The Carpenters discography

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The Carpenters discography
Richard and Karen Carpenter at The White House on August 1, 1972
Richard and Karen Carpenter at The White House on August 1, 1972
Releases
↙Studio albums 14
↙Live albums 2
↙Compilation albums 11
↙Singles 46
↙B-sides 15
↙Video albums 3
↙Soundtracks 2
↙Tribute and cover albums 1
References and footnotes

The discography of the American vocal pop group The Carpenters includes an overview of all Carpenters albums and how they charted on the Billboard 200 charts in America, the UK Albums Chart in the United Kingdom, the Oricon charts in Japan, and the Kent Music Report (1969—1988) and the ARIA Charts (1988—present) in Australia. Their debut album was released on October 9, 1969, and was originally entitled Offering. However, due to its poor performance in sales, Richard Carpenter decided to re-release the album with a new cover and a new title: Ticket to Ride. It failed to sell 500,000 albums, and its eponymous single failed to reach the top 40, only reaching #54 on the Billboard Hot 100.

However, in 1970, their big break came with their rendition of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "(They Long to Be) Close to You", from their album Close to You. To date, the album Close to You has sold over 2 million units, both in records and in CDs. Their album success would continue until 1975, when a steep decline becomes noticeable. 1975's Horizon has only gone Platinum once to date, and the following year, A Kind of Hush was only certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), meaning that it sold over 500,000 units, but not more than one million (see RIAA certification). Passage was released in September 1977, and it failed to be certified at all, meaning that, to date, it has not sold more than 500,000 units.

This declining trend continued until 1985, with the release of the Carpenters' first two-disc compilation Yesterday Once More. The compilation was certified twice platinum, meaning that it sold over 2 million copies (but less than 3 million). Today, their albums are not selling as well as they had in the past, but they are still being certified Gold by RIAA. Their latest two-disc compilation, Carpenters Gold: 35th Anniversary Edition, was certified Gold on December 17, 2004.

Contents

[edit] Studio albums

Throughout their career, The Carpenters released twelve original albums. Most recently they released As Time Goes By in 2002. This includes two Christmas albums released by the group.

Year Title Formats Peak chart positions Certifications
US
[1]		 UK
[2]		 JP[3] AUS US[4] UK
1969 Ticket to Ride LP, cassette, CD, digital download 150 20[I]
35[II]		 88 19
1970 Close to You LP, cassette, CD, digital download 2 23 53 16 2x platinum
1971 Carpenters LP, cassette, CD, digital download 2 12 47 16 4x platinum
1972 A Song for You LP, cassette, CD, digital download 4 13 5 6 3x platinum
1973 Now & Then LP, cassette, CD, digital download 2 2 1 3 2x platinum Gold[5]
1975 Horizon LP, cassette, CD, digital download 13 1 1 21 Platinum Gold[6]
1976 A Kind of Hush LP, cassette, CD, digital download 33 3 5 57 Gold Gold[7]
1977 Passage LP, cassette, CD, digital download 49 12 7 48 Gold[8]
1978 Christmas Portrait LP, cassette, CD, digital download 145 104 — — Gold
1981 Made in America LP, cassette, CD, digital download 52 12 44 50 Silver[9]
1983 Voice of the Heart LP, cassette, CD, digital download 46 6 41 54 Gold Gold[10]
1985 An Old-Fashioned Christmas
  • Released: 1985
  • Label: A&M Records
 LP, cassette, CD, digital download 190 — — — Gold
1989 Lovelines LP, cassette, CD, digital download — 73 — —
2002 As Time Goes By CD, digital download — — 18 —

^  I Chart position in 1972.
^  II Chart position in 1975.
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

[edit] Live albums

The Carpenters didn't have many official live albums (they had none in the US), but they had one in 1974 in Japan (as well as a video of the concert to go hand in hand) called Live in Japan, and they had one in 1976 in the UK called Live at the Palladium. Their videos of these concerts are not officially released in their entireties on DVD, but in Japan, an unreleased "Live at Budokan" was a performance on May 31, 1974 at Budokan. In England, they had a televised studio concert, called Carpenters: Live at the BBC in 1971, and a rare live concert entitled "The Carpenters: Live at the New London Theatre".

