"Hurting Each Other" is a song popularized by the

Carpenters Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenters t ...

in 1972. It was written in 1965 by

Gary Geld Gary Geld (born October 18, 1935, Paterson, New Jersey) is an American composer known for his work creating musicals and popular songs with his lyricist partner Peter Udell. Raised in Clifton, New Jersey, Geld graduated from Clifton High Schoo ...

and

Peter Udell Peter Udell (born 1934) is an American lyricist and writer, best known for his collaborations with composer Gary Geld. He started his career in popular music in the 1960s, writing lyrics for songs including " Sealed With A Kiss", " Save Your Heart ...

, and has been recorded many times by artists ranging from

Ruby & the Romantics Ruby & the Romantics were an Akron, Ohio-based American R&B group in the 1960s, comprising Ruby Nash, George Lee, Ronald Mosely, Leroy Fann and Ed Roberts. The group had several pop and R&B hit records, topping the US '' Billboard'' Hot 100 ...

Rosemary Clooney Rosemary Clooney (May 23, 1928 – June 29, 2002) was an American singer and actress. She came to prominence in the early 1950s with the song "Come On-a My House", which was followed by other pop numbers such as " Botch-a-Me", " Mambo Italiano", ...

Previous versions

The original version of the song was recorded by

Jimmy Clanton Jimmy Clanton (born September 2, 1938) is an American singer who became known as the " swamp pop R&B teenage idol". His band recorded a hit song "Just a Dream" which Clanton had written in 1958 for the Ace Records label. It reached number fou ...

and released in 1965 as a single on Mala Records. According to Richard Carpenter, this version of "Hurting Each Other" had a very different feel from the Carpenters' product. However, there are definite similarities in the vocal refrain. Clanton's 1965 single of the song failed to chart. Chad Allan & the Expressions, who later became

The Guess Who The Guess Who are a Canadian rock band formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in 1965. The band originated in 1962 and achieved an international hit single with a cover of "Shakin' All Over" in 1965 under the name Chad Allan and the Expressions. After c ...

, also recorded the song in 1965 on their Canadian LP '' Hey Ho (What You Do to Me!)''. Released as a single, the song hit #19 on the Canadian charts in early 1966. In June 1966 a version by Ruth Lewis, produced by Udell and Geld, was released as a single by RCA Victor records. A version also appeared on

The Walker Brothers The Walker Brothers were an United States, American pop music, pop musical ensemble, group of the 1960s and 1970s which included Noel Scott Engel (eventually known professionally as Scott Walker (singer), Scott Walker), John Walker (musician), Jo ...

' second album, ''

Portrait A portrait is a portrait painting, painting, portrait photography, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, Personality type ...

'', which was released in November 1966.

released the song as a single in 1969. The vocal arrangement is reflected in the Carpenters' version three years later.

Carpenters' version

The Carpenters recorded "Hurting Each Other" with instrumental backing from L.A. sessions musicians from the Wrecking Crew, towards the end of 1971. Some footage of Richard and Karen performing the backup vocals can be seen on ''Jerry Dunphy Visits the Carpenters'', when news anchor

Jerry Dunphy Gerald Raymond Dunphy (June 9, 1921 – May 20, 2002) was an American television news anchor in the Los Angeles/Southern California media market. He was best known for his intro "From the desert to the sea, to all of Southern California, a go ...

went to Karen and Richard Carpenter's house and interviewed them and their parents about their life. It was released as a single in late 1971 from the album '' A Song for You''. It reached number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100; it was kept from number one by " Without You" by

Harry Nilsson Harry Edward Nilsson III (June 15, 1941 – January 15, 1994), sometimes credited as Nilsson, was an American singer-songwriter who reached the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. His work is characterized by pioneering vocal ove ...

. "Hurting Each Other" also peaked at number one on the

Easy Listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

chart. ''Billboard'' ranked it as the No. 65 song for 1972. The Carpenters performed "Hurting Each Other" at many live concerts, including a shortened version from the "Live in Osaka" concert in 1974.

Personnel

Karen Carpenter Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950 – February 4, 1983) was an American singer and drummer, who formed half of the sibling duo the Carpenters alongside her older brother Richard. With a distinctive three-octave contralto range, she was prais ...

- lead and backing vocals * Richard Carpenter - backing vocals, piano,

Wurlitzer electronic piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from the mid-1950s to mid-1980s. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptu ...

orchestration Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orc ...

Joe Osborn Joseph Osborn (August 28, 1937 – December 14, 2018Hal Blaine Hal Blaine (born Harold Simon Belsky; February 5, 1929 – March 11, 2019) was an American drummer and session musician, thought to be among the most recorded studio drummers in the music industry, claiming over 35,000 sessions and 6,000 singles. ...

- drums *Gary Coleman - percussion

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Post-Carpenters versions

In 1994, a version performed by

Johnette Napolitano Johnette Napolitano (born Jonette L. Napolitano; September 22, 1957) is an American singer, songwriter and bassist best known as the lead vocalist, songwriter, and bassist for the alternative rock group Concrete Blonde. Early life Johnette Nap ...

and

Marc Moreland Marc Moreland (January 8, 1958 – March 13, 2002) was an American rock musician. He was the former guitarist for rock band Wall of Voodoo, punk band The Skulls, and rock bands Pretty and Twisted and Department of Crooks. He also released a solo ...

(of ''

Concrete Blonde Concrete Blonde was an American alternative rock band from Hollywood, California. They were initially active from 1982 to 1995, and reunited twice: first from 2001 to 2004, and again from 2010 to 2012. They were best known for their album ''Bloo ...

'' and ''

Wall of Voodoo Wall of Voodoo was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States. Though largely an underground act for the majority of its existence, the band came to prominence when its 1982 single "Mexican Radio" became a hit on MTV an ...

'' respectively) appeared on producer Matt Wallace's alternative rock tribute album of Carpenters covers, '' If I Were a Carpenter''. In 2020,

The Avalanches The Avalanches are an Australian electronic music group formed in Melbourne in 1997. They are known for their studio albums '' Since I Left You'' (2000), ''Wildflower'' (2016), and '' We Will Always Love You'' (2020), as well as their live and ...

sampled the Carpenters' chorus for their song, '' We Go On''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurting Each Other 1965 songs 1965 singles 1966 singles 1972 singles Songs with music by Gary Geld Songs with lyrics by Peter Udell The Carpenters songs Ruby & the Romantics songs Jimmy Clanton songs Rosemary Clooney songs The Guess Who songs The Walker Brothers songs Andy Williams songs A&M Records singles