"(They Long to Be) Close to You" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David with sections of the early version written by Cathy Steeves. The best-known version is that recorded by American duo the Carpenters for their second studio album Close to You (1970) and produced by Jack Daugherty. Released on May 14, 1970, the single topped both the US BillboardHot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts. It also reached the top of the Canadian and Australian charts and peaked at number six on the charts of both the UK and Ireland. The record was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in August 1970.
Early versions
The song was first recorded by Richard Chamberlain and released as a single in 1963 as "They Long to Be Close to You" (without parentheses).[4] However, while the single's other side, "Blue Guitar", became a hit, "They Long to Be Close to You" did not.[5][6] The tune was also recorded as a demo by Dionne Warwick in 1963, was re-recorded with a Burt Bacharach arrangement for her album Make Way for Dionne Warwick (1964), and was released as the B-side of her 1965 single "Here I Am". Dusty Springfield recorded the song in August 1964, but her version was not released commercially until it appeared on her album Where Am I Going? (1967). Bacharach released his own version in 1971. But the version recorded by Carpenters with instrumental backing by L.A. studio musicians from the Wrecking Crew,[7] which became a hit in 1970, was the most successful.[8]
Carpenters version
Karen and Richard Carpenter recorded the most successful version of the song
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".[9] The song charted on the Billboard Hot 100 for 17 weeks, including four at number one, becoming Carpenters' first top 10.[10] In 2018, Billboard ranked "Close to You" the top single of the summer of 1970.[11]
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 chart success with "Ticket to Ride" in 1969, Alpert approached them to record their version of the song, believing it was well-suited for them.[12]
With some reluctance, Richard Carpenter worked up an arrangement, but wasn't keen on it. He expected the matter to pass without further word. A short time later, word circulated back to Richard and Karen that Herb "really wanted them" to record the song. Knowing he and Karen were in a vulnerable position with the label after the dismal chart performance of "Ticket to Ride", Richard went back to work.
Carpenter and Alpert collaborated on the song, and the finished product for the album was 4 minutes and 36 seconds. When A&M Records decided to remove the extended coda and release it as a 3-minute, 40-second long single in May 1970, it became A&M's biggest hit since Alpert's "This Guy's in Love with You" from 1968. Billboard ranked it as the number two song for 1970.[13]
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."[17]
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 "quintuplets" (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."[18]
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.[19]
Reception
Billboard highlighted "Close to You" in its "Spotlight Singles" section on May 30, 1970, commenting: "Performance is exceptional."[20]
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.[21]
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."[22]
In 1986, Gwen Guthrie released her version of the song, which could only partially build on the success of her hit "Ain't Nothin' Goin' On but the Rent". Compared to the original, this version is very synthesizer-heavy and is adapted to the time.
Music video
In the music video, Gwen Guthrie sings the song on a stage while the crowd dances and papparazi crowd the stage.[40]
