The Carpenters discography
Cataloging of published recordings by The Carpenters
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The discography of the American pop group the Carpenters consists of 13 studio albums including 2 Christmas albums, 2 live albums, 49 singles, and numerous compilation albums a number of which were released only on certain territories.
Studio albums13
Live albums2
Compilation albums18
Tribute albums1
| The Carpenters discography | |
|---|---|
| |
| Studio albums | 13 |
| Live albums | 2 |
| Compilation albums | 18 |
| Tribute albums | 1 |
| Singles | 49 |
| B-sides | 15 |
| Video albums | 3 |
The duo was made up of siblings Karen (lead vocals and drums) and Richard Carpenter (keyboards and vocals). The siblings started their musical career together in the latter half of the 1960s. In October 1969, six months after they signed a contract with A&M Records, the Carpenters released their debut album Offering (its title was later changed to Ticket to Ride). Within a year, they rose to prominence with their chart-topping single "(They Long to Be) Close to You", a Burt Bacharach and Hal David composition that had not been commercially successful when it was recorded by television star Richard Chamberlain in 1963.
The Carpenters garnered worldwide commercial success, scoring big hits mainly in the first half of the 1970s. RIAA-certified sales of their records (albums, singles and videos) have been estimated at around 34.6 million units.[1] In the United Kingdom, they are ranked as the seventh top-selling albums artist on the official record chart of the 1970s.[2] During their career, the duo scored 1 number one album and another 4 Top 10 albums on Billboard 200, as well as 3 number one singles, 12 top 10 singles and 20 top 40 hits on Billboard Hot 100. They have also been the third-best-selling international music act in the Japanese market, only behind Mariah Carey and the Beatles.[3][4][5] By 2005, they had reportedly sold more than 100 million copies of records worldwide.[6]
Albums
Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [7] |
AUS [8] |
CAN [9] |
GER [10] |
JPN [11] |
NOR [12] |
NZ [13] |
UK [14] | |||
| 1969 | Ticket to Ride (First released under the title Offering)
|
150 | 19 | — | — | 88 | — | — | 20 | |
| 1970 | Close to You
|
2 | 16 | 1 | — | 53 | — | — | 23 | |
| 1971 | Carpenters
|
2 | 16 | 6 | — | 47 | — | — | 12 | |
| 1972 | A Song for You
|
4 | 6 | 5 | — | 5 | — | — | 13 |
|
| 1973 | Now & Then
|
2 | 3 | 2 | — | 1 | 12 | — | 2 | |
| 1975 | Horizon
|
13 | 21 | 4 | 42 | 1 | 5 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1976 | A Kind of Hush
|
33 | 57 | 22 | — | 5 | 17 | 15 | 3 | |
| 1977 | Passage
|
49 | 48 | 57 | — | 7 | — | — | 12 |
|
| 1978 | Christmas Portrait
|
56 | — | 74[17] | — | — | — | — | 104 | |
| 1981 | Made in America
|
52 | 50 | — | — | 44 | — | — | 12 |
|
| 1983 | Voice of the Heart
|
46 | 54 | — | — | 41 | — | — | 6 | |
| 1984 | An Old-Fashioned Christmas
|
190 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
|
| 1989 | Lovelines
|
— | 110 | — | — | — | — | — | 73 | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||
Live albums
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPN [11] |
UK [14] | ||||
| 1975 | Live in Japan | 8 | — | ||
| 1976 | Live at the Palladium | 24 | 28 |
| |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||
Compilation albums
Worldwide releases or releases limited to the United States.
