"It's Too Late" is a song from Carole King's 1971 album Tapestry. 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 charts. Sales were later gold-certified by the RIAA. Billboard ranked "It's Too Late" and its fellow A-side, "I Feel the Earth Move", as the No. 3 record for 1971.
Video It's Too Late (Carole King song)
Music and lyrics
The lyrics describe the blameless end of a loving relationship. Music critic Dave Marsh saw implicit feminism because the woman left the man. Marsh also remarked on the maturity of the theme. Music critic Robert Christgau wrote that "if there's a truer song about breaking up than 'It's Too Late', the world (or at least AM radio) isn't ready for it." Marsh described the melody as Tin Pan Alley and the arrangement as a cross between light jazz and "L.A. studio craftmanship." Rolling Stone 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 on guitar, Curtis Amy on saxophone and King on piano. Kortchmar and Amy each have an instrumental solo.
The sadness of the song is emphasized by its minor key. Perone pointed out several melodic techniques used by King to help make the song a hit. She builds the melody out of syncopated rhythmic motifs which are modified and combined over the course of the song, in contrast to other songs commonly repeated rhythmic phrases. Perone also thought that she made the melody memorable by repeating the highest note several times before the descending to the tonic. This marks the highest and lowest notes in the listeners ear, aiding recognition. An important emotional element of the melody is that rather than resolving on the tonic at the end, as most songs do, "It's Too Late" ends on the mediant, which is related to the tonic but leaves a sense of inconclusiveness. This contrasts with the lyrics, which imply that the singer has fully accepted the end of the relationship.
Toni Stern told author Sheila Weller that she wrote the lyrics in a single day, after her love affair with James Taylor ended. The recording won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1972, and the song is included in Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Maps It's Too Late (Carole King song)
Personnel
- Carole King - piano, vocals
- Curtis Amy - soprano saxophone
- Danny "Kootch" Kortchmar - conga, electric guitar
- Charles "Charlie" Larkey - bass guitar
- Joel O'Brien - drums
- Ralph Schuckett - electric piano
Cover versions
The song has been covered by
- 1971: Johnny Hammond on his album Breakout
- 1971: Bobbi Humphrey on her album Flute In
- 1972: The Isley Brothers on their album Brother, Brother, Brother; reaching No. 39 on the R&B chart
- 1972: Billy Paul on his album 360 Degrees of Billy Paul
- 1972: The Stylistics on their album Round 2 (The Stylistics album)
- 1972: Denise LaSalle on her album Trapped By A Thing Called Love
- 1972: Dennis Coffey on his album Goin' for Myself
- 1973: Isaac Hayes on his album Live at the Sahara Tahoe
- 1975: Dennis Brown, featured on the Herman Chin Loy album Aquarius Dub
- 1991: Dina Carroll with the band Quartz, earning her first hit; it reached No. 8 in the UK Singles Chart
- 1991: Culture Beat on their album Horizon
- 1994: Gloria Estefan from the album Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me
- 1995: Amy Grant for Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King
- 2000: Kyle Vincent on his album Solitary Road
- 2015: China Crisis on the cover versions album 80's Re:Covered - Your Songs With The 80's Sound
- 2015: Chris Colfer and Darren Criss in Glee
Soundtracks
"It's Too Late" has been featured in Hollywood films, including Fandango (1985), The Lake House (2006), and Invincible (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 with "I Feel the Earth Move".
- King's version of "It's Too Late" was gold-certified by the RIAA.
- "It's Too Late" won a Grammy Award 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.
- Together with its other A-side, it was named by the RIAA as No. 213 of 365 Songs of the Century.
Chart performance
Gloria Estefan version
"It's Too Late" was the third promotional (US), and fourth overall single released by Gloria Estefan on her fourth studio album Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me.
Formats and track listings
Official versions
- Album version - 3:57
- Piano mix - 3:38
- Radio mix - 3:19
Release history
Chart performance
Year-end charts
References
External links
- Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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