Your you-thought-it-was-cheesy-but-it’s-really-not power ballad song of the day is “Goodbye to Love” by Carpenters. It was released in June of 1972 and rose to #7 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #2 on the Easy Listening chart. In the Carpenters’ procession of singles, it chronologically followed “It’s Going to Take Some Time” (#12 on the Hot 100) and immediately preceded “Sing” (#3).
“Goodbye to Love,” written by Richard Carpenter and John Bettis, was a power ballad before we knew what a power ballad was. It also features what may be the first fuzz electric guitar solo on a ballad, and it’s a blistering one.
The guitar solo is by Tony Peluso, a session guy who later became the Carpenters’ regular guitarist. The rest of the rhythm section, which slams it behind the guitar solo, consists of Wrecking Crew stalwarts Joe Osborn (bass) and Hal Blaine (drums). Earl Dumler played oboe, as he did on all the Carpenters records. Richard Carpenter played keys, wrote the melody, did all the male vocals, and arranged the whole thing. The guitar solo was also his idea.
There’s some great playing on this track from all involved. Hal, in particular, really tears it up on his monster kit, but it’s that guitar solo that’s choice. As Peluso describes it, he started out playing a softer, more traditional lead line, but Richard wanted something harder.
“No, no, no!,” Richard told him. “Play the melody for five bars and then burn it up! Soar off into the stratosphere! Go ahead! It’ll be great!”
Which is exactly what Mr. Peluso did, blazing the trail for thousands of other power ballad fuzz guitar solos for decades to come.
For easy listening “fluff,” as a younger me may have described it back in the day, this one rocks really, really hard. I encourage all my guitar-playing friends to sit back and dig into this one. I can play the outro for this one all day long.
