The Carpenters discography
The discography of the American group Carpenters includes an overview of all of Carpenters' albums and how they charted on the Billboard 200 charts in America, the UK Albums Chart in the United Kingdom, and the Oricon charts in Japan. This list also includes the Carpenters' videography as well. Their monstruous musical career spawned Carpenters hit album after album. 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. The original cover, which featured Richard and Karen in somber clothing and holding a sunflower, was replaced by a new cover of Richard and Karen in casual clothing out on a rented boat at Lake Tahoe.[1] The title Offering was also replaced by Ticket to Ride in a Bauhaus font. However, the album's sales were lackluster. 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.[2]
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, 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 of 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 their posthumous 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.[3]
Studio albums
| Title | Notes | Sales and certifications | Cover | Chart positions | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US | UK | JP | ||||||||
| Ticket to Ride |
|
< 500,000 units No certification |
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|
#150 (1971) | #20 (1972) #35 (1975) |
#88 | ||||
| Close to You | 2,000,000 units 2× platinum[3] |
|
#2 | #23 | #53 | |||||
| Carpenters | 4,000,000 units 4× platinum[3] |
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|
#2 | #12 | #47 | |||||
| A Song for You | 3,000,000 units 3× platinum[3] |
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|
#4 | #13 | #5 | |||||
| Now & Then | 2,000,000 units 2× platinum[3] |
|
#2 | #2 | #1 | |||||
| Horizon | 1,000,000 units 1× platinum[3] |
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|
#13 | #1 | #1 | |||||
| A Kind of Hush | 500,000 units Gold[3] |
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|
#33 | #3 | #5 | |||||
| Passage |
|
< 500,000 units No certification |
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|
#49 | #12 | #7 | ||||
| Made in America | < 500,000 units No certification |
|
#52 | #12 | #44 | |||||
| Voice of the Heart |
|
< 500,000 units No certification |
File:VoiceoftheHeart.jpg | #46 | #6 | #41 | ||||
| Lovelines |
|
< 500,000 units No certification |
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|
- | #73 | - | ||||
| As Time Goes By | < 500,000 units No certification |
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|
- | - | #18 | |||||
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 posthumous. 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.
| Title | Notes | Cover |
|---|---|---|
| Time |
|
File:Time (RC Album).jpg |
| Karen Carpenter |
|
File:Karen Carpenter solo album.jpg |
| Pianist • Arranger • Composer • Conductor |
|
|
Compilations
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- The Singles: 1969-1973 - 1973
- The Singles: 1974-1978 - 1978
- Yesterday Once More - 1985
- From the Top - 1991 (4-disc box set)
- Interpretations - 1995
- Love Songs - 1997
- Reflections - 1998
- The Singles: 1969-1981 - 2000
- The Essential Collection: 1965-1997 - 2002 (4-disc box set)
- Carpenters Perform Carpenter - 2003
- Gold: 35th Anniversary Edition - 2004
- The Utimate Collection - 2006
Note that all compilations from 1985 and after include remixed versions of the original songs.
References
- ^ Surratt, Paul and JoAnn Young (Executive Producers). Close to You: Remembering the Carpenters (Videotape, DVD). MPI Home Video. ISBN 3030672782.
{{cite AV media}}: Check|isbn=value: checksum (help); Unknown parameter|date2=ignored (help) - ^ a b c d e f g "Recording Industry Association of America - Searchable Database". Retrieved 2008-01-16.
- ^ Carpenter, Richard. "Richard and Karen Carpenter - Official Website". Retrieved 2008-01-17.
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