Let Me Be the One (Carpenters song)

"Let Me Be the One" is a song written in 1971 by Roger Nichols and Paul Williams. It first appeared on the 1971 album Carpenters by the Carpenters.

"Let Me Be the One"
Single by Carpenters
from the album Carpenters and From the Top
Released1971, 1991
Recorded1971
GenrePop
LabelA&M
1940
Songwriter(s)Roger Nichols, Paul Williams
Producer(s)Richard Carpenter
Carpenters singles chronology
"If I Had You"
(1989)		 "Let Me Be the One"
(1971)		 "Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again"
(1994)

Background

"Let Me Be the One" is a relatively short song, with a run time of 2:25. Bearing something of a resemblance to "We've Only Just Begun", the song was a potential Carpenters single release in 1971 being Karen Carpenter's choice to follow "For All We Know",[1] but Richard Carpenter doubted the hit potential of "Let Me Be the One" and the choice for single was assigned to "Rainy Days and Mondays". However the album cut "Let Me Be the One" did receive airplay on both Top 40 and MOR radio stations. Paul Williams has described "Let Me Be the One" as "one of those songs that everybody's recorded but it's never been a [major hit] single. It was used very briefly by ABC-TV in 1976 and Channel 9 Australia in 1977: Let us be the one you turn to/ Let us be the one you turn to/ When you need someone you turn to/ Let us be the one."[1]

The 1991 remix for "Let Me Be the One" can only be found on the From the Top box set, for which it was released as a promotional single. It starts off with Karen counting off, and Richard's piano line is very different from the original 1971 mix found on the Carpenters album. In the original 1971 mix, the song fades out; the 1991 remix continues through to the point where Karen and the rest of the musicians create a conclusion.

Personnel

Other versions

The earliest evident recording of "Let Me Be the One" was that made by Nanette Workman being one of five songs recorded with producer Tommy Cogbill recorded in late June 1970 at American Sound Studio in Memphis, with "Let Me Be the One" being afforded a UK single release in November 1970 with the singer credited mononymously as Nanette.

Al Wilson recorded "Let Me Be the One" for his 1974 album La La Peace Song which featured the song in medley with another Nichols/Williams composition: "I Won't Last a Day Without You",: the track: "I Won't Last a Day Without You"/"Let Me Be the One", was issued as a single in December 1974 to reach #18 on the R&B chart in Billboard magazine while crossing-over to both Billboard's Adult Contemporary chart (#39) and the mainstream Pop chart the Billboard Hot 100 (#70).

The song has also been recorded by Petula Clark (album Warm and Tender/ 1971), Clodagh Rodgers (album Rodgers and Heart/ 1971), Paul Davis (album Paul Davis/ 1972), Malcolm Roberts (album Living For Life/ 1973), Suzanne Lynch (album Friends With You/ 1973: credited to Suzanne [no surname]), the Temprees (album Love Maze/ 1973), Vikki Carr (album One Hell of a Woman/ 1974), Johnny Mathis ("Let Me Be The One /I Won't Last A Day Without You" medley on album When Will I See You Again/ 1975), Cleo Laine (album Born On A Friday/ 1976), Jack Jones reached #18 on the US Easy Listening chart in 1971 (album A Song for You/ 1972), Shirley Bassey (album Bassey: The EMI/UA Years 1959-1979/ 1994; also And I Love You So expanded edition/ 2000), Matthew Sweet (album If I Were a Carpenter/ 1994) and Diana Ross (album Last Time I Saw Him expanded edition/ 2007).

Chart history
Jack Jones
Chart (1971) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening[2] 18
Al Wilson
Chart (1975) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100[3] 70
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening[4] 39
U.S. Billboard R&B 18
U.S. Cash Box Top 100 [5] 61
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References
  1. Schmidt, Randy L. (2010). Little Girl Blue: the life of Karen Carpenter (1st ed.). Chicago IL: Chicago Review Press. pp. 75, 76. ISBN 978-1-55652-976-4.
  2. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 125.
  3. Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - ISBN 0-89820-089-X
  4. Whitburn, Joel (1993). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993. Record Research. p. 259.
  5. Cash Box Top 100 Singles, March 1, 1975
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