"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 certified Gold by the RIAA.
Contents[]
- 2 Cover versions
- 3 Soundtracks
- 4 Awards and recognition
- 5 Gloria Estefan version
- 6 References
- 7 External links
Music and lyrics[edit][]
The lyrics describe the end of a loving relationship without assigning blame.[2] Music critic Dave Marsh noted the implicit feminism in the fact that the woman has left the man.[3] Marsh also remarked on the maturity of the theme.[3] Music critic Robert Christgau claimed 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."[4] Marsh describes the melody as Tin Pan Alley and the arrangement as a cross between light jazz and "L.A. studio craftmanship."[3] Rolling Stone Magazine stated the King's "warm, earnest singing" on the song brought out the song's sadness.[5] According to author James Perone, the feeling of the song is enhanced by the instrumental work of Danny Kortchmar on guitar, Curtis Amy on saxophone and King on piano.[2] Kortchmar and Amy each have an instrumental solo.[2]
The sadness of the song is emphasized by the music being in a minor key.[6] Perone also notes several melodic techniques King uses in the song which helped make the song such 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 many songs in which the rhythmic phrases are simply repeated.[2] Perone also believes that she makes the melody easy to remember by establishing the highest note in the melody by repeating it several times before the melody descends to the tonic.[2] This establishes the highest and lowest notes in the listeners ear, aiding recognition.[2] An important element of the melody from an emotional standpoint is that rather than ending on the tonic, as most songs do to establish a final resolution, "It's Too Late" ends on themediant, which is related to the tonic but still leaves a sense of inconclusiveness.[2] This effectively contrasts with the lyrics, which imply that the singer has fully accepted the end of the relationship.[2]
The recording won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1972, and the song is included on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest songs of all time.
Cover versions[edit][]
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The song has been covered by
- 1971: The Sandpipers (A&M Records)
- 1971: Mark Lindsay
- 1971: Andy Williams on his album, You've Got a Friend
- 1972: The Isley Brothers on their album Brother, Brother, Brother; reaching #39 on the R&B chart[7]
- 1972: Bill Deal and the Rhondels
- 1972: Billy Paul on his album 360 Degrees of Billy Paul
- 1972: The Stylistics on their Round 2 album
- 1973: Frances Yip on her Portrait Of Frances Yip album
- 1980: Dennis Brown on his album Spellbound
- 1991: Dina Carroll with the band Quartz, earning her first hit; it reached #8 in the UK[8]
- 1991: Culture Beat on their debut album Horizon
- 1994: Gloria Estefan on her album Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me
- 1994: Workshy on their album Soul Love
- 1995: Amy Grant performed "It's Too Late" on the all-star tribute album Tapestry Revisited: A Tribute to Carole King
- 2002: Kyle Vincent on his album Solitary Road
- 2004: Meja on her album Mellow
- 2006: Saxophonist Michael Lington from his renditions album A Song for You[9][10]
- 2006: James Morrison on a free album distributed with issue 242 of Q magazine[11]
- 2008: Sabrina Malheiros on her album "New Morning"
- 2012: Jackson Greenhorn on the album Jazz Heid
Soundtracks[edit][]
"It's Too Late" has been featured in Hollywood films, including Fandango, The Lake House, and Invincible.
Awards and recognition[edit][]
- King's version of "It's Too Late" peaked at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and Adult Contemporary charts‒on the Hot 100 as a double A-side with "I Feel the Earth Move".
- King's version of "It's Too Late" was certified Gold by the RIAA.
- "It's Too Late" won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year in 1972.
- "It's Too Late" is ranked number 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 number 213 of 365 Songs of the Century.
- Singer/songwriter Josh Rouse paid homage to it on his song 1972 presented on the album of the same name released in 2003.
Charts[edit][]
| Chart (1971)[12] | Position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
| US AC | 1 |
| UK Singles Chart | 6 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 8 |
| Canadian Singles Chart | 5 |
| Year End Charts (US) | 3 |
Gloria Estefan version[edit][]
| "It's Too Late" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| [2] | ||||
| Single by Gloria Estefan | ||||
| from the album Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me | ||||
| Released | June 1995 | |||
| Format | CD | |||
| Recorded | 1993-1994 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 03:57 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Gloria Estefan singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"It's Too Late" was the third promotional (U.S.), and fourth overall single released by Gloria Estefan on her fourth studio album Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me.
Formats and track listings[edit][]
- U.S. CD Promo Single (ESK 77877)
- "It's Too Late" (Radio Mix)
- "It's Too Late" (Album Version)
- "It's Too Late" (Piano Mix)
- Australia CD Maxi Single (662020 2)
- "It's Too Late" (Radio Mix)
- "It's Too Late" (Album Version)
- "It's Too Late" (Piano Mix)
- "Cherchez La Femme" (Doom Dub)
- "Cherchez La Femme" (Piano Mix)
Charts[edit][]
| Chart (1995) | Peak
position |
|---|---|
| Australia Top Singles Chart | 56 |
Official versions[edit][]
- Original versions
- Album Version — 3:57
- Remixes
- Piano Mix - 3:38
- Radio Mix - 3:19