Made in America (The Carpenters album)
Made in America is the tenth and final studio album by the American music duo The Carpenters, released in June 1981. Karen Carpenter died less than two years later, making it their final album released in her lifetime. It reached number 52 in the US and number 12 in the UK.
| Made in America | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | June 16, 1981 | |||
| Recorded | 1978-1981 | |||
| Studio | A&M Studios, Los Angeles; mixed at Sound Labs and A&M Studios, Los Angeles[1] | |||
| Genre | Pop, adult contemporary | |||
| Length | 40:22 | |||
| Label | A&M | |||
| Producer | Richard Carpenter | |||
| The Carpenters chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Made in America | ||||
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| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [2] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [3] |
Karen played drums in the studio for the first time since Horizon, on the song "When It's Gone (It's Just Gone)", albeit in unison with veteran Nashville session drummer Larrie Londin, and she also played percussion on "Those Good Old Dreams" in tandem with Paulinho da Costa.
The album yielded their last Billboard Hot 100 Top 40 hit, "Touch Me When We're Dancing", which peaked at #16. The album's other four singles, "I Believe You," "(Want You) Back In My Life Again," "Those Good Old Dreams," and "Beechwood 4-5789," were only minor hits, peaking at #68, #72, #63, and #74 respectively.
In 1985, Richard Carpenter said "that was Karen's favorite album and is mine, out of all our projects".[4]
Promotion
To promote Made in America, Karen and Richard Carpenter appeared on several talk shows in 1981,[5] including America's Top Ten on July 11, The Merv Griffin Show on October 2 performing "(Want You) Back in My Life Again", and Good Morning America on October 12.[6]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Those Good Old Dreams" |
| 4:12 |
| 2. | "Strength of a Woman" |
| 3:59 |
| 3. | "(Want You) Back in My Life Again" |
| 3:40 |
| 4. | "When You've Got What It Takes" |
| 3:41 |
| 5. | "Somebody's Been Lyin'" | 4:25 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "I Believe You" |
| 3:54 |
| 7. | "Touch Me When We're Dancing" |
| 3:19 |
| 8. | "When It's Gone (It's Just Gone)" | Randy Handley | 5:01 |
| 9. | "Beechwood 4-5789" |
| 3:06 |
| 10. | "Because We Are in Love (The Wedding Song)" |
| 5:04 |
Personnel
- Karen Carpenter – lead and backing vocals; drums and percussion on "When it's Gone"; percussion on "Those Good Old Dreams"
- Richard Carpenter – backing vocals, keyboards (piano, Fender Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric piano, celesta, ARP Odyssey), orchestration
- Tim May, Tony Peluso, Fred Tackett, Dennis Budimir – guitars
- Jay Dee Maness – pedal steel guitar
- Earl Dumler – oboe
- Tom Scott – tenor saxophone
- Gayle Levant – concert harp
- Joe Osborn – bass guitar
- Larrie Londin, Ron Tutt, John Robinson – drums
- Paulinho da Costa, Peter Limonick, Bob Conti – percussion
- Jerry Steinholtz – congas on "I Believe You"
- Carolyn Dennis, Stephanie Spruill, Maxine Willard Waters – background vocals
- The O.K. Chorale – backing vocals on "Because We Are in Love (The Wedding Song)"
- Peter Knight – orchestration on "Because We Are in Love (The Wedding Song)"
- Paul Riser – orchestration on "I Believe You"
- Daryl Dragon, Ian Underwood – synthesizer programming on "(Want You) Back in My Life Again"
- Bernie Grundman, Richard Carpenter – remastering at Bernie Grundman Mastering
Charts and certifications
Weekly charts
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Certifications
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References
- The Carpenters - Made in America (1981) album at Carpenters.AmCorner.com
- Eder, Bruce. "The Carpenters - Made in America (1981) album review, credits & releases". AllMusic. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
- Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 140. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
rolling stone carpenters album guide.
- Larry King Live - December 1985 - transcript
- Karen Carpenter – IMDb
- Schmidt, Randy L. (October 2012). Yesterday Once More: The Carpenters. Selected Television Apppearances. ISBN 9781613744178 – via Google Books.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- "Yamachan Land (Japanese Chart Archives) - Albums Chart Daijiten - Carpenters" (in Japanese). Original Confidence. 2007-12-30. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
- "Carpenters | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart.
- "Carpenters Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
- "British album certifications – Carpenters – Made in America". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2012-02-22.
