On the Close to You: Remembering The Carpenters documentary, Tony Peluso stated that this was one of the first power ballads, if not the first, to have a fuzz guitar solo.

While visiting London, Richard Carpenter watched a 1940 Bing Crosby film on The Late Movie called Rhythm on the River.

The Carpenters noticed that the characters kept referring to the struggling songwriter's greatest composition, "Goodbye to Love".

Karen Carpenter called guitarist Tony Peluso and asked him to play on the record.

He said Tony Peluso "had a certain almost cello sounding guitar growl that worked against the wonderful melancholia of that song".

[3] Cash Box said that the "funky guitar adds spice to the most notable Jack Dougherty [sic] production.

9 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming the duo's second top ten hit there (the first being "(They Long to Be) Close to You").