(They Long to Be) Close to You - Carpenters
Guitar - Vladan Živančević
"(They Long to Be) Close to You" is a popular song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, most notably sung by the Carpenters.
The song was first recorded by Richard Chamberlain and released as a single in 1963 as "They Long to Be Close to You", without parentheses. However, only that single's flip side, "Blue Guitar", became a hit. The tune was also recorded as a demo by Dionne Warwick in 1963 and re-recorded with a Burt Bacharach arrangement for her 1964 album Make Way for Dionne Warwick, and was released as the B-side of her 1965 single "Here I Am". Bacharach released his own version in 1968. But the version recorded by Carpenters with instrumental backing by L.A. studio musicians from the Wrecking Crew, which became a hit in 1970, is the best known.
The first recorded duet of this song is attributed to Dinah Washington and Lionel Hampton, which can be found on YouTube.The song can be found on Hampton's 1995 album Jazz Moods. and on the 1996 compilation double-CD Dinah Washington, released in the Netherlands on the Bluenite label. As Washington died in late 1963, this is believed to be one of the first recordings of this song.
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