Year Title Formats Peak chart positions
UK
[2]		 JP[3]
1975 Live in Japan LP, cassette[3], CD[11] - 8
1977 Live at the Palladium
  • Recorded: November 1976
  • Label: A&M Records
  • Released in the UK and JP only
 LP, cassette[3], CD[12] 28 24

[edit] Solo albums

After Karen's passing on February 4, 1983, Richard started a solo career that had lukewarm responses. Karen, too, had a solo career, though her CD wasn't released until 1996—thirteen years after her passing. Karen's only solo album to date was her eponymous album, released in 1996. The CD, out of print, includes songs recorded by Karen in New York City in 1979 with producer Phil Ramone. None of these solo albums have charted, nor have they been certified by the Recording Industry Association of America.

Year Title Notes
1987 Time
1996 Karen Carpenter
  • Released on October 8, 1996
  • Karen's first and only posthumous solo album
  • Outtakes of Karen's recording sessions with Phil Ramone in New York City in 1979–1980
  • Out of print in United States
  • Label: A&M Records
  • Formats: Cassette tape, compact disc, digital download
1998 Pianist, Arranger
Composer, Conductor
  • Released on January 27, 1998
  • Richard's second and latest solo album
  • Includes instrumentals of popular songs of Carpenters
  • Dedicated to Richard's deceased mother, Agnes Carpenter[13]
  • Out of print
  • Label: A&M Records
  • Formats: Cassette tape, compact disc, digital download

[edit] Compilations

Following materials are "greatest-hits" albums of the Carpenters which was released in the United States. The duo have numerous compilations, and even though most failed to chart and become certified by the RIAA, their first compilation is their best-selling one to date. Having sold over 7 million copies, The Singles: 1969-1973 contains their biggest hits, and was even one of their albums released on a quadraphonic record.

Year Title Formats Peak chart positions Certifications
US
[1]		 UK
[2]		 JP[3] US[4] UK
1973 The Singles: 1969-1973 LP, cassette, CD, digital download 1 1 — 7× platinum Platinum[14]
1978 The Singles: 1974-1978
  • Released: 1978
  • Label: A&M Records
 LP, cassette, CD — 2 — — Platinum[15]
1985 Yesterday Once More
  • Released: April 1985
  • Label: A&M Records
 LP, cassette, CD, digital download — 10 35 2× platinum Platinum[16]
1990 Only Yesterday
  • Released: March 1990
  • Label: A&M Records
 LP, cassette, CD, digital download — 1 — — 5 x Platinum[17]
1991 From the Top
  • Released: 1991
  • Label: A&M Records
 CD, digital download — — —
1995 Interpretations Cassette, CD, digital download — 29 — Gold[18]
1997 Love Songs
  • Released: 1997
  • Label: A&M Records
 Cassette, CD, digital download 106 47 — Gold Gold[19]
1998 Reflections Cassette, CD, digital download[I] — — —
2000 The Singles: 1969-1981
  • Released: 2000
  • Label: A&M Records
 Cassette, CD, digital download — — —
2002 The Essential Collection
  • Released: 2002
  • Label: A&M Records
 CD, digital download — — —
2003 Carpenters Perform Carpenter Cassette, CD, digital download — — —
2004 Gold: 35th Anniversary Edition
  • Expanded version of the European compilation released in 2000
  • Released: February 10, 2004
  • Label: A&M Records
 CD, digital download 100 4 79 Gold Platinum[20]

^  I CD only downloadable in the UK.
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

