"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 renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...

's second studio album, ''

Tapestry Tapestry is a form of Textile arts, textile art which was traditionally Weaving, woven by hand on a loom. Normally it is used to create images rather than patterns. Tapestry is relatively fragile, and difficult to make, so most historical piece ...

'' (1971). Toni Stern wrote the lyrics and King wrote the music. It was released as a single in April 1971 by Ode Records and reached No. 1 on the US ''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 1980s to the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul ...

charts. Sales were later

platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...

-certified by the

Recording Industry Association of America 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 ...

(RIAA). ''

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 advertis ...

'' ranked "It's Too Late" and its fellow

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

, " I Feel the Earth Move", 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 ) 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'', and has published num ...

saw implicit

feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism holds the position that modern soci ...

because the woman leaves 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 influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and later became a ...

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") transmi ...

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

melody A melody (), also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combination of Pitch (music), pitch and rhythm, while more figurativel ...

Tin Pan Alley Tin Pan Alley was a collection of History of music publishing, music publishers and songwriters in New York City that dominated the American popular music, popular music of the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Originally ...

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 orchestr ...

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. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

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, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' remarked that Carole 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 Kortchmar (born April 6, 1946), also known as Danny Kootch, is an American guitarist, session musician, producer and songwriter. His work with singer-songwriters such as Linda Ronstadt, James Taylor, David Crosby, Carole King, David Cassi ...

on guitar, Curtis Amy on

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 p ...

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

Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is 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 Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

under-beat." ''

Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of three major weekly music industry trade magazines in the United States, with ''Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 as ''Music Vendor''. In 1964, it was changed to ''Record World'' under the ...

'' said that it is "quality contemporary pop." Lyricist 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. Taylor achieved his breakthrough in 1970 with the single "Fi ...

ended. The recording won a

Grammy Award 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 ...

at the

14th Annual Grammy Awards The 14th Annual Grammy Awards were held March 14, 1972, and were broadcast live on television in the United States by ABC; the following year, they would move the telecasts to CBS, where they remain to this date. They recognized accomplishmen ...

in 1972, and the song is included in ''Rolling Stone'''s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2003 the song was inducted into the

Grammy Hall of Fame The Grammy Hall of Fame is a hall of fame to honor musical recordings of lasting qualitative or historical significance. Inductees are selected annually by a special member committee of eminent and knowledgeable professionals from all branches of ...

Personnel

– piano, vocals * Curtis Amy –

soprano saxophone The soprano saxophone is a small, high-pitched member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments invented in the 1840s by Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax. Built in B♭ an octave above the tenor saxophone (or rarely, slightly small ...

* Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar – congas, electric guitar * Charles "Charlie" Larkey – bass guitar *Joel O'Brien – drums * Ralph Schuckett – electric piano

Soundtracks

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

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

'' (1985), '' The Lake House'' (2006), and '' Invincible'' (2006). It was also featured in " Jagged Little Tapestry", a sixth season episode of the television series ''

Glee Glee may refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 3000 album) * ''Glee'' (Logan Lynn album) * Gle ...

'' in 2015, where it was performed by Kurt Hummel (

Chris Colfer Christopher Paul Colfer (born May 27, 1990) is an American actor, singer, and author. He gained international recognition for his portrayal of Kurt Hummel on the television musical ''Glee'' (2009–2015). Colfer's portrayal of Kurt received crit ...

) and

Blaine Anderson Blaine Devon Anderson is a fictional character from the American musical comedy-drama television series ''Glee (TV series), Glee''. Played by Darren Criss, Blaine was introduced in the Never Been Kissed (Glee), sixth episode of the Glee season ...

(

Darren Criss Darren Everett Criss (born February 5, 1987) is an American actor, singer, and songwriter. He rose to fame starring on the television series ''Glee (TV series), Glee'' (2010–2015) and received a Primetime Emmy Awards, Primetime Emmy Award and ...

Awards and recognition

* King's version of "It's Too Late" peaked at No. 1 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and

charts. It was on the Hot 100 as a

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

with " I Feel the Earth Move". * King's version of "It's Too Late" was gold-certified 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 ...

