"Let Me Be the One" is a song written in 1970 by Roger Nichols and Paul Williams. It was first recorded by

Nanette Workman Nanette Joan Workman (born 20 November 1945, Brooklyn, New York, United States) is a singer-songwriter, actress and author, who has been based in Quebec, Canada, during much of her career. She holds dual citizenship of both the United States and ...

and released in 1970 as a single on

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...

. The Carpenters' version first appeared on their 1971 album '' Carpenters''.

Background

"Let Me Be the One" is a relatively short song, with a run time of 2:25. The earliest evident recording of "Let Me Be the One" was by

being one of five songs recorded with producer Tommy Cogbill recorded in late June 1970 at American Sound Studio in Memphis, with "Let Me Be the One" being afforded a UK single release in November 1970 with the singer credited mononymously as Nanette. Bearing something of a resemblance to " We've Only Just Begun", the song was a potential Carpenters single release in 1971 being Karen Carpenter's choice to follow "

For All We Know For or FOR may refer to: English language *For, a preposition *For, a complementizer *For, a grammatical conjunction Science and technology * Fornax, a constellation * for loop, a programming language statement * Frame of reference, in physics ...

", but Richard Carpenter doubted the hit potential of "Let Me Be the One" and the choice for single was assigned to "

Rainy Days and Mondays "Rainy Days and Mondays" is a 1971 song by the Carpenters, with instrumental backing by L.A. session musicians from the Wrecking Crew, that went to number 2 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart. It's Too Late/I Feel the Earth Move by Carole King k ...

". However the album cut "Let Me Be the One" did receive airplay on both

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...

and

MOR Mor or MOR may refer to: Names and titles * Mór (given name), a list of people named Mór or Mor * Mor (surname), a list of people named Mor or Mór * Mor (honorific), or Mar, in Syriac Radio and television * Middle of the road (music) genre * ...

radio stations. Paul Williams has described "Let Me Be the One" as "one of those songs that everybody's recorded but it's never been a ajor hitsingle. It was used very briefly by ABC-TV in 1976 and Channel 9 Australia in 1977: ''Let us be the one you turn to/ Let us be the one you turn to/ When you need someone you turn to/ Let us be the one.''" The 1991 remix for "Let Me Be the One" can only be found on the '' From the Top'' box set, for which it was released as a promotional single. It starts off with

Karen Karen may refer to: * Karen (name), a given name and surname * Karen (slang), a term and meme for a demanding woman displaying certain behaviors People * Karen people, an ethnic group in Myanmar and Thailand ** Karen languages or Karenic l ...

counting off, and Richard's piano line is very different from the original 1971 mix found on the '' Carpenters'' album. In the original 1971 mix, the song fades out; the 1991 remix continues through to the point where Karen and the rest of the musicians create a conclusion.

Personnel

* Karen Carpenter –

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

and

backing vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...

* Richard Carpenter – backing vocals,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

Wurlitzer electric 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 conceptua ...

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, 2018bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Hal Blaine –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

Other versions

Al Wilson Aldra Kauwa Wilson (born June 21, 1977) is a former American college and professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. He played college football for the University of Tennessee, and ...

recorded "Let Me Be the One" for his 1974 album ''La La Peace Song'' which featured the song in

medley Medley or Medleys may refer to: Sports *Medley swimming, races requiring multiple swimming styles * Medley relay races at track meets Music *Medley (music), multiple pieces strung together People *Medley (surname), list of people with this nam ...

form with another Nichols/Williams composition, "

I Won't Last a Day Without You "I Won't Last a Day Without You" is a song by the Carpenters with lyrics written by Paul Williams and music composed by Roger Nichols. It was released in the U.K. in September 1972, paired with " Goodbye to Love" as a double-A side. The sing ...

"; the track, "I Won't Last a Day Without You"/"Let Me Be the One", was issued as a single in December 1974 and reached No. 18 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' R&B chart while crossing over to both ''Billboards

Adult Contemporary chart The Adult Contemporary chart is published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine and lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary radio stations in the United States. The chart is compiled based on airplay data submitted to ''Billboard'' by sta ...

(#39) and the mainstream Pop chart, the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (#70). Chelsea Brown performed the song in a 1972 episode of ''

The Two Ronnies ''The Two Ronnies'' is a British television comedy sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett. It was created by Bill Cotton and aired on BBC1 from April 1971 to December 1987. The usual format included sketches, solo sections, seria ...

'' (original broadcast 30 September 1972). The song has also been recorded by Petula Clark (album ''Warm and Tender'', 1971), Clodagh Rodgers (album ''Rodgers and Heart'', 1971), Paul Davis (album ''Paul Davis'', 1972), Malcolm Roberts (album ''Living for Life'', 1973),

Suzanne Lynch Suzanne Joy Lynch (née Donaldson, born 20 March 1951) is a New Zealand singer who has worked professionally under the names Suzanne Donaldson, Suzanne Lynch and Suzanne. Career Lynch first came to wide public knowledge in the 1960s as half o ...

(album ''Friends with You'', 1973, credited to Suzanne o surname/small>),

the Temprees The Temprees are an American soul vocal trio from Memphis, Tennessee, most popular during the 1970s. The band released several albums on We Produce Records, an offshoot of Stax Records. In 1972, the band performed in front of more than 100,000 fan ...

(album ''Love Maze'', 1973), Vikki Carr (album ''One Hell of a Woman'', 1974),

Joy Fleming Joy Fleming (born Erna Raad, 15 November 1944 – 27 September 2017) was a German singer. She is best known for her performance in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1975. She performed the song " Ein Lied kann eine Brücke sein" and was placed seven ...

(album ''This Is My Life'', 1974),

Johnny Mathis John Royce Mathis (born September 30, 1935) is an American singer of popular music. Starting his career with singles of standard music, he became highly popular as an album artist, with several dozen of his albums achieving gold or platinum s ...

("Let Me Be the One/I Won't Last a Day Without You" medley on album '' When Will I See You Again'', 1975),

Cleo Laine Dame Cleo Laine, Lady Dankworth (born Clementine Dinah Bullock; 28 October 1927)Jack Jones Jack Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music *Jack Jones (American singer) (born 1938), American jazz and pop singer *Jack Jones, stage name of Australian singer Irwin Thomas (born 1971) *Jack Jones (Welsh musician) (born 1992), Welsh mu ...

whose version reached No. 18 on the US Easy Listening chart in 1971 (album ''A Song for You'', 1972),

Shirley Bassey Dame Shirley Veronica Bassey (; born 8 January 1937) is a Welsh singer. Best known for her career longevity, powerful voice and recording the theme songs to three James Bond films, Bassey is widely regarded as one of the most popular vocalists ...

(album ''Bassey: The EMI/UA Years 1959-1979'', 1994; also '' And I Love You So'' expanded edition, 2000), Matthew Sweet (album '' If I Were a Carpenter'', 1994) and

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups o ...

(album '' Last Time I Saw Him'' expanded edition, 2007).

Chart history

;Jack Jones ;Al Wilson

References

External links

* {{authority control 1970 songs 1970 singles 1971 singles The Carpenters songs Vikki Carr songs Shirley Bassey songs Petula Clark songs Johnny Mathis songs Diana Ross songs Al Wilson (singer) songs 1991 singles Songs written by Paul Williams (songwriter) Songs written by Roger Nichols (songwriter) A&M Records singles