[edit] Singles

Year Song U.S. Pop U.S. AC U.K. Japan CAN AUS B-side RIAA Certification[4] US Catalogue Number Album
1966 "Looking for Love" (Karen Carpenter) - - - - - - "I'll Be Yours" - Magic Lamp 704 From The Top, The Essential Collection
1969 "Ticket to Ride" 54 19 - - - - "Your Wonderful Parade" - A&M 1142 Offering
1970 "(They Long to Be) Close to You" 1 1 6 71 1 1 "I Kept On Loving You" Gold A&M 1183 Close To You
1970 "We've Only Just Begun" 2 1 28 71 2 6 "All of My Life" Gold A&M 1217 Close To You
1970 "Merry Christmas Darling - - 45 - 50 - "Mr. Guder" Gold A&M 1236 Christmas Portrait
1971 "For All We Know" 3 1 18 - 7 10 "Don't Be Afraid" Gold A&M 1243 Carpenters
1971 "Rainy Days and Mondays" 2 1 - 72 3 35 "Saturday" Gold A&M 1260 Carpenters
1971 "Superstar" 2 1 18 7 3 35 "Bless the Beasts and Children" Gold A&M 1289 Carpenters
1971 "Bless the Beasts and Children" 67 26 - 85 - - B-side of "Superstar" Gold A&M 1289 Carpenters
1972 "Hurting Each Other" 2 1 - 56 2 4 "Maybe It's You" Gold A&M 1322 A Song for You
1972 "It's Going to Take Some Time" 12 2 - 48 13 24 "Flat Baroque" - A&M 1351 A Song for You
1972 "Goodbye to Love" 7 2 9 55 4 25 "Crystal Lullaby" - A&M 1367 A Song for You
1973 "Sing" 3 1 - 18 4 24 "Druscilla Penny" Gold A&M 1413 Now & Then
1973 "Yesterday Once More" 2 1 2 5 3 9 "Road Ode" Gold A&M 1446 Now & Then
1973 "Top of the World" 1 2 5 21 1 1 "Heather" Gold A&M 1468 Original: A Song For You
1973 Remix: The Singles: 1969-1973
1974 "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" non-US single non-US single 12 28 - 95 "Mr. Guder" (UK) - - Now & Then
1974 "I Won't Last a Day Without You" 11 1 9/32 40 7 63 "One Love" - A&M 1521 A Song for You
1974 "Please Mr. Postman" 1 1 2 11 1 1 "This Masquerade" Gold A&M 1646 Horizon
1974 "Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town" - - 35 - - - "Merry Christmas Darling" Gold A&M 1648 An Old Fashioned Christmas
1975 "Only Yesterday" 4 1 7 12 2 16 "Happy" - A&M 1677 Horizon
1975 "Solitaire" 17 1 32 44 12 61 "Love Me for What I Am" - A&M 1721 Horizon
1976 "There's A Kind Of Hush (All Over the World)" 12 1 22 27 11 33 "(I'm Caught Between) Goodbye and I Love You" - A&M 1800 A Kind of Hush
1976 "I Need to Be in Love" 25 1 36 62 31 47 "Sandy" - A&M 1828 A Kind of Hush
1976 "Goofus" 56 4 - - 82 - "Boat to Sail" - A&M 1859 A Kind of Hush
1976 "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" - - - 71 - - - - - A Kind of Hush
1977 "All You Get from Love Is a Love Song" 35 4 - 68 38 89 "I Have You" - A&M 1940 Passage
1977 "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" 32 18 9 - 9 13 "Can't Smile Without You" - A&M 1978 Passage
1977 "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)" - - - - - - "Merry Christmas Darling" - -A&M 1991 Christmas Portrait
1978 "Sweet, Sweet Smile" 44 7 40 59 33 100 "I Have You" - A&M 2008 Passage
1978 "I Believe You" 68 9 - - 81 - "B'wana She No Home" - A&M 2097 Made in America (1981)
1981 "Touch Me When We're Dancing" 16 1 - - - 78 "Because We Are in Love (The Wedding Song)" - A&M 2344 Made in America
1981 "(Want You) Back In My Life Again" 72 14 - - - - "Somebody's Been Lyin'" - A&M 2370 Made in America
1981 "Those Good Old Dreams" 63 21 - - - - "When It's Gone (It's Just Gone)" - A&M 2386 Made in America
1982 "Beechwood 4-5789" 74 18 - - - - "Two Sides" - A&M 2405 Made in America
1983 "Make Believe It's Your First Time" 101 7 60 - - 80 "Look to Your Dreams" - A&M 2585 Voice of the Heart
1984 "Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore" - 12 - - - - "Sailing On the Tide" - A&M 2620 Voice of the Heart
1984 "Little Altar Boy" - - - - - - "Do You Hear What I Hear?" - A&M 2700 An Old-Fashioned Christmas
1986 "Honolulu City Lights" - - - - - - "I Just Fall in Love Again" - A&M 886677 Lovelines (1989)
1987 "Something in Your Eyes" (Richard Carpenter feat. Dusty Springfield) - 12 84 - - - "Time" - - Time (Richard's solo album)
1989 "If I Had You*" (Karen Carpenter) - 18 - - - - "The Uninvited Guest" - A&M CD17926 Lovelines (1989) Karen Carpenter (issued 1996)
1990 "Merry Christmas Darling"/"(They Long to Be) Close to You" (UK re-issue) - - 25 - - - - - Close to You (1970)
1991 "Let Me Be the One" - - - - - - no B-side; promo CD only - - Carpenters (1971)
1993 "Rainy Days and Mondays" (UK re-issue) - - 63 - - - - - - Carpenters (1971)
1994 "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again" - - 44 - - - - - - Interpretations
1995 "I Need to Be In Love" (JP re-issue) - - - 5 - - "Top of the World" - - 22 Hits of the Carpenters (Japan-only compilation)
2001 "The Rainbow Connection" non-US single non-US single - 47 - - "Leave Yesterday Behind" / "Medley: Superstar—Rainy Days and Mondays" - - As Time Goes By
2003 "Top of the World" (JP re-issue) - - - 83 - - "Top of the World" [Karaoke] / "Sing" [Karaoke] - - Gold (Japanese edition)

