Song of the Day: 'I Won't Last a Day Without You' by the Carpenters

 

Day six of my excruciatingly painful series of Songs That Peaked at No. 11: This one's yet another miscarriage of musical justice, albeit a rather circuitous one. While a whole other post could be written about the Carpenters' string of No. 2 hits -- with "We've Only Just Begun," "Rainy Days and Mondays," "Superstar," "Hurting Each Other," "Yesterday Once More" all peaking at Numero Dos, perhaps only Madonna has been robbed more egregiously -- that this Roger Nichols/Paul Williams gem failed to reach the Top 10 after 10 of their singles did makes no sense. 

Perhaps its unusual road to being a single explains it somewhat, although 50 years later I still find it hard to take its chart placement as a compliment. As many of you are aware, albums and singles were really strange back then, with artists sometimes putting out two LPs in one year or including the same song on multiple albums. "I Won't Last a Day Without You" was released as a single in 1974 ... from the duo's album "A Song for You," which had come out close to two years earlier and had already included four hit singles ("Bless the Beasts and Children," "Hurting Each Other" and "It's Going to Take Some Time" and "Goodbye to Love"). The Carpenters then issued “Sing” and “Yesterday Once More” from their "Now & Then" (1973) -- before going back to their "A Song for You" album for their 13th charting single, “Top of the World,” which hit No. 1 for two weeks in December 1973. (According to Wikipedia, the Carpenters originally intended the song to be only an album cut but reconsidered after country singer Lynn Anderson's cover became a No. 2 Country hit.) They then released "I Won't Last a Day Without You" as their 1972's album's sixth single, which then peaked at No. 11. (Confused?) But all I can say is that if a years-after-the-fact "Top of the World" -- a far inferior song -- could still hit No. 1, it makes no sense that "I Won't Last a Day Without You" couldn't at least land in the Top 5. Over the years lyricist Paul Williams, Diana Ross, Al Wilson and Maureen McGovern all covered it. But none of them could hold a candle to Karen's harmonic vocals and innocent delivery. 

If I thought explaining Shields and Yarnell to my 10-years-young partner was tough, where do I begin with Paul Williams?!!!

Song of the Day: 'Please, Mr. Postman' by the Carpenters

 

Nothing beats the Marvelettes version. But I have to say the Carpenters cover from my youth always put a smile on my face. Even ages before I had a long-distance boyfriend, I could so relate to this song. Getting something in the mail was my favorite thing in the world as a boy -- whether it was a letter from my friends back in Michigan, the latest issue of Dynamite magazine, or something (I didn't order) from the Columbia Record and Tape club. I wonder if kids today would survive a week without the instant gratification of modern technology?!

Song of the Day: 'Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft' by Carpenters

The music business may have become irrevocably unfair to most artists, but it's never been better for fans. Case in point: The Carpenters. I grew up with the gatefold "The Singles: 1969–1973."

And then received a four-disc box set {"From the Top") for my 26th birthday from my best Michigan friend, Mark. (I think he only bought it for me because he knew I would die to hear a song called "Iced Tea," which sadly turned out to be one of Richard's self-indulgent jazz instrumentals!) 

But it's only since subscribing to a streaming service -- first Spotify but now YouTube Music as it features everything the former has plus you don't have to watch commercials on its videos -- that I have been able to do a deep dive into the greatest brother-singer duo in music history, with a paltry $9.99/month allowing me access to every record I could never afford as a child. 

While I am still too green to offer any wisdom into the duo's deeper catalog, I wouldn't last a day without sharing this gem I discovered from 1977's "Passage." The album was a bit of a sales disappointment, despite featuring the memorable single "All You Get From Love Is a Love Song." But their cover of "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" by the Canadian progressive rock band Klaatu --who named themselves after an alien who visits Earth in the film "The Day the Earth Stood Still" -- did somehow manage to hit the lower echelon of the Billboard Top 40. The song title appears on the Carpenters' version above the tagline "The Recognized Anthem of World Contact Day" -- and its success led to a television special called "The Carpenters...Space Encounters," as well as more inquires from UFO nuts than they ever dreamed of!

BTW: Gr8er Days reminds me that today would have been Karen's 71st birthday. :-(

Song of the Day: 'Touch Me When We're Dancing' by the Carpenters

Carpenters biographer Randy Schmidt notes:

It's not often in the Carpenters fan world that something "new" comes along . . . We've heard it all, read it all, seen it all. But this video has just surfaced over the past few days and is pretty important. It's likely to be one of the last "live" vocal performances Karen gave. If you can look past the awful, over-sized outfit and horrible perm, there's a beautiful delivery of the duo's last Top 20 hit, "Touch Me When We're Dancing." They were almost always lipsynching their TV appearances, so it's extra special that the vocals are live (over the pre-recorded "media mix" track).

I watch this and just want to cry looking at Karen's hollow eyes and sunken cheeks, thinking back to that day in February 1983 when news came on the television that she had died of anorexia nervosa, a disease we barely knew existed. I don't know if there's a heaven, but this woman had the voice of an angel.

Song of the Day: '(They Long to Be) Close to You' by the Carpenters

When pressed, I'll always say "Superstar" is my favorite Carpenters song. But deep down, it's probably this one. There's never been a sweeter voice than Karen Carpenter's, and this is the one that made it shine brightest.

It didn't help that the boy I had the biggest crush on at Rhodes Junior High -- the dreamy Anthony, complete with prepubescent mustache (above) -- sang it as a solo in the Roadrunner Choir in ninth grade. The only thing dreamier than his alto voice was his chestnut eyes and thick hair. Although he never spoke a word to me, I'm nearly certain he chose the song as a subtle way of letting me know how he felt deep down.

UPDATE: Did I find him today?

Song of the Day: 'Breaking Up Is Hard to Do' by the Carpenters

Sweet cover of the Neil Sedaka classic. Truer words were never sung.

Song of the Day: 'Superstar' by the Carpenters

   "Superstar" is my favorite Carpenters song of all time. (It's also the name of the Todd Haynes stop-action-doll film about the pop duo that I happened to see near Georgetown while interning on Capitol Hill in the late '80s). In the comments, please tell me what YOUR favorite Carpenters song is.

Read more about Haynes's masterpiece HERE.

It's currently on YouTube, although it disappears from time to time. Richard Carpenter is NOT a fan!