That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be
"That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" | ||||
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Side A of the US single | ||||
Single by Carly Simon | ||||
from the album Carly Simon | ||||
B-side | "Alone" | |||
Released | April 1971 | |||
Recorded | 1970 | |||
Genre | Soft rock[1] | |||
Length | 4:15 | |||
Label | Elektra | |||
Songwriter(s) |
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Producer(s) | Eddie Kramer | |||
Carly Simon singles chronology | ||||
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"That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" is a song performed by Carly Simon, and the lead single from her self-titled debut album Carly Simon (1971). Her friend and frequent collaborator Jacob Brackman wrote the lyrics and Simon wrote the music. The song reached peak positions of No. 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 6 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart.[2] The song also earned Simon a nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 14th Annual Grammy Awards in 1972, where she also won Best New Artist.[3]
Background
It is an art song with a semiclassical melody in the style of Gabriel Fauré,[4] and Elektra staffers were worried the single was too emotionally complex to be released as Simon's first single. With subject matter that includes "the parents' bad marriage; the friends' unhappy lives; the boyfriend's enthusiasm for marriage but controlling nature; the woman's initial resistance and ultimate capitulation."[5]
Simon was quoted as saying, "When I first wrote it I thought it was an unusual thing for people to break up, and now all my friends are divorced."[6]
Recognition
The success of the song propelled Simon into the limelight, and it has been included on several compilations of her work, including The Best of Carly Simon (1975), Clouds in My Coffee (1995), The Very Best of Carly Simon: Nobody Does It Better (1999), Anthology (2002), and Reflections: Carly Simon's Greatest Hits (2004), Carly Simon Collector's Edition (2009), and Songs from the Trees (A Musical Memoir Collection) (2015).[7]
In July 1971, the single reached No. 1 in Boston (WRKO), Burlington, Vermont (WDOT), New Haven (WNHC) and Rochester, New York (WSAY).
No music video existed for this song, although a filmed performance was produced for an episode of the early 1970s PBS series The Great American Dream Machine.[8]
In addition, Simon's performance of the song in New York City at the 1971 Schaefer Music Festival was filmed for the ABC television special Good Vibrations from Central Park. Simon performed on the 2nd and 3 July. ABC broadcast its special on August 19, 1971. In 2009, video of Simon's performance was posted to the official Carly Simon YouTube channel, where, as of 2023, it is still available.[9]
Track listing
- 7" single[10]
- "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" – 4:15
- "Alone" – 3:36
Chart performance
Weekly charts
| Year-end charts
|
Awards
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1972 | Grammy Awards | Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female | "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" | Nominated | [3] |
References
- ^ Simpson, Kim (21 July 2011). Early '70s Radio: The American Format Revolution. A&C Black. p. 89. ISBN 978-1-441-15758-4.
- ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Top Adult Contemporary: 1961-2001. Record Research. p. 221.
- ^ a b "Carly Simon". The Recording Academy. Archived from the original on Mar 20, 2022. Retrieved October 19, 2018.
- ^ Holden, Stephen (May 13, 2008). "Trailblazers, but Selling a Romantic Kind of Love". The New York Times. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
- ^ Weller, Sheila (April 2009). Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon—and the Journey of a Generation. Washington Square Press. p. 344. ISBN 978-0-7434-9148-8.
- ^ Walsh, Ben (March 11, 2010). "Vanity case: Will Carly Simon reveal the identity of the mystery man in her Seventies hit You're So Vain?". The Independent. London. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
- ^ "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be lyrics". Carlysimon.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2005. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
- ^ "GREAT AMERICAN DREAM MACHINE, THE: HIGHLIGHTS {PROGRAM B} (TV)". Paleycenter.org. Archived from the original on August 23, 2023. Retrieved August 23, 2023.
