(Continued from Part One)
The duo set out to record their next album, which would prove to be their best. The single "Hurting Each Other" (a cover of a Ruby & The Romantics tune) was released in late 1971 and it was another across-the-board hit, #1 on the Adult chart and #2 Popular in both the U.S. (kept out of the top spot only by Nilsson's classic "Without You") and Canada, #4 in Australia, and #7 in New Zealand, and another million-seller.
The album yielded no less than six hits. This song written by Carole King and originally included on her album Music made it to #2 on the Easy Listening chart. Messenger played the alto flute solo while Tim Weisberg, who enjoyed a hit with Dan Fogelberg on "The Power Of Gold", played the bass flute.
Richard got an idea for one song after watching the movie Rhythm on the River starring Bing Crosby. In the movie, Crosby's most famous song was "Goodbye To Love", but it was never performed. So, Richard imagined what it might sound like and wrote some lyrics. Bettis finished the song, and Tony Peluso delivered a great fuzz guitar solo as well, which became the single "Goodbye To Love", a #4 smash in Canada, #5 in New Zealand, #7 in the United States and #9 in the U.K.
On the strength of his performance, Peluso was hired full-time to be in the group. "Sing" gave the duo seven #1 songs on the Adult chart in less than three years, and hit #3 overall in the U.S., #4 in Canada, and #7 in New Zealand and sold over one million copies.
"Sing" picked up Grammy nominations for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Vocal and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals. Although the duo already had an album ready to release, A Song for You was doing so well that they continued to release smash hits from that album while also releasing new singles off the upcoming release, Now and Then.
"Yesterday Once More" also went Gold and reached the Top 10 in nearly every major country in the world, #1 in Canada and #2 in the U.S. and U.K. It was later included on the album Now and Then. Richard explained the background for the song on the group's official website:
The oldies were enjoying a resurgence in
popularity during the early '70s, much to
Karen's and my delight. I thought it would be
nice to write a song about this, and use the
piece to bookend the oldies medley we were
planning to record for the second side of our first
album release for 1973, Now and Then. The
resulting 'Yesterday Once More' became our
eighth domestic Gold single, and one of our
biggest hits worldwide.
The Gold single "Top Of The World" topped charts in the U.S. and Canada and reached #3 in Ireland, and #5 in the U.K.
A Song For You has sold over three million copies in the U.S. alone and contains six major hits. The single "I Won't Last A Day Without You" gave the Carpenters their 9th #1 on the EL chart but stalled at #11--it's another of The Top Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.
The title song is another great song on the album.
"Road Ode" is another top track on A Song For You. The jazz arrangements most common with their early releases showed the band playing their roots.
"This Masquerade" is another Leon Russell song later remade into a big hit by George Benson.
Although the group did not record an album in 1974, their played to 85,000 fans on their first tour of Japan. The Carpenters did release their greatest hits album, The Singles: 1969-1973, which went to #1 in the U.S. and spent 17 weeks at #1 in the U.K. and sold over seven million copies in the United States alone, one of the best-selling albums of the decade.
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