A Kind of Hush (album)

A Kind of Hush
Studio album by
Carpenters
ReleasedJune 11, 1976
RecordedDecember 1975 – April 1976
StudioA&M Studios, Hollywood
GenrePop, easy listening, adult contemporary
Length34:00
LabelA&M
ProducerRichard Carpenter/Associate Producer - Karen Carpenter
Carpenters chronology
Horizon
(1975) 		A Kind of Hush
(1976) 		Passage
(1977)
Singles from A Kind of Hush
  1. "There's a Kind of Hush"
    Released: February 12, 1976
  2. "I Need to Be in Love"
    Released: May 21, 1976
  3. "Goofus"
    Released: June 11, 1976
  4. "Breaking Up Is Hard to Do"
    Released: 1976
  5. "You"
    Released: 1976
  6. "I Have You"
    Released: 1976

A Kind of Hush is the seventh studio album by the American music duo Carpenters. It was released on June 11, 1976.

By the time of the album's recording, Richard Carpenter's addiction to sleeping pills had begun to affect him professionally, and he blames this for the album being, in his opinion, sub-par.[1] All three excerpted singles became hits. "There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)", a cover of a 1960s song by Herman's Hermits, broke both the UK Top 30[2] and US Top 20, as well as topping the adult contemporary chart.[3] "I Need to Be in Love" hit number 25 in the US[4] and number 36 in the UK.[2] "Goofus" was only a minor success, stalling at number 56 on the Billboard chart, though it did crack the adult contemporary top 10.[5]

John Bettis called "I Need to Be in Love" the favorite lyrics he ever wrote for Karen Carpenter. "If there was ever anything that came out of my heart straight to Karen's I would say that was it. I was very proud of it for that."[6] Richard Carpenter recalled that the song "became Karen's favorite Carpenters song".[1] The album was also the first not to have Karen playing drums on any tracks, which were performed by Los Angeles session drummer Jim Gordon (except two, "Goofus" and "Sandy," by Cubby O'Brien).

Despite being certified Gold, the album was a relative commercial disappointment in the US, where its chart peak was outside the Top 30.[7] Like its predecessor Horizon, it performed better in the UK, reaching number three in the UK Albums Chart. The CD has been out of print since 2006 except in the Japanese market.

  1. ^ a b Richard Carpenter's comments on A Kind Of Hush, RichardAndKarenCarpenter.com.
  2. ^ a b Carpenters UK chart history, The Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  3. ^ "There's a Kind of Hush" US chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  4. ^ "I Need to Be in Love" US chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  5. ^ "Goofus" US chart history, Billboard.com. Retrieved March 19, 2012.
  6. ^ Schmidt, Randy L. (2010). Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter (1st ed.). Chicago, Ill.: Chicago Review Press. p. 156. ISBN 9781556529764.
  7. ^ Complete Guide to the music of The Carpenters, John Tobler, Omnibus Press ISBN 0-7119-6312-6