Top of the World

American vocal and instrumental duo The Carpenters were a brother and sister duo, Richard and Karen Carpenter. Their musical career lasted 14 years, and they recorded 10 albums. With over 100 million records sold worldwide, they were the best-selling music artists of all time. Their career ended when Karen began suffering from anorexia nervosa, and in 1983, at the age of 32, she passed away from heart failure brought on by complications of this disease.

“For All We Know” is a soft rock song that was written for the 1970 film “Lovers and Other Strangers." It was written by Fred Karlin, Robb Wilson, and James Arthur Griffin from the American soft rock group Bread. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1971. The best known version of this song was recorded by the Carpenters. It charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and Easy Listening charts. Richard and Karen sang the song on Welsh singer Tom Jones’ “London Bridge Special” in 1972.

“Goodbye to Love” is a song that was composed by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis. It was recorded by the Carpenters in 1972. It is a power ballad that charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and UK singles charts.

“Hurting Each Other” is a song that was popularized by the Carpenters in 1972. It was written by Gary Geld and Peter Udell. The duo recorded the song with instrumental backing from the LA sessions musicians from the Wrecking Crew. The single was released and featured on their album A Song for You. The song charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and went to number one on the Easy Listening chart. The Carpenters performed it at many live concerts.

“I Need to Be in Love” is a song that was written by Richard Carpenter, Albert Hammond, and John Bettis. It was released as a single on May 21, 1976. The song is featured on their album A Kind of Hush. The song charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

"I Won't Last a Day Without You" is a song that was written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols. The song was recorded as a track for Carpenters' album A song for You and was released two years later as a single in the US. The song charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became the ninth number one single for the Carpenters on the Easy Listening chart.

"Rainy Days and Mondays" is a song that was recorded by the Carpenters, along with instrumental backing by the Wrecking Crew. It was written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols. The song charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and went to number one on the Adult Contemporary chart. The RIAA certified it gold.

“Sing” is a song that was written by Joe Raposo for the children’s TV show “Sesame Street” as its signature song. A version was recorded by the Carpenters in 1973 and charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song appeared as the debut single on their album Now & Then. It went to number one on the Billboard Easy Listening chart and became their seventh gold single and eighth top ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

“Superstar” is a 1969 song that was written by Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell. The best-known version was recorded by the Carpenters in 1971. It charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and went to number one on the easy listening chart. The song earned gold record status and also charted on the UK singles chart.

"(They Long to Be) Close to You" is a song that was written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David. It was recorded by the Carpenters in 1970 and featured on their album Close to You. The soft pop ballad charted on the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts.

"Top of the World" is a 1972 song that was written and composed by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis. It became a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Yesterday Once More” is a song that was written by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis. It became a hit for the duo and is featured on their album Now & Then. The song charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The song rose to number one on the Easy Listening chart. On a Japanese documentary, Richard Carpenter said this was his favorite among all the songs he had written.

“We’ve Only Just Begun” is a song that was released as a single in 1970 and featured on their album Close to You. The song was written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols. The song charted on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998.