Legendary Carpenters composer dies aged 84 as tributes pour in for the We've Only Just Begun hitmaker

Daily Mail​

23-05-2025

We've Only Just Begun composer Roger Nichols has died aged 84.
The multi-instrumentalist behind the Carpenters' biggest hit passed away peacefully at his home on May 17, but no cause of death has been given.
His songwriting partner Paul Williams, 84, confirmed the news on Instagram on Thursday, writing: 'The first song, Roger Nichols and I wrote was called "It's hard to say goodbye…" Sadly, we hit the nail on the head.
'Roger Nichols passed away peacefully four days ago, at home with his beautiful family …his wife Terry and the daughters he was so proud of, Claire and Caitlin at his side. They were his dream come true. His greatest joy.'
Together, the pair penned the music and lyrics to several of the Carpenters' best hits, including Rainy Days and Mondays and I Won't Last a Day Without You.
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Their songs were also performed by the likes of Barbra Streisand, Diana Ross, Petula Clark, and The Monkees.
Roger's daughter, Claire, commented on the post with her own touching tribute: 'My mom, Terri, and my sisters, Caroline and Caitlin, are all so proud of the man he was, and are in awe of the legacy he leaves.'
Tributes also flooded in from fans as the news broke, one wrote: 'Rainy Days and Mondays, We've Only Just Begun, I Won't Last a Day... Your partnership left a mark, forever.
'Men like he an you are gifted with one of the most rare circumstences in a human life: inmortality through art. Each time one of your records spins, he'll live again somehow. All souls las forever (I've heard it somewhere...) Love and gratitude.';
'My sympathies! Roger, I felt never got all the recognition for his work as he should've.
'It feels like there's too many songwriters out there who the general public doesn't know because their songs are performed by the well known singers and bands.
'I have a number of records with the names 'Roger Nichols - Paul Williams' and they make me smile quite often. Thoughts and prayers to Roger and his family/friends.';
'This is not the news I wanted to wake up to. I have long considered Roger a genius and the two of you to be one of the greatest songwriting teams ever…PERIOD.
'There's nothing like discovering yet another perfect little Roger Nichols-Paul Williams gem I hadn't heard before.
He wrote: 'The first song, Roger Nichols and I wrote was called "It's hard to say goodbye…" Sadly, we hit the nail on the head. Roger Nichols passed away peacefully four days ago, at home with his beautiful family'
Roger's daughter's, Claire and Caitlin, also commented on the post with their own touching tributes
They concluded: 'Thank you both endlessly and RIP to Roger. I'm glad to be among the 'small circle of friends' who understand all that he brought to the world.'
One of Roger's best-known creations We've Only Just Begun, was originally a jingle for a Crocker National Bank commercial.
Roger and Paul were commissioned to write it after a bank executive heard Roger's album, and it was composed in a matter of hours on the last day before the deadline.
Richard Carpenter, 78, heard the jingle on TV and believed it had hit potential, so he approached Paul and asked him if he had a complete version of the track.
Paul didn't have a complete version, but he soon extended it, and the Carpenters subsequently recorded a version, which became a major hit in late 1970.
The hit was nominated for the Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Best Contemporary Song.
Brother-sister duo the Carpenters were fronted by the late Karen Carpenter, who tragically died in February 1983, aged just 32.