[edit] Note

  • "Top of the World" charted four times in Japan, at #21 in 1972 and again in 1973 (to coincide with the song's US success), when it peaked at #52. In 1995 it was the B-side of the reissue of "I Need to Be In Love", and subsequently it charted a fourth time (as an A-side) at #83.
  • "Sweet, Sweet Smile" peaked at #8 on Billboard's Country singles chart.
  • "Superstar" and "For All We Know" were released as a double A-side in the UK
  • "I Won't Last A Day Without You" was originally released as an A-side in the UK in 1972 with "Goodbye To Love" as the B-side. However, the sides were switched shortly after the record's release. The former was later released as an A-side in the UK in 1974 to coincide with its first US release as an A-side.
  • The UK re-issue of "Merry Christmas Darling" in 1990 features the second recorded version of the song from their 1978 "Christmas Portrait" album as opposed to the original 1970 version.

[edit] Christmas/Holiday singles

[edit] B-sides and other releases

[edit] B-sides

This list contains only The Carpenters' b-sides that have their own pages on Wikipedia.

Year Title Album Notes A-side
1971 "Bless the Beasts and Children" A Song for You
  • Charted at #67 on the Billboard Hot 100
  • Released in Japan b/w "Help!"
 "Superstar"
1972 "Flat Baroque" A Song for You
  • Instrumental composed by Richard in 1967
  • Was nominated for a Grammy
 "It's Going to Take Some Time"
1974 "This Masquerade" Now & Then
  • Originally released in 1973 on the Now & Then album
 "Please Mr. Postman"
1974
1977		 "Merry Christmas Darling" Christmas Portrait (remixed version)
  • Released as a single in 1970
  • Their only fully original Christmas song
  • Single version never released until 1991 on From the Top
 "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (1974)
"The Christmas Song" (1977)
1977 "Can't Smile Without You" A Kind of Hush
  • Although the A-side, "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft", was from the Passage, its B-side was taken from its predecessor, A Kind of Hush.
 "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft"

[edit] Other releases

The Carpenters have many other releases not released on a single (neither A-side nor B-side), but are just songs from the album. This list features all of The Carpenters' other songs that have their own pages on Wikipedia.

Year Song Title Album
1970 "Reason to Believe" Close to You
1970 "Help!" Close to You
1970 "Baby It's You" Close to You
1970 "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" Close to You
1971 "Burt Bacharach Medley"
  1. "Knowing When to Leave"
  2. "Make It Easy on Yourself"
  3. "(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me"
  4. "I'll Never Fall in Love Again"
  5. "Walk on By"
  6. "Do You Know the Way to San José"
 Carpenters
1972 "A Song for You" A Song for You
1973 "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" Now & Then
1973 "Oldies Medley"
  1. Fun, Fun, Fun
  2. The End of the World
  3. Da Doo Ron Ron
  4. Deadman's Curve
  5. Johnny Angel
  6. The Night Has a Thousand Eyes
  7. Our Day Will Come
  8. One Fine Day
 Now & Then
1975 "Desperado" Horizon
1975 "I Can Dream, Can't I?" Horizon
1976 "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" A Kind of Hush
1977 "I Just Fall in Love Again" Passage
1977 "Don't Cry for Me, Argentina" Passage
1989 "When I Fall in Love" (recorded in 1978) Lovelines
1989 "Little Girl Blue" (recorded in 1978) Lovelines
2004 "Without a Song (Extended Mix)" (recorded in 1980) As Time Goes By
2004 "Nowhere Man" (recorded in 1967) As Time Goes By
2004 "I Got Rhythm" (recorded in 1980) As Time Goes By
2004 "Dancing in the Street" (recorded in 1978) As Time Goes By
2004 "California Dreamin'" (recorded in 1967) As Time Goes By
2004 "The Rainbow Connection" (recorded in 1979) As Time Goes By

