I Believe You. No promotion

adam

Well-Known Member
Hi
anyone else noticed that when Carpenters released I Believe You in october 1978 there was no promotion for it.Hardly ant airplay,no promo video and they never performed the song on any tv show.Thoughts anyone
 
I tried to do promo for my local station at the time of release by calling KFXM (Riverside-San Bernardino, CA) and they just said "we're not playing that one yet"
 
I remain baffled that they performed Thank You For The Music on the Tonight Show, June 1978,
subsequently, I Believe You was released in October of that year.
Well, I remain baffled that the former was not released as a single, instead of the later.
And, apparently, the song, Dancing in The Streets, was "in the running" as a possible single,
according to the Fan Club Newsletters.
And, as a follow-up to the three Passage singles, I am even more baffled at the choice.
Perhaps, it was felt that the previous three single were too avant-garde?
And,thus, we have even more fascinating questions regarding Carpenters' career!
 
Not totally baffling but it's a great song (okay, the "freckled little girl" line makes me cringe) and it deserved better. The arrangement (by Motown vet Paul Riser) was brilliant and Karen sounded great on it. I think the backgrounds are all Karen too if I'm not mistaken.

Ed
 
I think we've discussed this before, but the release of 'I Believe You' does seem very random. It was released at the same time as Christmas Portrait, an album it had nothing to do with, Karen and Richard were both in a terrible state and what promotion they were doing in the US was for the Christmas album, it didn't get released in the UK, Dorothy Moore had already had a hit with it the previous year and it wasn't in step with current tastes at the time...

With all of these issues, it seemed pretty much doomed from the start. Which is a shame, as it's definitely one of their best post-1975 singles and one of the few tracks on Made in America that I genuinely enjoy. It wasn't hit material for 1978 and it's a bit 'sweet' in places, but it's a song that has endured for me. Great arrangement and backing vocals as you say.
 
Gee, I hate being a dissenter,
be that as it may, I have never liked this song. Really find the lyrics maddening (?--I can not think of a good descriptor)
Heard it a few times on the radio in 1978, the dj kept cutting the song off at the drum break/fill.
The drum break/fill was the only part of the arrangement that I liked.
I really do not like the arrangement, overall.
Of course, Karen's vocals do save the day.
Well, not much else I can contribute: this is only one, of the very few instances, when I just do not care for the song.
 
I think the backgrounds are all Karen too if I'm not mistaken.

Ed

I'm pretty sure I hear Richard in there too.

I remember trolling through a pile of throwaway singles at the radio station and coming upon a Carpenters record I'd never heard of - "I Believe You." Naturally, I took it home, but I don't recall playing it much if at all, nor do I recall it getting any airplay on our station. I probably didn't actually listen to it until it appeared on MADE IN AMERICA.

Best version is the surround version on SINGLES 1969-1981.

Harry
 
I think we've discussed this before, but the release of 'I Believe You' does seem very random. It was released at the same time as Christmas Portrait, an album it had nothing to do with, Karen and Richard were both in a terrible state and what promotion they were doing in the US was for the Christmas album, it didn't get released in the UK, Dorothy Moore had already had a hit with it the previous year and it wasn't in step with current tastes at the time...

Which begs the obvious question: why was it released at all?
 
It's been suggested that it was being released as the customary 'trailer single' ahead of the supposed album was going to be released in 1979. While the first singles of previous albums like 'All You Get From Love is a Love Song' and 'Please Mr Postman' appeared several months before their parent album saw release, it must have been obvious in October 1978, given that Richard was at his nadir at this point, that there wasn't going to be a 1979 album. Which makes the release of the single all the more baffling.
 
It got a fair amount of airplay on the AC station in Peoria, IL, where I lived at the time. (Peoria loved Carpenters..."Occupants" made the Top Ten on our pop station, WIRL.) Like Gary, though, I remember "I Believe You" being frequently cut off before the drum break -- that certainly didn't help. I looked for the single in local record stores with no luck. Ended up buying it through the fan club. It definitely wasn't my favorite song of theirs at the time, but it's one that has grown on me over time. Probably my third favorite track on MIA.
 
