(They Long to Be) Close to You

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It has been suggested that Close to You (Cubic U song) be merged into this article or section. (Discuss)

"(They Long to Be) Close to You"
Single by 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
Label	A&M Records 1183
Writer(s)	Burt Bacharach; Hal David
Producer	Jack Daugherty
Certification	Gold single
Carpenters singles chronology
"Ticket to Ride" (1969) "(They Long to Be) Close to You" (1970) "We've Only Just Begun" (1970)
Close to You track listing
Side one "We've Only Just Begun" "Love Is Surrender" "Maybe It's You" "Reason to Believe" "Help!" "(They Long to Be) Close to You" Side two "Baby It's You" "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" "Crescent Noon" "Mr. Guder" "I Kept on Loving You" "Another Song"

"(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 1963 as "They Long to Be Close to You," without parentheses. However, it was the single's flip side, "Blue Guitar," that became a hit. Although Richard Chamberlain recorded the first version, the tune was also recorded as a demo by Dionne 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 Carpenters is the most well known, which became a big hit in 1970.

Contents 1 Carpenters version 2 Other cover versions 3 References in pop culture 3.1 Film 3.2 Television 3.3 Comics 4 References

[edit] Carpenters version

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 the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks. Richard had stated that when Herb Alpert introduced the song to him back in early 1970, he was a bit apprehensive about the song, and didn't have confidence in it. 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 Herb 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.

Carpenters' Version:

Chart	Peak position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary	1
Record World	1
Canadian Singles Chart	1
Oricon (Japanese) Singles Chart	71
UK Singles Chart	6

[edit] Other cover versions

• In 1964, the song was recorded by Dusty Springfield, but released on her 1967 album Where Am I Going?.
• In 1971, Claudine Longet recorded the song and included some lyrics in French on her album, We've Only Just Begun. That same year, The Burt Bacharach Show by the show's host and Barbra Streisand.
• Also in 1971, Frank Sinatra recorded the song for his album Sinatra and Company.
• In 1972, the song again became a hit when recorded by Jerry Butler and Brenda Lee Eager. It went to #6 on Billboard's R&B chart.
• In 1974, The Clams recorded the song on a 45-rpm record 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 #31 on the R&B chart. A year alter it was performed on The Muppet Show by Connie Stevens with Kermit the Frog and Fozzie Bear.
• In 1983, The 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 #25 hit with a version released in 1986.
• 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.
• The song was covered by Paul Weller on his 2004 covers album Studio 150.
• The song has been recorded by many other artists, including Bobby Womack, Perry Como, Barenaked Ladies, The Cranberries, Isaac Hayes (on Black Moses, 1971), Les Mouches, Jimmy Bo Horne, Hikaru Utada (Cubic U), Ethyl Meatplow, Freya Lin, Corrinne May, Rie fu, Rick Astley, Emil Chau, Johnny Mathis, Vincy Chan and Tuck & Patti.
• The song was covered by Brazilian band Trash Pour 4 in 2005 on their first album.
• The song was played by My Chemical Romance in the Download Festival in 2005.
• In 2007, Spanish singer Soledad Giménez recorded a cover version of this song titled "Junto a Tí" on her debut album La Soledad.
• In 2008, Tina Arena covered the song on her chart topping album Songs of Love & Loss 2.

[edit] References in pop culture

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[edit] Film

• In the 1989 Ron Howard comedy Parenthood, Nathan Huffner (Rick Moranis) serenades his estranged wife Susan (Harley Jane Kozak) with this song in front of the class she is teaching.
• The song featured in the film There's Something About Mary.
• A version featured in the film MirrorMask in the scene where Helena is dressed by mechanical handmaidens, is inspired by Wayne Horvitz's 1997 cover version featured in the tribute album Great Jewish Music: Burt Bacharach.
• In the 2002 movie, Chik yeung tin si (So Close), the song was used in the opening scene.
• The original recording features in The Simpsons Movie as Homer and Marge's wedding song.
• In Open Season 2, Elliot and Giselle sing the song at the end of the film.

[edit] Television

• This song is a recurring motif in The Simpsons, used to portray Homer and Marge Simpson's love for each other. The song has been featured in three episodes as well as The Simpsons Movie as Homer and Marge's wedding song.
  • The Way We Was (Season 2). The song plays when Homer first sees Marge in high school. However, this is not the original Carpenters' recording, and simply a sound alike.
  • The Two Mrs. Nahasapeemapetilons (Season 9). The song is played during Apu's and Manjula's wedding. This is also not the original Carpenters' recording. It is a Hindi translation of the lyrics.
  • Maximum Homerdrive (Season 10). Marge and Lisa install a doorbell that plays the first eight notes of the song. When eventually activated, the song plays ad nauseam. This is a possible reference to Karen Carpenter having had a custom doorbell on her home that played the first six notes of "We've Only Just Begun."
• A cover of the song appears in the credits for the "Pierce Me" episode of Daria.
• In an episode of the US comedy series 3rd Rock from the Sun, William Shatner (as the Big-Giant-Head) sings this song at Tommy Solomon's prom.
• In episode two ("Alan Attraction") of the first series of British comedy I'm Alan Partridge, starring Steve Coogan, Alan performs a rendition of the song.
• In Australia, a series of 2007 Bottlemart commercials featured an a cappella version of this song.
• As a representation of their friendship, Nina sings the song to Maya in the NBC series Just Shoot Me.
• In the United Kingdom, breakdown company RAC use a cover version of the song sung by Manchester Band "Meadow".
• In an episode of "Family Matters", Carl sings the song to Harriett.
• A series of commercials for Heineken features several lousy and/or cheesy renditions of the song; the final commercial in the series has all of the performers attacked by lions.

[edit] Comics

• It is featured in the xkcd comic "Close to You."

[edit] References

Preceded by "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)" by Three Dog Night	Billboard Hot 100 number one single July 25, 1970 (four weeks)	Succeeded by "Make It With You" by Bread
Preceded by "A Song of Joy"	Canadian Hot 100 number-one single August 8 - August 15 (two weeks)	Succeeded by "As Years Go By"
Preceded by "In the Summertime" by The Mixtures	Australian ARIA Singles Chart number-one single 19 October 1970 - 2 November 1970 (three weeks)	Succeeded by "Lookin' Out My Back Door" by Creedence Clearwater Revival

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