(They Long to Be) Close to You
| "(They Long to Be) Close to You" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| A-side | "(They Long to Be) Close to You" |
| B-side | "I Kept On Lovin' You" |
"(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 Carpenters' version is the most recognized version, having it as a hit in 1970. The tune was 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".
The Carpenters' Version
In 1970, it was released by The Carpenters 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 of 1970, it became A&M's biggest hit since Herb Alpert's "This Guy's in Love with You" from 1968.
Because of "(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 |
Other cover versions
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 1976, another hit version was released by B.T. Express, peaking at #31 on the R&B chart. Gwen Guthrie had a minor hit with a version released in 1987.
The song has been recorded by many other artists, including Barenaked Ladies, The Cranberries, Isaac Hayes, Les Mouches, Jimmy Bo Horne, Hikaru Utada (Cubic U), Ethyl Meatplow, Freya Lin, Corrine May, Emil Chau and Vincy Chan.
It was performed in 1971 on The Burt Bacharach Show by the show's host and Barbra Streisand and in 1977 on The Muppet Show by Connie Stevens and Fozzie Bear.
References in Pop culture
The song has been featured in the film There's Something About Mary. It's played during the scene where Ben Stiller zips up too high and quickly.
An eerie version is featured in the film MirrorMask in the scene where Helena is dressed by mechanical handmaidens.
This song is a recurring motif in The Simpsons. The song has been featured in three episodes as well as The Simpsons Movie.
- 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 no doubt a reference to Karen Carpenter having had a custom doorbell on her home that played the first six notes of "We've Only Just Begun."
- The Simpsons Movie. During a very emotional scene that involves Marge and Homer's wedding video, we see that "Close to You" was their wedding song. This is the actual Carpenters' recording.
In the 2002 movie, Chik yeung tin si (So Close), the song was used in the opening scene to evade a drug lord's security measures.
An alternative cover of the song also 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 2 ("Alan Attraction") of the first series of British comedy "I'm Alan Partridge", starring Steve Coogan, Alan performs a rendition of the song to impress a woman he is interested in, Jill. He struggles with the notes and there's confusion with the band about octaves, so, he soon gives up singing it.
It is featured in the xkcd comic "Close To You."
