"That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" is a song performed by

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Billboard Hot 100, top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation (song), Anticipatio ...

, and the lead single as well as the opening track from her self-titled debut album ''

'' (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 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 ...

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 stati ...

. The song also earned Simon a nomination for

Best Female Pop Vocal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance was a Grammy Award recognizing superior vocal performance by a female in the pop category, the first of which was presented in 1959. It was discontinued after the 2011 Grammy season. The awar ...

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, where she also won

Best New Artist The Grammy Award for Best New Artist has been awarded since the 2nd Annual Grammy Awards in 1960 (except in 1967) "for a new artist who releases, during the Eligibility Year, the first recording which establishes the public identity of that ar ...

Background

It is an

art song An art song is a Western world, Western vocal music Musical composition, composition, usually written for one voice with piano accompaniment, and usually in the classical music, classical art music tradition. By extension, the term "art song" is ...

with a semiclassical melody in the style of

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. ...

. Elektra staffers were worried that the song 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." 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."

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 In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs, or related fiction/non-fiction excerpts by different authors. There are also thematic and g ...

'' (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). 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 The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

series '' The Great American Dream Machine''. 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 3rd of July. ABC broadcast its special on August 19, 1971. In 2009, a video of Simon's performance was posted to the official Carly Simon YouTube channel.

Track listing

;7" single * "That's the Way I've Always Heard It Should Be" – 4:15 * "Alone" – 3:36

Chart performance

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Awards

References

External links

Carly Simon's Official Website
*, official audio (no music video) {{Authority control 1971 debut singles 1971 songs Carly Simon songs Songs written by Carly Simon Songs written by Jacob Brackman Song recordings produced by Eddie Kramer 1970s ballads Elektra Records singles Songs with feminist themes Songs about marriage