Posted on 05/23/2025 6:29:45 AM PDT by Ezekiel
We've Only Just Begun composer Roger Nichols has died aged 84.
The multi-instrumentalist behind the Carpenters' biggest hit passed away peacefully at his home on May 17, but no cause of death has been given.
His songwriting partner Paul Williams, 84, confirmed the news on Instagram on Thursday, writing: 'The first song, Roger Nichols and I wrote was called "It’s hard to say goodbye…" Sadly, we hit the nail on the head.
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One of Roger's best-known creations We've Only Just Begun, was originally a jingle for a Crocker National Bank commercial.
Roger and Paul were commissioned to write it after a bank executive heard Roger's album, and it was composed in a matter of hours on the last day before the deadline.
Richard Carpenter, 78, heard the jingle on TV and believed it had hit potential, so he approached Paul and asked him if he had a complete version of the track.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
"We've Only Just Begun" is a single by the Carpenters, written by Roger Nichols (music) and Paul Williams (lyrics). It was ranked at No. 414 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time."[3] It also became Carpenters' second consecutive top-five single in the Billboard Hot 100.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We%27ve_Only_Just_Begun
Sharing horizons that are new to us
Watching the signs along the way
Talkin' it over, just the two of us
Workin' together day to day, together
We’ve only just begun. Big wedding song in the 70s and even a bank commercial. When things were better too:
Crocker Bank. My dad had an account at Crocker Bank.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97X9huy7pHQ
A very pretty song about how married life is supposed to be. :)
The commercial came first with Williams on vocals.
Interestingly, Crocker considered the song and marketing campaign behind it to be a failure because it attracted the wrong kind of customers: young adult customers with no collateral for loans.
Rest In Peace, Roger.
He also wrote “Rainy Days and Mondays” which is a much better tune. Karen Carpenter made Rainy Dsys unforgettable.
With the voice that woman had, she could make a phone book sound unforgettable.
True.
Maj 7ths sound gay.
So Little Enos is still with us.
With the voice that woman had, she could make a phone book sound unforgettable.
And not a slouch on the drums.
Truth!
“Karen Carpenter made Rainy Dsys unforgettable.”
Best voice ever. I cried when she died. What a waste.
That was a very sad day.
“That was a very sad day.”
THAT was the day that music died.
No one sang it better than Chubbs Peterson.
That was a great song.
Yep, our wedding song, 1974. We lived it, lost her four years ago.
Starship’s “Nothings Gonna Stop Us Now” has a similar theme:
… Let them say we’re crazy, I don’t care about that
Put your hand in my hand, baby, don’t ever look back
Let the world around us just fall apart
Baby, we can make it if we’re heart to heart
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