The Carpenters - There's a kind of hush

What this video is

Released in 1976 as the lead single from the Carpenters' seventh studio album 'A Kind of Hush,' this promotional film captures the duo at a commercial and cultural inflection point. The single reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the Adult Contemporary chart — their thirteenth No. 1 in that format — but marked the first Carpenters lead single to miss the Top 5 since 1969, signaling the beginning of a…

Why it matters

A primary document of mid-1970s adult contemporary and soft pop promotional practice, this clip represents the pre-MTV single-take performance promo format. The Carpenters were among the first American pop acts to systematically use promotional films — predating the MTV era by five years — making…