"It's Too Late" is a song from American singer-songwriter

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who has been active since 1958, initially as one of the staff songwriters at 1650 Broadway and later as a solo artist. Regarded as one ...

's second studio album, ''

Tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

'' (1971). Toni Stern wrote the lyrics and King wrote the music. It was released as a single in April 1971 and reached number 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and

Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...

charts. Sales were later gold-certified by the RIAA. ''Billboard'' ranked "It's Too Late" and its fellow

A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

, "

I Feel the Earth Move I, or i, is the ninth letter and the third vowel letter of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''i'' (pronounced ), plural ...

", as the No. 3 record for 1971.

Music and lyrics

The lyrics describe the blameless end of a loving relationship. Music critic

Dave Marsh Dave Marsh (born March 1, 1950) is an American music critic, and radio talk show host. He was an early editor of ''Creem'' magazine, has written for various publications such as ''Newsday'', ''The Village Voice'', and ''Rolling Stone (magazine), ...

saw implicit

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

because the woman left the man. Marsh also remarked on the maturity of the theme. Music critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

wrote that "if there's a truer song about breaking up than 'It's Too Late,' the world (or at least

AM radio AM broadcasting is radio broadcasting using amplitude modulation (AM) transmissions. It was the first method developed for making audio radio transmissions, and is still used worldwide, primarily for medium wave (also known as "AM band") transm ...

) isn't ready for it." Marsh described the

melody A melody (from Greek language, Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a Linearity#Music, linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most liter ...

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It originally referred to a specific place: West 28th Street ...

and the

arrangement In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orches ...

as a cross between light

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

and "L.A. studio craftsmanship." ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...

'' remarked that King's "warm, earnest singing" on the song brought out the song's sadness. According to author James Perone, the feel of the song is enhanced by the instrumental work of

Danny Kortchmar Daniel "Danny Kootch" Kortchmar (born April 6, 1946) is an American guitarist, session musician, producer and songwriter. Kortchmar's work with singer-songwriters such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, David Crosby, Carole King, David Cassidy, ...

on guitar,

Curtis Amy Curtis Amy (October 11, 1929 – June 5, 2002) was an American jazz saxophonist. Biography Amy was born in Houston, Texas, United States. He learned how to play clarinet before joining the Army, and during his time in service, picked up the teno ...

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pr ...

and King on piano. Kortchmar and Amy each have an instrumental solo. ''

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...

'' described the song as "a sensitive ballad with a strong rock under-beat." Toni Stern told author Sheila Weller that she wrote the lyrics in a single day, after her relationship with

James Taylor James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, havi ...

ended. The recording won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

for Record of the Year in 1972, and the song is included in

Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" is a recurring survey compiled by the American magazine ''Rolling Stone''. It is based on weighted votes from selected musicians, critics, and industry figures. The first list was published in December 2004 in ...

Personnel

*Carole King – piano, vocals *

–

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sop ...

* Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar – conga, electric guitar * Charles "Charlie" Larkey – bass guitar *Joel O'Brien – drums *

Ralph Schuckett Ralph Schuckett (March 2, 1948 – April 4, 2021) was an American keyboardist, composer and songwriter known as one of the founding members of Todd Rundgren's band Utopia. He composed for film and television, including Pokémon, Sonic X, and A ...

– electric piano

Soundtracks

"It's Too Late" has been featured in Hollywood films, including ''

Fandango Fandango is a lively partner dance originating from Portugal and Spain, usually in triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is usually bipartite: it has ...

'' (1985), '' The Lake House'' (2006), and ''

Invincible Invincible may refer to: Film and television * ''Invincible'' (2001 drama film), a drama by Werner Herzog about Jewish cabaret during the rise of Nazism * ''Invincible'' (2001 TV film), a fantasy / martial arts TV movie starring Billy Zane ...

'' (2006).

Awards and recognition

* King's version of "It's Too Late" peaked at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts. It was on the Hot 100 as a

double A-side The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

with "

". * King's version of "It's Too Late" was gold-certified by the RIAA. * "It's Too Late" won a

for

Record of the Year The Grammy Award for Record of the Year is presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to "honor artistic achievement, technical proficiency and overall excellence in the recording industry, without reg ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

. * "It's Too Late" is ranked No. 469 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time. It was dropped in the 2010 version but updated to No. 310 in the 2021 version. * Together with its other A-side, it was named by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

as No. 213 of 365

Songs of the Century The "Songs of the Century" list is part of an education project by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the National Endowment for the Arts, and Scholastic Inc. that aims to "promote a better understanding of America's musical and ...

Charts

Weekly charts

;Carole King ;Bill Deal & the Rhondels

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Gloria Estefan version

In 1995, Cuban American singer and songwriter

Gloria Estefan Gloria Estefan (; born Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García; born 1 September 1957) is a Cuban-American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is a seven-time Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been ...

released her cover of "It's Too Late" as the third promotional single (in the US), and fourth overall single released from her fourth studio album, ''

Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" is a song written by Harry Noble and originally performed by Karen Chandler in 1952. It has been re-recorded several times since then, the most notable covers being by Mel Carter in 1965 and Gloria Estefan in 1994. ...

'' (1994).

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

editor Eddie Huffman described Estefan's version as " moment of genuine pathos" in his review of the ''Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me'' album. Steve Baltin from ''

'' felt that the singer "does a decent job with the vocals, but this is one of those songs that everybody feels they own. As such, it’s better off being left alone." Chuck Campbell from ''

Knoxville News Sentinel The ''Knoxville News Sentinel, also known as Knox News,'' is a daily newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Gannett Company. History The newspaper was formed in 1926 from the merger of two competing newspapers: ''The ...

'' viewed it as a "faithful" remake of Carole King's 1971 hit, "though

Tim Mitchell Timothy C. Mitchell (born 5 April 1963) is a Grammy winning music record producer, songwriter, and guitarist from Detroit, Michigan. Early life Mitchell was born on April 5, 1963 to Dr. David Mitchell and Edith Mitchell (née Clements) at Henr ...

's intrusive electric-guitar solo is an unwelcome addition." Phil Shanklin of ReviewsRevues remarked that King’s voice does possess the same warmth as Estefan's.

Official versions

# Album version – 3:57 # Piano mix – 3:38 # Radio mix – 3:19

Release history

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Formats and track listings

Other notable versions

The song has been covered by * 1972:

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

on their album '' Brother, Brother, Brother''; reaching 39 on the R&B chart * 1991:

Dina Carroll Geraldine Carroll (born 21 August 1968) is an English singer. She had a string of hits during the 1990s, including the UK top ten singles, " It's Too Late" (1991), " Don't Be a Stranger" (1993), "The Perfect Year", (1993), and "Escaping" (1996 ...

with the duo

Quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...

, earning her first hit; it reached No. 8 in the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

* 2022:

Lucy Dacus Lucy Elizabeth Dacus (born May 2, 1995) is an American singer-songwriter and producer. Originally from Richmond, Virginia, Dacus attracted attention with her debut album '' No Burden'' (2016), which led to a deal with Matador Records. Her secon ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:It's Too Late (Carole King song) 1971 singles 1991 singles 1995 singles Doo-wop songs Songs written by Carole King Carole King songs Gloria Estefan songs The Isley Brothers songs Song recordings produced by Lou Adler Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles Cashbox number-one singles RPM Top Singles number-one singles Grammy Award for Record of the Year Songs about heartache Songs written by Toni Stern Ode Records singles 1971 songs Epic Records singles