y the time of The Carpenters' third #2 single, "Superstar," they were superstars in their own right. But thanks to Bette Midler and her appearance on television's The Tonight Show, the duo's star shone just a little bit brighter.

"Late one evening during the period in which we were recording our third album, I happened to tune in to The Tonight Show," Richard Carpenter outlined in the liner notes to the boxed set, From The Top, explaining how he discovered the single. "Bette Midler, who was then relatively unknown, was guesting and on this particular show sang 'Superstar.' I felt the song was a hit and a natural for Karen."

Debuting in the Billboard Top 40 on September 11, 1971, "Superstar" was The Carpenters' third Top 5 single from their eponymous 1971 album Carpenters, rising to #2 and remaining on the Hot 100 pop chart for 12 weeks. Carpenters, the duo's third album, also hit #2 on the Hot 200 album chart, remaining on the chart for 59 weeks after its June 5, 1971 release. It was certified as a gold seller by the R.I.A.A. on June 7, 1971.

Written by Leon Russell and Bonnie Bramlett, the song indeed had potential. It had already appeared on Joe Cocker's album Mad Dogs and Englishmen, as sung by Nashville vocalist Rita Coolidge. Despite the past success Richard had one issue to contend with in recording a song about groupies. A line in the song referred to wanting to sleep with a rock star, which Richard changed to "be with a rock star" in order to preserve The Carpenters' wholesome family image. Karen had never performed the song before recording it in the studio and literally read the lyrics as she sang them. The results were so positive that the first take made the album.

Even so, the duo was leery about releasing the song. Richard revealed, "When the time came to release our version as a single, I was vacillating between 'Superstar' and 'Let Me Be The One,' being concerned that the lyrics to the former were a little unconventional for a Carpenters' record -- even though we'd changed the lyric 'sleep' to 'be.' [A&M Records co-owner] Jerry Moss, who strongly believed in 'Superstar,' felt I was worrying needlessly and made up my mind for me."

"Superstar" was the highest debut of the week on September 4, 1971. Entering the charts at #49, the song rose to #2 in just seven weeks' time, again achieving gold status. The tune also continued the group's #1 streak on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts, extending it to five. "Superstar" became The Carpenters' third #2 hit, placing them in a tie with The Everly Brothers, The Beatles, and Blood, Sweat & Tears for third place among acts with the most #2 hits. As the song began dropping, its flip side, "Bless The Beasts and The Children," began picking up airplay and enjoyed its own chart run, peaking at #67. The duo was only one hit away from rewriting the history books for consecutive #2 singles again.

As for Leon Russell, the song's writer, his chart career started the following year, but none of his singles reached the Top 10. Perhaps in tribute to the group that have him his first big songwriting success, Russell eventually recorded the song "If I Were A Carpenter," which appeared on his album Stop All That Jazz. The song stalled at #73 in 1974.

- Christopher G. Feldman, The Billboard Book of No. 2 Singles, Billboard, 2000.

 

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