highlighted "Close to You" in its "Spotlight Singles" section on May 30, 1970, commenting: "Performance is exceptional." The same day's edition of
Record World also praised the song, rating it four out of four stars.
Cash Box followed up naming "Close to You" among its "Picks of the Week" for June 13, 1970, calling the song "delightful" and asking: "Are Bacharach/David songs female vehicles, or do they just sound better in a feline framework?" In a 1995
New York Times Magazine story about love songs released in summers,
Stephan Talty described "Close to You" as a "hushed love song" that "[set] the tone for a generation's soft ballads" in 1970. In 2014, Rob Hoerburger of
The New York Times observed that the song "highlights both Karen's aching alto and Richard's deft piano playing and elegant
Satie-like arrangement."
Use in other media The song plays a key part throughout the animated television show
The Simpsons, being used prominently during emotional moments between
Homer and
Marge Simpson over the course of the series. It is first used in the second season episode "
The Way We Was", a flashback episode detailing how the couple met; Homer is first shown listening to the song in the car, and it later plays when he sees Marge for the first time in
high school detention, and throughout the rest of the episode. It is also the tune of the doorbell that won't stop in the episode "
Maximum Homerdrive". It later features in
The Simpsons Movie (2007), as Homer tearfully watches a videotape left behind by Marge in
Alaska containing the couple's
first dance to the song, and subsequently collapses onto a broken heart-shaped iceberg in anguish. The song is also featured in the 1989 film
Parenthood sung by Nathan Huffner (
Rick Moranis) in a scene at his wife's classroom.
Personnel •
Karen Carpenter – lead and backing vocals •
Richard Carpenter – backing vocals, piano,
Wurlitzer electronic piano,
harpsichord,
orchestration •
Joe Osborn – bass •
Hal Blaine – drums •
Chuck Findley – trumpet • Bob Messenger – flute • uncredited –
vibraphone Chart performance Weekly charts Year-end charts All-time charts Certifications ==Gwen Guthrie version==