I think " I believe you" was really doomed not by a lack of promotion, but the changing musical landscape. The arrangement was soft. K&R were appearing in popular but not critic friendly TV specials, and music following the disco era was harder. It had an edge to it.
A&M always seemed to be behind K&R, but sometimes you either move with the times or stay in your comfort zone.

I remember in 1981 when "Touch me when we're dancing" came out, I was working as an intern at KFI Music radio in Los Angeles.
We were not playing their new single, and one day the phone rang with a very angry Harold Carpenter was on the phone. He wanted to know why KFI was not playing their record, when they had played all of their early 70's hits. As a fan, I tried to calm him down and told him he had the best person to talk to. I was a fan club member who loved K&R. But, he was really frustrated by their lack of airplay. We were playing Blonde & Hall & Oats at the time. The Carpenters just did not fit the rotation. Even when they tried to be current with "I want you back in my life again", the arrangement was so thin that it never gained any traction.
 
I used to call 64KFI all the time and request Carpenters! And I'd lay awake I think it was 9pm with my earphone on and listen to Mystery Theater.
 
Way off topic, but since you brought it up...as a teen in the 70's I remember CBS Radio Mystery Theatre too. There was something of a boom in radio drama then, and a lot of it I remember as pretty darn good. There was also a half-hour Mon-Fri show that I believe ran on Mutual affiliates as "Zero Hour" and on non-Mutual stations as "Hollywood Radio Theatre." Rod Serling was the host. A couple years later there was "Sears Radio Theatre" on CBS with rotating hosts and themes; which later reran on Mutual as "Mutual Radio Theatre." And there was a not-bad syndicated sci-fi show called "Alien Worlds" that ran here late evenings Sundays, sponsored by Peter Paul chocolate bars. CBS also tried a weekend "Adventure Theatre", kid-lit adaptations (Treasure Island, etc.) I thought was a dud; seem to recall Tom Bosley hosted that one. A few years ago, Himan Brown, the producer of CBS Mystery Theatre, tried syndicating the reruns with himself replacing E.G. Marshall as host, but for whatever reason it didn't last. KDAL here ran a lot of radio drama both old and new until a couple years ago, when they replaced them all with oogum-boogum conspiracy-theory shows.
 
I remember K & R having a feature article on the last inside page of a magazine (Entertainment Weekly? Anyone remember?) in late 78/early 79 saying there would be a new album in Spring 79 which explains the single release timing. Perhaps they were hoping for some traction at radio with Christmas Portrait out at the time? I imagine they were still reeling from the failure of Passage and the difficulty the singles had at radio. While I'm in the "would-love-to-hear" category on the studio version of "Thank You For The Music", it would have been an awful choice at radio. It's way too theatrical for the disco-heavy playlists at the time. Even Abba didn't try pulling it from "The Album" at the time of release (and that album broke the Abba tradition of three singles being pulled from each LP in the US). "Dancing In The Streets" never seemed to get an official recording for single release. It is far too short and would have needed more fleshing out for a radio single. Seems to me they were batting around the idea and must have mentioned it to Evelyn. More cover versions...so little inspiration in the Carpenter camp at the time.
 
Here are some of my thoughts: I always liked I Believe You and felt it left fans yearning for that next album. Perhaps the cancellation of the last band tour stalled plans for a forthcoming album which would also mean promotion. I think I remember Bread also releasing a song around that time and even though I am not sure of the exact time, it was similar to Goodbye Girl with the soft sound and Seals and Crofts had some airplay with something soft as well. There was also Paul Davis singing Sweet Life, so soft was not dead. I think it was just too similar to the Carpenters product of catalog music, and there were already better songs from the past and even though the words were more adult, the musical arrangement had an angelic quality which played into the goodie image. Karen sounded great and her reading of the song is what made I Believe You desirable for listening pleasure. (If Karen's better songs from the solo product were available and ready, some of them would have fit well during this period.)
Just as I thought Love Me For What I Am should have been the alternate for Solitare, maybe Where Do I Go From Here, or maybe Honolulu City Lights should have been released at this time, and possibly it was even planned for release once the 10th year anniversary album was finished...who really knows. It is sad that addiction clouded opportunity, timing and choices. The success of Touch Me When Were Dancing was indication that fans were still wanting material and through the years new fans have followed without any new singles. We have discussed many times through the years that the songs after Horizon were always there, just not chosen as part of the project or released as singles. After all, with their success, songwriters were probably flooding them with material to record. Plus, a lot of my favorites were written by John and Richard and in 1978 I don't recall any being recorded.
With Karen's voice, the right song would have taken off with the right marketing. I think that we all feel that her vocal talent alone was exceptional and I know I would have and did buy all I could during those years, and still do. Even the material Richard has released since Karen's passing just makes me yearn to hear her sing the next line. They were made to make music together for even their weaker material was enjoyable and superior to anything else around, in my opinion.
 
