Paul Hamilton Williams Jr. is an American composer, singer, songwriter, and actor. He is known for writing and co-writing popular songs performed by a number of acts in the 1970s, including Three Dog Night's "An Old Fashioned Love Song" and "Out in the Country", Helen Reddy's "You and Me Against the World", Biff Rose's "Fill Your Heart", and the Carpenters' "We've Only Just Begun" and "Rainy Days and Mondays". He also wrote "Cried Like a Baby" for teen idol Bobby Sherman.
Close to You is the second studio album by the American music duo the Carpenters, released on August 19, 1970. In 2003, the album was ranked No. 175 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list. The album contains the hit singles "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and "We've Only Just Begun". The success of the title track earned Carpenters an international reputation. The album topped the Canadian Albums Chart and peaked at #2 on the U.S. Billboard albums chart. It was also successful in the United Kingdom, entering the top 50 of the official chart for 76 weeks during the first half of the 1970s.
"(They Long to Be) Close to You" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. The best-known version is that recorded by American duo The Carpenters for their second studio album Close to You (1970) and produced by Jack Daugherty. Released on May 14, 1970, the single topped both the US Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts. It also reached the top of the Canadian and Australian charts and peaked at number six on the charts of both the UK and Ireland. The record was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in August 1970.
"For All We Know" is a soft rock song written for the 1970 film Lovers and Other Strangers, with music by Fred Karlin and lyrics by Robb Wilson and Arthur James. Both Royer and Griffin were founding members of the soft rock group Bread. It was originally performed, for the film's soundtrack, by Larry Meredith. The best known version of the song is by American pop duo the Carpenters which reached No. 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 1 on the US Billboard Easy Listening chart in 1971. The song was also a hit for Shirley Bassey at the same time in the United Kingdom. It has since been covered by various artists, including Petula Clark.
"Top of the World" is a 1972 song written and composed by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis and first recorded by American pop duo Carpenters. It was a Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 hit for the duo for two consecutive weeks in 1973.
A Song for You is the fourth studio album by the American music duo the Carpenters, released on June 22, 1972. According to Richard Carpenter, A Song for You was intended to be a concept album with the title tune opening and closing the set and the bookended selections comprising the 'song'. "A Song for You" was written by songwriter Leon Russell.
"Rainy Days and Mondays" is a song by the Carpenters from their self-titled third album, with instrumental backing by the Wrecking Crew. It was written by Paul Williams (lyrics) and Roger Nichols (music), who had previously written "We've Only Just Begun," another hit for the duo. The B-side on the single is "Saturday," a song written and sung by Richard Carpenter.
"Mrs. Robinson" is a song by American music duo Simon & Garfunkel from their fourth studio album, Bookends (1968). The writing of the song was begun before the 1967 film The Graduate, which contained only fragments of it. The full song was released as a single on April 5, 1968, by Columbia Records. Produced by the duo and Roy Halee, the song was written by Paul Simon, who offered parts of it to movie director Mike Nichols alongside Art Garfunkel after Nichols rejected two other songs intended for the film. The Graduate's soundtrack album uses two short versions of "Mrs. Robinson"; The full song was published on the album Bookends. The song was additionally released on the Mrs. Robinson EP in 1968, which also included three other songs from the film: "April Come She Will", "Scarborough Fair/Canticle", and "The Sound of Silence".
"Superstar" is a 1969 song written by Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell, that has been a hit for many artists in different genres in the years since. The best-known versions are by the Carpenters in 1971, and by Luther Vandross in 1983.
Roger Stewart Nichols is an American composer and songwriter. He is a multi-instrumentalist who plays violin, guitar, bass, and piano.
"I Won't Last a Day Without You" is a song by The Carpenters with lyrics written by Paul Williams and music composed by Roger Nichols. It was released in the U.K. in September 1972, paired with "Goodbye to Love" as a double-A side. The single reached No. 9 and spent 14 weeks on the chart. It was later released in the U.S. and became a hit single for them in 1974, reaching No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and number one on the easy listening chart. It was the Carpenters' ninth No. 1 on the easy listening chart.
Hal Patrick Riney was an American advertising executive.
Yesterday Once More is a two-disc compilation album by American pop group Carpenters. It was released in 1985 and has been certified platinum in both the US and UK. The album was re-released in 1987 as Classics Volume 2 in the A&M 25th Anniversary Classics series. It was a simple repackage, reusing the 1985 glass CD masters, but with different artwork. It was re-released in 1998 with the addition of an extra track, "I Just Fall in Love Again," a revised track order, and remastered in 24-bit sound with new notes by Paul Grein.
"Only Yesterday" is a song recorded by the Carpenters. Released on March 14, 1975, the song was composed by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis. "Only Yesterday" peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Adult Contemporary (AC) charts, The Carpenters' eleventh number one on that chart.
The Carpenters, officially known as Carpenters, were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter. They produced a distinctive soft musical style, combining Karen's contralto vocals with Richard's harmonizing, arranging, and composition skills. During their 14-year career, the Carpenters recorded 10 albums along with many singles and several television specials.
"An Old Fashioned Love Song" is a 1971 song written by Paul Williams and performed by the American pop-rock band Three Dog Night. Chuck Negron performed the lead vocal on this track. Taken as the first single from their 1971 album, Harmony, the song peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in December 1971, becoming the band's seventh top-ten hit. It was Three Dog Night's first record to top the U.S. easy listening chart. It reached number 2 in Canada.
"Let Me Be the One" is a song written in 1970 by Roger Nichols and Paul Williams. It was first recorded by Nanette Workman and released in 1970 as a single on Columbia Records. The Carpenters' version first appeared on their 1971 album Carpenters.
Love Story is the twenty-seventh studio album by American pop singer Andy Williams that was released on February 3, 1971, by Columbia Records. This was another in his series of cover albums, but the title track, subtitled "Where Do I Begin", was the one song included that he originated.
Love Story is an album by American pop singer Johnny Mathis that was released on February 10, 1971, by Columbia Records and included a recent Oscar nominee, a flashback to 1967 ("Traces"), a new song by Bacharach & David, a lesser-known one by Goffin & King, and two songs that originated in film scores from 1970 and had lyrics added later: the album closer, "Loss of Love", from Sunflower and the album opener from Love Story, which was subtitled "Where Do I Begin". The norm for Mathis projects from this era was to cover recent hits, and the title track of this one was so recent that the version by Andy Williams began a 13-week run to number nine on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart in February 1971, coinciding with the release of this LP.
Carpenters is the third studio album by American music duo the Carpenters. Released on May 14, 1971, it was their most successful studio album, reaching number two on the Billboard 200 chart and number 12 in the UK, as well as being certified 4× Platinum by the RIAA. The album contained the hit songs "For All We Know", "Rainy Days and Mondays" and "Superstar".
