"Superstar" is a 1969 song written by Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell, with a songwriting credit also given to Delaney Bramlett,^[1] that has been a hit for many artists in different genres in the years since. The best-known versions are by the Carpenters in 1971, and by Luther Vandross in 1983.

Original Delaney and Bonnie version

Rita Coolidge came up with the song idea, based on observing the relationships of female groupies with rock stars in the late 1960s.^[2]

In its first recorded incarnation, the song was called "Groupie (Superstar)", and was released in December 1969 as the B-side of the Delaney & Bonnie single "Comin' Home". Released by Atco Records in the United States and Atlantic Records in the rest of the world, the full credit on the single was "Delaney & Bonnie and Friends featuring Eric Clapton".

"Comin' Home" reached number 84 on the US pop singles chart, although it achieved a peak of sixteen on the UK Singles Chart.

The original version of "Superstar" finally surfaced in 1972, when the album D&B Together was released, shortly before Delaney and Bonnie's marriage and collaboration ended. That version was also included as a bonus track on a 2006 reissue of the 1970 album, Eric Clapton.

Bonnie Bramlett later rerecorded the song on her 2002 solo album, I'm Still the Same. Using just the "Superstar" title, she rendered it as a very slow, piano-based torch song.

Carpenters version

"Superstar"
Picture sleeve for U.S. vinyl single
Single by Carpenters
from the album Carpenters
B-side	"Bless the Beasts and Children"
Released	August 12, 1971 (1971-08-12)
Recorded	February 1971
Genre	Pop[3]
Length	3:46
Label	A&M
Songwriter(s)	Leon Russell Bonnie Bramlett
Producer(s)	Jack Daugherty
Carpenters singles chronology
"Rainy Days and Mondays" (1971) "Superstar" (1971) "Bless the Beasts and Children" (1971)

"Superstar" became most popular after its treatment by the Carpenters. Richard Carpenter became aware of the song after watching Bette Midler sing it on the February 15, 1971 edition of The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.^[2]

Produced by Richard Carpenter with Jack Daugherty, it was recorded using members of the Wrecking Crew, a famed collection of Los Angeles-area session musicians. Because the original subject matter of the song was more risqué than was typical for the Carpenters, Richard changed a lyric in the second verse from "And I can hardly wait/To sleep with you again" to the less suggestive "And I can hardly wait/To be with you again."^[4] The track was finished in one take.^[5]

Karen Carpenter's vocal was praised for its intensity and emotional nature. David Hepworth commented: "Even with only half her mind on the job, she delivered a perfect performance. The guide vocal never needed to be replaced."^[6]

The duo's rendition was included on the May 1971 album Carpenters, and then released as a single in August 1971, rising to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart, held out of the top spot by Rod Stewart's "Maggie May". It spent two weeks at number one on the Easy Listening chart that autumn, earning gold record status.^[7] It reached number 18 on the UK pop singles chart and charted in Australia and New Zealand as well.

Richard was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist for the song. "Superstar" would go on to appear on two mid-1970s Carpenters live albums as well as on many compilation albums, including the 2004 SACD compilation The Singles: 1969–1981 (not to be confused with the regular CD, The Singles: 1969–1981) as a remix of the original 1973 mix on the similarly titled compilation The Singles: 1969–1973.

Luther Vandross version

In the early 1980s, American R&B/soul singer-songwriter Luther Vandross had "Superstar" in his stage act, sometimes in a rendition that stretched to 12 minutes, with vocal interpolations and an interpretive dancer.

Vandross then recorded "Superstar" in 1983 in a slower, more soulful fashion, as part of a medley with Stevie Wonder's "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" on his album Busy Body. Released as a single the following year, it became an R&B hit, reaching number 5 on the Billboard Top R&B Singles chart.^[16] It did not have much pop crossover effect, however, only reaching number 87 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Charts

Ruben Studdard version

Second-season American Idol contestant Ruben Studdard found his melismatic, R&B groove early in the Final 12 rounds when he performed a Vandross-influenced "Superstar". It got rave reviews from the judges and established Studdard as one of the early leaders in the competition, a position he held through his narrow May 2003 win over second-place finisher Clay Aiken.

By now his signature song, Studdard recorded "Superstar" as the B-side of his June 2003 first single and number two hit, "Flying Without Wings". Studdard earned a 2004 Grammy Award nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for "Superstar", but he lost to his own idol, Vandross, who won for "Dance with My Father". Studdard's treatment was also included on his December 2003 debut album, Soulful.

Other notable versions

• The Joe Cocker live album Mad Dogs and Englishmen includes Rita Coolidge performing "Superstar." Released in August 1970, Mad Dogs features performances recorded in March and June of that year. The double album became a hit, reaching No. 2 on the Billboard pop albums chart and No. 23 on the magazine's Black Albums chart.
• Cher recorded the song in October 1970, in a session produced by Stan Vincent. The following month, Atlantic issued a one-sided white label promotional single to radio stations. Despite favorable notices in Variety and Billboard, the song vanished without a trace. It appears as a bonus track on a 2001 CD reissue of Cher's 1969 album 3614 Jackson Highway.
• Bette Midler, whose TV performance of the song first brought it to Richard Carpenter's attention, included her version on her 1972 debut album The Divine Miss M.
• Sonic Youth recorded "Superstar" for the 1994 tribute album If I Were a Carpenter, a version which reached No. 26 on the Billboard Alternative chart and No. 45 on the UK Singles Chart. The track was later included on the soundtrack of the 2007 film Juno. It was also featured in the film The Frighteners and in the theatrical trailer for High Tension, and in Bag of Suck during professional skateboarder Jerry Hsu's segment. While the band had always found inspiration from the Carpenters,^[18] Richard Carpenter expressed his distaste for their version on a November 25, 2009 broadcast of the National Public Radio program Fresh Air.^[19]
• Cambodian singer Ros Sereysothea recorded a version of the song with Khmer lyrics in the early 1970s.
• Usher recorded the song for the 2005 album So Amazing: An All-Star Tribute to Luther Vandross; his version earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.
• My Chemical Romance lead vocalist Gerard Way released his warmup take of the song in 2016, from The Black Parade sessions in 2006.^[20][21]
• Tennis recorded their cover of the song in 2020 as a tribute to Karen Carpenter.
• Ksenia Buzina and Leonid & Friends, released their Carpenters's Superstar cover in September 2023.^[22]

See also

• List of number-one adult contemporary singles of 1971 (U.S.)

References

Sources

• October 2002 Blender magazine article by Johnny Black
• Allmusic discussion of song's origins
• Randy L. Schmidt, Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter, Chicago Review Press, 2010, ISBN 1-55652-976-7, pp. 77–78.
• IMDB listing of Bette Midler television appearances
• Australian PopArchives entry
• Australian Countdown entry

External links

• Carpenters - Superstar on YouTube