Just listened to Dorothy Moore singing "I Believe You" and instead of singing "freckled little girl", Dorothy uses the lyric "little brown eyed girl". The arrangement for the Carpenters recording is far superior, and the change in lyric is interesting.
 
Agreed, Chris.
Quite a while ago, I took a listen to Dorothy Moore's rendition of I Believe You,
and Carpenters' version is far superior.
Regretfully, I still don't care for the song, as a whole.
 
Not totally baffling but it's a great song (okay, the "freckled little girl" line makes me cringe) and it deserved better. The arrangement (by Motown vet Paul Riser) was brilliant and Karen sounded great on it. I think the backgrounds are all Karen too if I'm not mistaken.

Ed

Mostly Karen, but all the "ooooooh" parts are her and Richard. She handles all the background "words" if you will. I also see that Richard handed over arranging duties to Riser, but he still handled the background arranging. I remember an early '78 interview where he and Karen both said they wanted to get back to their big "over-dubbed" sound that had been missing on the previous 2 albums. I Believe You certainly fits the bill, as does Slow Dance. . . and obviously MIA was overdub central.

The last recording the duo did for the proposed 'April '79 album was in September, before they did the taping of Christmas Portrait Special. From the biographies it mentions that Richard wasn't turning up at the recording studio in late '78 so they must have been booked in for more recording in Nov/Dec, with the plan to finish up in Jan/Feb '79. But even if they had released an album I doubt it would have done as well as Passage, even.

Frankly A&M probably could have cobbled together a 10th anniversary release. . .it wouldn't have been great, but it would have been something in the market place, and I suppose they'd already sunk the money into the studio time, musicians etc. Plus most of the arrangements were pretty near completion so not much work to be done there.

1)Ordinary Fool ('76)
2)Sailing on the Tide ('77)
3)You're the One ('77)
4)Where Do I Go From Here
5)Look To Your Dreams
6)Slow Dance
7)Honolulu City Lights
8)I Believe You
9)Leave Yesterday Behind

I suppose You're The One or Slow Dance might have cracked the top 40.
 
I strongly dislike this tune. It never made sense to me! I don't hate it, but just one that I play probably every third blue moon.
 
I remember K & R having a feature article on the last inside page of a magazine (Entertainment Weekly? Anyone remember?) in late 78/early 79 saying there would be a new album in Spring 79 which explains the single release timing. Perhaps they were hoping for some traction at radio with Christmas Portrait out at the time? I imagine they were still reeling from the failure of Passage and the difficulty the singles had at radio. While I'm in the "would-love-to-hear" category on the studio version of "Thank You For The Music", it would have been an awful choice at radio. It's way too theatrical for the disco-heavy playlists at the time. Even Abba didn't try pulling it from "The Album" at the time of release (and that album broke the Abba tradition of three singles being pulled from each LP in the US). "Dancing In The Streets" never seemed to get an official recording for single release. It is far too short and would have needed more fleshing out for a radio single. Seems to me they were batting around the idea and must have mentioned it to Evelyn. More cover versions...so little inspiration in the Carpenter camp at the time.

I'm pretty sure the article mentioned above was US Magazine, which featured a spread of Karen and Richard 'then and now'.
 
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