- ^ "Carly Simon - That's The Way I Always Heard It Should Be - 1971". YouTube. Archived from the original on May 13, 2023. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be". Discogs. 1971. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- ^ David Kent (1993). Australian Charts Book 1970—1992. Australian Chart Book Pty Ltd, Turramurra, N.S.W. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
- ^ "CAN Charts > Carly Simon". RPM. Archived from the original on January 4, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2012.
- ^ a b "Carly Simon – Chart history". Billboard. Archived from the original on October 21, 2022. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
- ^ "Cash Box Top 100 7/17/71". Cash Box. Archived from the original on 2019-10-01. Retrieved 2020-05-23.
- ^ "Top 100 Hits of 1971/Top 100 Songs of 1971". Musicoutfitters.com. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
- ^ "The CASH BOX Year-End Charts: 1971". Archived from the original on July 25, 2012. Retrieved May 23, 2020.
External links
- Carly Simon's Official Website
- That's The Way I've Always Heard It Should Be by Carly Simon on YouTube, official audio (no music video)
- v
- t
- e
- Carly Simon
- Anticipation
- No Secrets
- Hotcakes
- Playing Possum
- Another Passenger
- Boys in the Trees
- Spy
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- Torch
- Hello Big Man
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- Coming Around Again
- My Romance
- Have You Seen Me Lately
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- Moonlight Serenade
- Into White
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- Never Been Gone
- The Best of Carly Simon
- Clouds in My Coffee
- The Very Best of Carly Simon: Nobody Does It Better
- Anthology
- Reflections: Carly Simon's Greatest Hits
- Carly Simon Collector's Edition
- Original Album Series
- Playlist: The Very Best of Carly Simon
- Songs from the Trees (A Musical Memoir Collection)
- These Are the Good Old Days: The Carly Simon and Jac Holzman Story
- Greatest Hits Live
- Live at Grand Central
- Working Girl
- This Is My Life (Music from the Motion Picture)
- Piglet's Big Movie (soundtrack)
- The Best of Pooh and Heffalumps, Too
- No Nukes: The Muse Concerts for a Non-Nuclear Future
- In Harmony: A Sesame Street Record
- In Harmony 2
- Romulus Hunt: A Family Opera
- Live from Martha's Vineyard
- Carly in Concert – My Romance
- Live at Grand Central
- A Moonlight Serenade on the Queen Mary 2
- "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be"
- "Anticipation"
- "Legend in Your Own Time"
- "You're So Vain"
- "The Right Thing to Do"
- "Mockingbird"
- "Haven't Got Time for the Pain"
- "Attitude Dancing"
- "Waterfall"
- "It Keeps You Runnin'"
- "Half a Chance"
- "Nobody Does It Better"
- "You Belong to Me"
- "Devoted to You"
- "Vengeance"
- "Jesse"
- "Hurt"
- "Why"
- "Kissing with Confidence"
- "You Know What to Do"
- "Tired of Being Blonde"
- "My New Boyfriend"
- "Coming Around Again"
- "Give Me All Night"
- "The Stuff That Dreams Are Made Of"
- "All I Want Is You"
- "Let the River Run"
- "Better Not Tell Her"
- "Love of My Life"
- "Son of a Gun (I Betcha Think This Song Is About You)"
- "Let It Snow"
- "Angel from Montgomery"
- "We Have No Secrets"
- "Night Owl"
- "You Can Close Your Eyes"
- "When Manhattan Was a Maiden"
- Meet the Simon Sisters
- Cuddlebug
- The Simon Sisters Sing the Lobster Quadrille and Other Songs for Children
- Winkin', Blinkin' and Nod: The Kapp Recordings
- Boys in the Trees: A Memoir
- Touched by the Sun: My Friendship with Jackie
- Richard Simon (father)
- Andrea Heinemann Simon (mother)
- George Simon (uncle)
- Joanna Simon (sister)
- Lucy Simon (sister)
- James Taylor (ex-husband)
- Sally Taylor (daughter)