Close to You: Remembering the Carpenters

THE CARPENTERS: CLOSE TO YOU is a music-filled documentary that traces the Carpenters‘ career through the eyes of Richard Carpenter and the group’s friends in the music business, features all of their top recording hits, including “(They Long to Be) Close to You,” “Top of the World,” “Hurting Each Other,” “Only Yesterday,” “Rainy Days and Mondays” and “We’ve Only Just Begun.” Between 1970 and 1983, the Carpenters were awarded 10 gold singles, and nine gold albums, many of which also achieved multi-platinum status. They won Grammy Awards as Best New Artist and Best Contemporary Vocal group in 1970 for their single “Close to You” and their album of the same name. In 1971, they won a third Grammy for their Carpenters album.

Also that year, their soundtrack recording of “Bless the Beasts and Children” was nominated for an Academy Award, and they performed it at the Oscar telecast in 1972. From 1970 to1981, the Carpenters consistently were represented on the Billboard charts with 17 of their singles in the Top 20, including three number one songs and six songs at number two. The Carpenters released an average of one album a year and became one of the most popular groups in recording history, selling over 100 million recordings worldwide.

In the summer of 1971, Karen and Richard hosted their own network variety series, “Make Your Own Kind of Music,” on NBC. THECARPENTERS:  CLOSE TO YOU features interviews with Richard Carpenter, in addition to some of the group’s longtime back-up singers and musicians, famous friends and colleagues, particularly those who helped them achieve stardom, including Herb Alpert, Paul Williams, Burt Bacharach and Petula Clark. The program also contains rare footage of Richard and Karen, including never-before-seen home movies, concert performances, studio recording sessions and archival television appearances and outtakes.

• Monday, December 28. 9:00 p.m.