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [7] |
AUS [8] |
CAN [20] |
JPN [11][21] |
NED [22] |
NOR [12] |
NZ [13] |
UK [14] | |||
| 1973 | The Singles: 1969–1973 | 1 | 19[A] | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | 1 | |
| 1978 | The Singles: 1974–1978
|
— | — | — | 42 | — | — | — | 2 |
|
| 1985 | Yesterday Once More
|
144 | — | — | 35 | — | — | — | 10 | |
| 1990 | Only Yesterday
|
— | 9 | — | 25 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 1 | |
| 1994 | Interpretations
|
— | 126 | — | — | — | — | — | 29 |
|
| 1995 | Reflections
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
|
| 1997 | Love Songs
|
106 | 143 | — | — | — | 34 | — | 47 | |
| 2000 | The Singles: 1969–1981
|
45 | 19 | — | 73 | — | — | — | 65 |
|
| 2000 | Gold: Greatest Hits
|
101 | — | — | 79 | — | — | 17 | 4 | |
| 2001 | As Time Goes By
|
— | — | — | 18 | — | — | — | — | |
| 2003 | Carpenters Perform Carpenter
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2006 | The Ultimate Collection
|
— | 41 | — | — | 17 | — | — | — |
|
| 2009 | 40/40
|
— | — | — | 3 | — | 2 | — | 21 | |
| 2014 | Icon
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2015 | The Complete Singles
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2018 | Carpenters with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
|
— | 29 | — | 25 | — | — | — | 8 |
|
| 2019 | Collected[26]
|
— | — | — | — | 25 | — | — | — | |
| 2024 | Christmas Once More[27]
|
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | —[B] | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||
- Notes
- A^ Charted in 2000
- B^ Christmas Once More did not enter UK Albums chart, but it peaked #75 on UK Album sales chart[28]
Limited releases
List of the charted and/or certified compilation albums limited to certain territories excluding US
| Year | Album details | Territory | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS [8] |
AUT [29] |
GER [10] |
JPN [11][21] |
NED [22] |
NZ [13] |
UK [14] | ||||
| 1971 | Golden Prize
|
Japan | — | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | |
| 1972 | Golden Double Deluxe
|
— | — | — | 10 | — | — | — | ||
Great Hits of the Carpenters
|
Australia | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
Gem I
|
Japan | — | — | — | 13 | — | — | — | ||
| 1973 | Max Prize
|
— | — | — | 26 | — | — | — | ||
Gem II
|
— | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | |||
| 1974 | Great Hits of the Carpenters Volume 2
|
Australia | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
Golden Prize Volume II
|
Japan | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | ||
Big Star
|
— | — | — | 20 | — | — | — | |||
| 1976 | Special Series
|
— | — | — | 36 | — | — | — | ||
| 1980 | Beautiful Moments
|
Austria Germany Netherlands Switzerland |
— | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | |
| 1981 | Beautiful Lovesongs
|
Netherlands | — | — | — | — | 8 | — | — | |
| 1982 | Ketteiban (The Definitive)
|
Japan | — | — | — | 61 | — | — | — | |
The Very Best of the Carpenters
|
Australia New Zealand |
1 | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | ||
| 1987 | The Carpenters Collection - Their Greatest Hits
|
Benelux | — | — | — | — | 31 | — | — | |
| 1994 | Treasures
|
Australia | 181 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 1995 | Seishun no Kagayaki: The Best of (22 Hits of the Carpenters)
|
Japan | — | — | — | 3 | — | — | — |
|
| 2001 | Yesterday Once More: De Nederlandse Singles Collectie
|
Netherlands | — | — | — | — | 22 | — | — | |
| 2016 | The Nation's Favourite Songs
|
UK | — | — | — | — | — | — | 2 |
|
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||
Box sets
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [7] |
NED [22] | |||||||||||||
| 1989 | The Compact Disc Collection[30]
|
— | — | |||||||||||
| 1991 | From the Top
|
— | — | |||||||||||
| 1996 | Christmas Collection
|
158 | 118 | |||||||||||
| 2002 | The Essential Collection: 1965–1997
|
— | — | |||||||||||
| 2017 | The Vinyl Collection[31]
|
— | — | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | ||||||||||||||
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart position | B-side | Certifications | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US [32] |
US AC [33] |
AUS [8] |
CAN [34] |
CAN AC [35] |
GER [10] |
IRE [36] |
JPN [37] |
NED [38] |
NZ [39] |
UK [14] | |||||
| 1966 | "Looking for Love" (Karen Carpenter) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | "I'll Be Yours" | Non-album single | |
| 1969 | "Ticket to Ride" | 54 | 19 | — | — | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | — | "Your Wonderful Parade" | Offering | |
| 1970 | "(They Long to Be) Close to You" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 6 | 71 | 30 | 9 | 6 | "I Kept on Loving You" | Close to You | |
| "We've Only Just Begun" | 2 | 1 | 6 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 71 | — | — | 28 | "All of My Life" | |||
| "Merry Christmas, Darling" | — | — | — | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 45 | "Mr. Guder" | Christmas Portrait | ||
| 1971 | "For All We Know" | 3 | 1 | 10 | 5 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 6 | — | "Don't Be Afraid" |
|
Carpenters |
| "Rainy Days and Mondays" | 2 | 1 | 35 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 72 | — | — | 53[C] | "Saturday" | |||
| "Superstar" | 2[D] | 1 | 35 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 7 | 19 | 9 | 18[E] | "Bless the Beasts and Children" |
| ||
