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That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be

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"That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be"
Side A of the US single
Single by Carly Simon
from the album Carly Simon
B-side"Alone"
ReleasedApril 1971
Recorded1970
GenreSoft rock[1]
Length4:15
LabelElektra
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Eddie Kramer
Carly Simon singles chronology
"That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be"
(1971) 		"Anticipation"
(1971)

"That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" is a song performed by Carly Simon, and the lead single as well as the opening track from her self-titled debut album Carly Simon (1971). Her friend and frequent collaborator Jacob Brackman wrote the lyrics and Simon wrote the music. The song reached peak positions of No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 6 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.[2] The song also earned Simon a nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 14th Annual Grammy Awards in 1972, where she also won Best New Artist.[3]

Background

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It is an art song with a semiclassical melody in the style of Gabriel Fauré,[4] and Elektra staffers were worried the single was too emotionally complex to be released as Simon's first single. With subject matter that includes "the parents' bad marriage; the friends' unhappy lives; the boyfriend's enthusiasm for marriage but controlling nature; the woman's initial resistance and ultimate capitulation."[5]

Simon was quoted as saying, "When I first wrote it I thought it was an unusual thing for people to break up, and now all my friends are divorced."[6]

Recognition

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The success of the song propelled Simon into the limelight, and it has been included on several compilations of her work, including The Best of Carly Simon (1975), Clouds in My Coffee (1995), The Very Best of Carly Simon: Nobody Does It Better (1999), Anthology (2002), and Reflections: Carly Simon's Greatest Hits (2004), Carly Simon Collector's Edition (2009), and Songs from the Trees (A Musical Memoir Collection) (2015).[7]

In July 1971, the single reached No. 1 in Boston (WRKO), Burlington, Vermont (WDOT), New Haven (WNHC) and Rochester, New York (WSAY).

No music video existed for this song, although a filmed performance was produced for an episode of the early 1970s PBS series The Great American Dream Machine.[8]

In addition, Simon's performance of the song in New York City at the 1971 Schaefer Music Festival was filmed for the ABC television special Good Vibrations from Central Park. Simon performed on the 2nd and 3 July. ABC broadcast its special on August 19, 1971. In 2009, video of Simon's performance was posted to the official Carly Simon YouTube channel, where, as of 2023, it is still available.[9]

Track listing

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7" single[10]
  • "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" – 4:15
  • "Alone" – 3:36

Chart performance

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Awards

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Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
1972 Grammy Awards Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" Nominated [3]

References

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  1. ^ Simpson, Kim (21 July 2011). Early '70s Radio: The American Format Revolution. A&C Black. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-441-15758-4.
  2. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 221.
  3. ^ a b "Carly Simon". The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on Mar 20, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
  4. ^ Holden, Stephen (May 13, 2008). "Trailblazers, but Selling a Romantic Kind of Love". The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  5. ^ Weller, Sheila (April 2009). Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon—and the Journey of a Generation. Washington Square Press. p. 344. ISBN 978-0-7434-9148-8.
  6. ^ Walsh, Ben (March 11, 2010). "Vanity case: Will Carly Simon reveal the identity of the mystery man in her Seventies hit You're So Vain?". The Independent. London. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  7. ^ "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be lyrics". Carlysimon.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2005. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
  8. ^ "GREAT AMERICAN DREAM MACHINE, THE: HIGHLIGHTS {PROGRAM B} (TV)". Paleycenter.org. Archived from the original on August 23, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
  9. ^ "Carly Simon - That's The Way I Always Heard It Should Be - 1971". YouTube. October 2009. Archived from the original on May 13, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  10. ^ "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be". Discogs. 1971. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
  11. ^ David Kent (1993). Australian Charts Book 1970—1992. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  12. ^ "CAN Charts > Carly Simon". RPM. Archived from the original on January 4, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
  13. ^ a b "Carly Simon – Chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
  14. ^ "Cash Box Top 100 7/17/71". Cash Box. Archived from the original on 2019-10-01. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
  15. ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1971/Top 100 Songs of 1971". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
  16. ^ "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1971". Archived from the original on July 25, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
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