. * "It's Too Late" won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Record of the Year in 1972. * "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 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 an ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Carole King Bill Deal & the Rhondels

Year-end charts

All-time charts

Certifications

Quartz version

British

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded dance musi ...

production duo

Quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

( Ronnie Herel and Dave Rawlings) released their version of "It's Too Late" in 1991 on their album ''Perfect Timing'', introducing British singer-songwriter

Dina Carroll Geraldine "Dina" 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 (Carole King song)#Quartz version, It's Too Late" (1991), "Don't Be a Stranger (Din ...

. The single, released by

Mercury Records Mercury Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group. It had significant success as an independent operation in the 1940s and 1950s. Smash Records and Fontana Records were sub labels of Mercury. Mercury Records released ...

, earned Carroll her first hit, reaching number eight on the UK Singles Chart. It was also a top-30 hit in Austria, peaking at number 21.

Critical reception

James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland *James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman *James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...

from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' described the cover as a "gentle Carole King revival" in his weekly Dance column. Anthony James from ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' wrote, "'It's Too Late' should see a reversal in their fortunes. Featuring the gutsy vocals of Dina Carroll it's a truly kickin' track but with a commercial edge. Carole King will turn in her rave." Another ''NME'' editor, Ian McCann, complimented it as "a genuine hit".

Track listing

7", UK (1991) :A. "It's Too Late" :B. "Obsession" 12", UK (1991) :A. "It's Too Late" (Overnight Mix) :B1. "It's Too Late" (Overnight Dub) :B2. "Obsession" CD single, UK & Europe (1991) #"It's Too Late" (Overnight Mix) – 9:37 #"It's Too Late" (Overnight Dub) – 6:46 #"Obsession" 3:17 Cassette, UK (1991) :A1. "It's Too Late" :A2. "Obsession" :B1. "It's Too Late" :B2. "Obsession"

Charts

Gloria Estefan version

Cuban American singer and songwriter

Gloria Estefan Gloria María Milagrosa Estefan (; ; born September 1, 1957) is an American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is an eight-time Grammy Awards, Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been named one of t ...

released her cover of "It's Too Late" in 1995 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 American singer Karen Chandler in 1952. It has been re-recorded several times since then, the most notable covers being by Mel Carter in 1965 and Glori ...

'' (1994). It was produced by Emilio Estefan, Jr., Jorge Casas and Clay Ostwald, and released in May 1995 by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

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 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: '' ...

'' viewed it as a "faithful" remake of Carole King's 1971 hit, "though Tim Mitchell'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. Tony Cross from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' gave Estefan's version two out of five, writing that "Glo's done a fine job tweeking it into shape by funking it up a bit."

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 soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the 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 The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...

. * 1972:

The Stylistics The Stylistics are an American Philadelphia soul group that achieved their greatest chart success in the 1970s. They formed in 1968, with a lineup of singers Russell Thompkins Jr., Herb Murrell, Airrion Love, James Smith, and James Dunn. All ...

on their album ''

Round 2 Round 2 may refer to: * ''Round 2'' (J. Holiday album), 2009 * ''Round 2'' (The Stylistics album), 1972 * Round 2 (company), a toy company based in Indiana, United States {{disambiguation ...

''. * 1973: Mike James Kirkland on the album ''Doin' it Right''. * 1981:

John Paul Young John Inglis Young, Order of Australia, OAM (born 21 June 1950), known professionally as John Paul Young, is an Australian pop singer who is best known for having a worldwide hit with "Love Is in the Air (song), Love Is in the Air" in 1978. His ...

covered the song on the album '' The Singer''. * 2022: Lucy Dacus along with a cover of another ''Tapestry'' track "Home Again".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:It's Too Late (Carole King song) 1971 songs 1971 singles 1991 singles 1995 singles Carole King songs Gloria Estefan songs The Isley Brothers songs Quartz (duo) songs Dina Carroll songs Doo-wop songs Songs written by Carole King 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 Epic Records singles Mercury Records singles Breakup songs