"Solitaire" is a ballad written by
Neil Sedaka and Phil Cody. Cody employs playing the card game of
solitaire as a metaphor for a man "who lost his love through his indifference"—"while life goes on around him everywhere he's playing solitaire". The song is perhaps best known via its rendition by the
Carpenters. Another version by
Andy Williams reached number 4 in the
UK Singles Chart in 1973.
Early versions
Sedaka originally was inspired by
Frederic Chopin (his favorite classical composer) for the chorus and by
Roberta Flack in the verses. When he presented the tune to Cody, he came up with the words based on his recent divorce; Cody had been playing
solitaire frequently as a coping mechanism. Both Sedaka and Cody considered the composition to be a spiritual experience.[1]
Appearing on 1972 album releases by both
Tony Christie and
Petula Clark, "Solitaire" had its first evident single release in February 1973 as recorded by
the Searchers; however it was an autumn 1973 single by
Andy Williams which would reach number 4 in the
UK Singles Chart and afford Williams a number 1 hit in South Africa.[2] The title cut from an album produced by
Richard Perry, Williams' "Solitaire" also became a US
Easy Listening hit at number 23. In 1974, Neil Sedaka's 1972 recording of "Solitaire" was included on his comeback album Sedaka's Back. Later in 1975, a live-in-concert version recorded by Sedaka at the
Royal Festival Hall was issued as the B-side of "The Queen of 1964". This is the version of "Solitaire" that was released as part of
Razor & Tie's 2007 Definitive Collection album.
Carpenters version
The Carpenters recorded "Solitaire" for the 1975 Horizon album;
Richard Carpenter, familiar with the song via the versions by Neil Sedaka and Andy Williams, was "not crazy" about the song, but he felt it would showcase
Karen Carpenter's vocal expertise. Despite assessing her vocal performance on "Solitaire" as "one of [her] greatest", Richard says that, "she never liked the song [and]...she never changed her opinion."[3]
"Solitaire" was issued as the third single from Horizon; for the single version a guitar lead was added between the first verse and chorus. It hit number 17 on the
Billboard Hot 100, their least successful single since "
Bless the Beasts and Children" in 1971; it signaled a downturn in the group's popularity which, consolidated by the Top Ten shortfall of the lead single and title cut of the 1976 album A Kind of Hush, would prove irreversible. "Solitaire" did afford the Carpenters their twelfth of fifteen number 1
Easy Listening hits.
There are significant differences between the lyrics in the Neil Sedaka, Andy Williams and Carpenters versions. Williams makes the lyrics personal, perhaps reflecting
his then current separation from his wife, while the Carpenters take some of the Andy Williams changes but elsewhere keep Phil Cody's original lyrics.[citation needed]