| "Bless the Beasts and Children" | 6[F] | 26 | — | — | 25 | — | — | 85 | — | — | — | B-side of "Superstar" | A Song for You | ||
| 1972 | "Hurting Each Other" | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | — | — | 56 | — | 7 | — | "Maybe It's You" |
| |
| "It's Going to Take Some Time" | 12 | 2 | 24 | 14 | 1 | — | — | 48 | — | — | — | "Flat Baroque" | |||
| "Goodbye to Love" | 7 | 2 | 25 | 4 | 1 | — | 12 | 55 | — | 5 | 9 | "Crystal Lullaby" | |||
| 1973 | "Sing" | 3 | 1 | 24 | 4 | 5 | — | — | 18 | — | 7 | 55[C] | "Druscilla Penny" |
|
Now & Then |
| "Yesterday Once More" | 2 | 1 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 21 | 8 | 5 | 5 | — | 2 | "Road Ode" | |||
| "Top of the World" | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 38 | 3 | 21[G] | 12 | 14 | 5 | "Heather" | A Song for You | ||
| 1974 | "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" | — | — | 95 | — | — | 50 | 12 | 28 | 3 | 13 | 12 | "Mr. Guder" | Now & Then | |
| "I Won't Last a Day Without You" | 11 | 1 | 63 | 7 | 1 | — | — | 40 | — | — | 32[H] | "One Love" | A Song for You | ||
| "Please Mr. Postman" | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 | 2 | 11 | 29 | 4 | 2 | "This Masquerade" | Horizon | ||
| 1975 | "Only Yesterday" | 4 | 1 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 43 | 5 | 12 | — | 10 | 7 | "Happy" | ||
| "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 37 | "Merry Christmas, Darling" | Christmas Portrait | ||
| "Solitaire" | 17 | 1 | 61 | 12 | 3 | — | 44 | — | — | 6 | 32 | "Love Me for What I Am" | Horizon | ||
| 1976 | "There's a Kind of Hush" | 12 | 1 | 33 | 8 | 1 | — | 7 | 27 | — | 5 | 22 | "(I'm Caught Between) Goodbye and I Love You" | A Kind of Hush | |
| "I Need to Be in Love" | 25 | 1 | 47 | 24 | 1 | — | 14 | 62 | — | — | 36 | "Sandy" | |||
| "Goofus" | 56 | 4 | — | 82 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | "Boat to Sail" | |||
| "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 71 | — | — | — | "I Have You" | |||
| "You" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | "I Have You (Philippines Release Only)" | |||
| 1977 | "All You Get from Love Is a Love Song" | 35 | 4 | 89 | 38 | 5 | — | — | 68 | — | — | 54[C] | "I Have You" | Passage | |
| "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" | 32 | 18 | 13 | 18 | 10 | — | 1 | — | — | 19 | 9 | "Can't Smile Without You" | |||
| "Christmas Song" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | "Merry Christmas Darling" | Christmas Portrait | ||
| 1978 | "Sweet, Sweet Smile" | 44[I] | 7 | 100 | 43 | 7 | 22 | — | 59 | 22 | — | 40 | "I Have You" | Passage | |
| "I Believe You" | 68 | 9 | — | 81 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | — | "B'wana, She No Home" | Made in America | ||
| 1981 | "Touch Me When We're Dancing" | 16 | 1 | 78 | — | 4 | — | — | — | — | 22 | — | "Because We Are in Love (The Wedding Song)" | ||
| "(Want You) Back in My Life Again" | 72 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | "Somebody's Been Lyin'" | |||
| "Those Good Old Dreams" | 63 | 21 | — | — | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | "When It's Gone (It's Just Gone)" | |||
| 1982 | "Beechwood 4-5789" | 74 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 9 | — | "Two Sides" | ||
| 1983 | "Make Believe It's Your First Time" | 101 | 7 | 80 | — | 2 | — | 20 | — | — | — | 60 | "Look to Your Dreams" | Voice of the Heart | |
| 1984 | "Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore" | — | 12 | — | — | 21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | "Sailing on the Tide" | ||
| "Now" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | "Look to Your Dreams" | |||
| "Little Altar Boy" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | "Do You Hear What I Hear?" | An Old Fashioned Christmas | ||
| 1986 | "Honolulu City Lights" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | "I Just Fall in Love Again" | Lovelines | |
| 1989 | "If I Had You" (Karen Carpenter) | — | 18[42] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | "The Uninvited Guest" | ||
| 1990 | "Merry Christmas, Darling" (re-issue) | — | — | — | — | — | — | 18 | — | — | — | 25[J] | "(They Long to Be) Close to You" | Christmas Portrait | |
| 1991 | "Let Me Be the One" (promotional single) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | From the Top | ||
| 1993 | "Rainy Days and Mondays" (re-issue) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 63 | "Goodbye to Love" | ||
| 1994 | "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 44 | "Sing" | Interpretations | |
| 1995 | "I Need to Be in Love" (Japan re-issue) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | — | — | — | "Top of the World" |
|
22 Hits of the Carpenters |
| 1996 | "Ave Maria" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | "Merry Christmas, Darling" | Christmas Portrait | |
| 2001 | "The Rainbow Connection" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 47 | — | — | — | "Leave Yesterday Behind", "Medley" | As Time Goes By | |
| 2003 | "Top of the World" (Japan re-issue) | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 83 | — | — | — | "Top of the World", "Sing" (karaoke) | Gold | |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||
Notes
- C^ Chart position is from the official UK "Breakers List"
- D^ When “Superstar” reached its 10th week, "Bless The Beasts and Children" significantly grew in its own airplay. Billboard Hot 100 began listing the single as "Superstar"/"Bless The Beasts and Children", charting first at #16 on 11/20/71.
