Post by YesterdayOnceMore on Sept 1, 2009 13:15:38 GMT -5
HI ALL - though I know there is a thread on here about the 40th anniversary collection already, I found this today, and thought you'd be as interested as I was in reading this news. Enjoy - this came from
REUTERS
Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Carpenters' Recording Debut, the
Two-CD 40/40 Features 40 of the Duo's Best-Loved Recordings
LOS ANGELES, Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- In 1969, Karen and Richard Carpenter
signed to A&M Records and released their debut album. Forty years later, the
Carpenters are recognized not only as the most successful brother-sister act
in music history and one of the best-selling acts of all-time but also as a
pop culture phenomenon that continues to resonate today. Celebrating that
legacy, the two-CD 40/40 (A&M/UMe), released October 20, 2009, produced by
Richard Carpenter, brings together 40 of the duo's greatest hits and
best-loved recordings, each digitally remastered.
40/40 includes all of the Carpenters' dozen Top 10 Pop hits, 19 of their 20
Top 40s and 23 of their 28 Top 75 Pop singles, from 1969's cover of the
Beatles' "Ticket To Ride" to 1981's "Those Good Old Dreams." Among the 17
other tracks are covers of Leon Russell's classic "This Masquerade," Hank
Williams' "Jambalaya (On The Bayou)" and Tim Hardin's "Reason To Believe," and
a pair of recordings originally released in 1983, following Karen's passing
earlier that year, "Now" and "Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore."
The Carpenters' hit streak began with "(They Long To Be) Close To You" in
1970, which stayed at #1 on the charts for four weeks. Over the next four
years, they reached #2 or #3 with such gems as "We've Only Just Begun," "For
All We Know," "Rainy Days And Mondays," Leon Russell and Bonnie Bramlett's
"Superstar," "Hurting Each Other" b/w "Bless The Beasts And Children"
(featured in producer/director Stanley Kramer's film of the same name), the
"Sesame Street" anthem "Sing" and "Yesterday Once More." In 1973 they snared
a #1 with "Top Of The World" and the following year their third #1, a
re-imagining of The Marvelettes' "Please Mr. Postman." Added to four
multiplatinum albums, one platinum album, and a 1973 singles collection that
reached seven times platinum, the Carpenters had become the best-selling
American act of the Seventies.
Change and experimentation followed, including "All You Get From Love Is A
Love Song," "Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft" and a Top 10 Country
hit with Juice Newton's "Sweet, Sweet Smile." 1981's "Touch Me When We're
Dancing," from their last contemporaneous album, became their final Top 40
hit.
In recent years, artists from Christina Aguilera, Gwen Stefani and Shania
Twain to Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys and Madonna have noted Karen Carpenter's
influence on their careers. And when 40/40 was released earlier this year in
Japan, the collection quickly shot to #1 and gold certification. The
popularity of the Carpenters continues to grow 40 years after they had just
begun.
www.ilovethatsong.com
SOURCE Universal Music Enterprises