Carpenters – Only Yesterday

Music video by Carpenters performing Only Yesterday. (C) 1985 A&M Records

“Only Yesterday” – Single by the Carpenters from the album Horizon
B-side: “Happy”
Released: March 14, 1975
Recorded: January 1975
Songwriters: Richard Carpenter, John Bettis
Producer: Richard Carpenter
Charted No.4 in US and No.7 in UK

Richard Carpenter wrote this with lyricist John Bettis. They were sure the song wouldn’t be a hit, and lost a $1,000 bet to their recording engineer Roger Young when they were proven wrong.

The music video features some footage of Karen and Richard at work in the studio. After Karen sang the line, “the promise of morning light”, it faded from the studio to a fountain in Huntington Library Gardens in San Marino, California. It then featured some footage of a red moon bridge, which was roped off to the general public, in the Japanese Garden at Huntington Library.