- E^ "Superstar" and "For All We Know" were released as a double A-side in the UK.
- F^ "Bless The Beasts and Children peaked at #67 on 1/15/72 as an A-side, following its peak at #6 when listed as the B-side of "Superstar".
- G^ "Top of the World" charted four times in Japan: #21 in 1972, #52 in 1973 (coincided with the song's US success), 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) #83 in 2003.
- H^ "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 and charted at #49. 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.
- I^ "Sweet, Sweet Smile" peaked at #8 on Billboard's Country singles chart.[43]
- J^ 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.
Holiday 100 chart entries
Since many radio stations in the US adopt a format change to Christmas music each December, many holiday hits have an annual spike in popularity during the last few weeks of the year and are retired once the season is over.[44] In December 2011, Billboard began a Holiday Songs chart with 50 positions that monitors the last five weeks of each year to "rank the top holiday hits of all eras using the same methodology as the Hot 100, blending streaming, airplay, and sales data",[45] and in 2013 the number of positions on the chart was doubled, resulting in the Holiday 100.[46] A handful of Carpenters recordings have made appearances on the Holiday 100 and are noted below according to the holiday season in which they charted there.
| Title | Holiday season peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | ||
| "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" | 32[47] | 47[48] | 55[49] | 82[50] | 81[51] | 64[52] | 74[53] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Christmas Portrait |
| "I'll Be Home for Christmas" | — | — | — | — | 72[54] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Merry Christmas Darling" | 35[47] | 24[48] | 38[49] | 53[55] | 63[56] | 25[57] | 57[58] | 38[59] | 40[60] | 81[61] | 73[62] | 73[63] | 83[64] | 91[65] | 82[66] | |
| "Sleigh Ride" | — | — | 78[49] | 99[67] | — | — | 95[53] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays" | — | 41[68] | 45[49] | 65[50] | 57[51] | 36[52] | 92[53] | 82[69] | 88[70] | — | 97[71] | — | — | — | — | An Old-Fashioned Christmas |
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||||||||||||
Other appearances
| Year | Song | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | "Bless the Beasts and Children" (soundtrack version) | Bless the Beasts and Children |
Videos
Video albums
| Year | Title | Notes | Certifications |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Yesterday Once More |
|
|
| 1995 | Interpretations |
|
|
| 1996 | Live in Japan 1974 （ライヴ・イン・ジャパン～イエスタデイ・ワンス・モア武道館 1974）[73] |
|
|
| 1998 | Close to You: Remembering the Carpenters |
|
|
| 2016 | Carpenters: Christmas Memories |
|
Music videos
- "Dancing in the Street" (1968)
- "Ticket to Ride" (1969)
- "(They Long to Be) Close to You" (1970)
- "We've Only Just Begun" (1970)
- "For All We Know" (1971)
- "Rainy Days and Mondays" (1971)
- "Superstar" (1971)
- "Hurting Each Other" (1972)
- "Top of the World" (1973)
- "Yesterday Once More" (1973)
- "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" (1974)
- "Sing" (1974)
- "Please Mr. Postman" (1974)
- "Only Yesterday" (1975)
- "There's a Kind of Hush" (1976)
- "I Need to Be in Love" (1976)
- "Goofus" (1976)
- "All You Get from Love Is a Love Song" (1977)
- "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" (1977)
- "Sweet, Sweet Smile" (1978)
- "Little Girl Blue" (1979)
- "When I Fall in Love (1980)
- "Touch Me When We're Dancing" (1981)
- "(Want You) Back in My Life Again" (1981)
- "Those Good Old Dreams" (1981)
- "Beechwood 4-5789" (1982)
- "Now" (1983)