It's Too Late (Carole King song)

"It's Too Late"
Single by Carole King
from the album Tapestry
A-side	"It's Too Late" "I Feel the Earth Move"
Released	April 1971
Format	7" 45 RPM
Genre	Jazz Fusion, Pop
Length	3:51
Label	Ode Records
Writer(s)	Carole King, Toni Stern
Producer	Lou Adler
Certification	Gold (US)

"It's Too Late" is a #1 song from Carole King's 1971 album Tapestry (see 1971 in music). Toni Stern wrote the lyric and King wrote the music. The piano part is audibly similar to the opening song of Stephen Shwartz' musical Pippin, "Magic to Do".

Cover versions

The song has been covered by

• 1971: The Sandpipers (A&M Records)
• 1971: Mark Lindsay
• 1972: The Isley Brothers on their album Brother, Brother, Brother; reaching #39 on the R&B chart
• 1972: Bill Deal and the Rhondels
• 1972: Billy Paul on his album 360 Degrees of Billy Paul
• 1972: The Stylistics on their Round 2 album
• 1980: Dennis Brown on his album Spellbound
• 1991: Dina Carroll with the band Quartz, earning her first hit; it reached #8 in the UK
• 1991: Culture Beat on their debut album Horizon
• 1994: Gloria Estefan on her album Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me
• 1995: Amy Grant performed "It's Too Late" on the all-star tribute album Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King
• 2002: Kyle Vincent on his album Solitary Road
• 2006: Saxophonist Michael Lington from his renditions album A Song for You
• 2006: James Morrison on a free album distributed with issue 242 of Q magazine

Soundtracks

"It's Too Late" has been featured in Hollywood films, including Fandango, The Lake House, and Invincible.

Awards and recognition

• King's version of "It's Too Late" peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts‒on the Hot 100 as a double A-side with "I Feel the Earth Move".
• King's version of "It's Too Late" was certified Gold by the RIAA.
• "It's Too Late" won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1972.
• "It's Too Late" is ranked number 469 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
• Together with its other A-side, it was named by the RIAA as number 213 of 365 Songs of the Century.
• Singer/songwriter Josh Rouse paid homage to it on his song 1972 presented on the album of the same name released in 2003.

Charts

Chart (1971)	Position
Billboard Hot 100	1
US AC	1
UK Singles Chart	6
Irish Singles Chart	8
Canadian Singles Chart	5
Year End Charts (US)	3

Gloria Estefan version

"It's Too Late"
Single by Gloria Estefan
from the album Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me
Released	June 1995 (1995-06)
Format	CD Single CD Maxi single
Recorded	1993-1994
Genre	Pop
Length	03:57
Label	Epic
Gloria Estefan singles chronology
"Everlasting Love" (1995) "It's Too Late" (1995) "Cherchez La Femme" (1995)

"It's Too Late" was the third promotional (U.S.), and fourth overall single released by Gloria Estefan on her fourth studio album Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me.

Formats and track listings

U.S. CD Promo Single (ESK 77877)

1. "It's Too Late" (Radio Mix)
2. "It's Too Late" (Album Version)
3. "It's Too Late" (Piano Mix)

Australia CD Maxi Single (662020 2)

1. "It's Too Late" (Radio Mix)
2. "It's Too Late" (Album Version)
3. "It's Too Late" (Piano Mix)
4. "Cherchez La Femme" (Doom Dub)
5. "Cherchez La Femme" (Piano Mix)

Charts

Chart (1995)	Peak position
Australia Top Singles Chart	56

Official versions

Original versions

1. Album Version — 3:57

Remixes

1. Piano Mix - 3:38
2. Radio Mix - 3:19

References

Preceded by "Want Ads" by The Honey Cone	Billboard Hot 100 number one single double A-side with "I Feel the Earth Move" (Carole King version) June 19, 1971 (five weeks)	Succeeded by "Indian Reservation" by The Raiders
Preceded by "Rainy Days and Mondays" by The Carpenters	Billboard Easy Listening Singles number-one single (Carole King version) June 26, 1971 (6 weeks)	Succeeded by "You've Got a Friend" by James Taylor