[edit] Videos

To date, Carpenters have released two music video DVDs (both of which were available on VHS cassette tapes) and one documentary DVD released by MPI Home Video. Richard Carpenter has said that he probably won't release any more footage on DVDs.[13]

Title Notes RIAA certifications[4]
Gold: Greatest Hits
  • Released originally in 1985 under the name Yesterday Once More
  • Repackaged in 2002 under the name Gold: Greatest Hits
  • Carpenters' first video compilation
  • Label: A&M Video
  • Formats: Betamax, video cassette, laserdisc, DVD
 —
Interpretations
  • Released on May 9, 1995
  • Carpenters' second video compilation
  • Label: A&M Video
  • Formats: Video cassette, laserdisc, DVD
 —
Close to You:
Remembering the Carpenters
  • Released on March 1, 1998
  • Carpenters' first DVD documentary
  • Label: MPI Home Video
  • Formats: Video cassette, laserdisc, DVD
 Gold
"—" denotes DVDs that are not certified by RIAA.

[edit] Soundtracks

Even though Richard and Karen never did any full soundtracks to a film, they performed one theme song to a movie, covered one climactic scene of the movie, and covered a theme song to a movie.

Year Song Notes Album
1970 "For All We Know"
  • Richard and Karen only covered the song. They were not the first ones to perform it.
  • "For All We Know" was not the theme to Lovers and Other Strangers. In fact, it was the song played during the wedding scene between the two main characters.
 Carpenters
1971 "Bless the Beasts and Children"
  • Richard and Karen were the original performers of the song in the summer of 1971.
  • The Carpenters did not record the whole soundtrack to Bless the Beasts and Children.
 Bless the Beasts and Children (soundtrack version)
A Song for You (album version)
1978 "Leave Yesterday Behind"
  • Theme song to the TV movie Leave Yesterday Behind, starring John Ritter.
  • Composed by the same composers of "For All We Know". There are some notable similarities in its structure, especially the beginning woodwind introduction.
 As Time Goes By (released in 2004)

[edit] Tribute albums

Title Notes
If I Were a Carpenter

[edit] Notes and References

General
Specific
  1. ^ a b Billboard 200. Billboard.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-19.
  2. ^ a b c UK Top 40 Hit Database. EveryHit.com. Retrieved on 2008-01-19. Note: User must define search parameters, i.e. "Carpenters."
  3. ^ a b c d e f Yamachan Land (Archives of the Japanese record charts) - Albums Chart Daijiten - The Carpenters. Retrieved on 2008-01-24.
  4. ^ a b c d Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved on 2008-01-16. Note: User must define search parameters, i.e. "Carpenters."
  5. ^ Platinum Awards Content
  6. ^ Platinum Awards Content
  7. ^ Platinum Awards Content
  8. ^ Platinum Awards Content
  9. ^ Platinum Awards Content
  10. ^ Platinum Awards Content
  11. ^ music.goo.ne.jp CD information Carpenters - Live in Japan. Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
  12. ^ music.goo.ne.jp CD information Carpenters - Live at the Palladium. Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
  13. ^ a b Carpenter, Richard. Richard and Karen Carpenter - Official website. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
  14. ^ Platinum Awards Content
  15. ^ Platinum Awards Content
  16. ^ Platinum Awards Content
  17. ^ Platinum Awards Content
  18. ^ Platinum Awards Content
  19. ^ Platinum Awards Content
  20. ^ Platinum Awards Content

[edit] See also

v • d • e
The Carpenters
Karen Carpenter · Richard Carpenter
Discography
Ticket to Ride (1969) · Close to You (1970) · Carpenters (1971) · A Song for You (1972) · Now & Then (1973) · The Singles: 1969-1973 (1973) · Horizon (1975) · A Kind of Hush (1976) · Live at the Palladium (1976) · Passage (1977) · The Singles: 1974-1978 (1978) · Made in America (1981) · Voice of the Heart (1983) · Lovelines (1989) · As Time Goes By (2004)
Videography
Related articles
Discography · John Bettis · Herb Alpert · Joe Osborn · Burt Bacharach