The Carpenters soundtracked my childhood without me ever really noticing. Even then they were too middle-of-the-road for my taste. Apart from this one song.
Goodbye To Love stands out for the searing guitar solo, which seems to come not just from another song but another rockier genre altogetrher. It’s one of the greatest of all time.
I now learn it was added as an afterthought – and that it devastated fans of the balladeering brother-and-sister double act who thought they had sold out and turned into some sort of hard rock outfit.As if!
Apparently the song began life when Richard Carpenter, on a visit to London, was watching an old Bing Crosby film called Rhythm On The River. in which his struggling songwriter composed a great song called Goodbye To Love, which is talked about often but never actually heard.
Richard imagined the opening lines and melody in his head and completed the lyrics with his college friend and co-writer, John Bettis (who had been in Spectrum with both Carpenters before) when he returned to America.
It was Richard’s idea to change things up by including the fuzz guitar solo so at odds with their smooth layered harmonies and sumptuous arrangements. He asked his sister Karen to call up a guitarist called Tony Peluso, telling him they were familiar with his work in a band called Instant Joy and thought he would be perfect for the sound they were looking for on their new song.
Understandably, in view of the rest of their repertoire (Close To You, We’ve Only Just Begun), Peluso first played something soft and sweet for them. But then Richard instructed him to “Play the melody for five bars and then burn it up! Soar off into the stratosphere! Go ahead! It’ll be great!”
And it was, though the song began life as a B-side in the UK before being flipped over. The only problem is the way it’s faded out before it’s finished.