If I Were a Carpenter (song)

• In 1966, it was a top ten hit for Bobby Darin, reaching #8 on the Billboard Hot 100.[4] It also peaked at #9 in the UK.[5] Bobby Darin also released an album If I Were a Carpenter, which contains the song.
• In 1967, Joan Baez covered a gender-reversed version on her album Joan, initially renamed "If You Were a Carpenter" though later compilations reverted to the original title.[6]
• In 1968, The Four Tops hit the Top 20 on both the pop and soul charts with their version.[7] It also reached #7 in the UK charts in 1968 staying in the charts for 11 weeks.[8] It reached #4 in the Netherlands.[9]
• In 1969, Yugoslav band Crveni Koralji released a Serbo-Croatian version, entitled "Da sam drvosječa", on their EP Sam, the song becoming a nationwide hit for the band.[10]
• In 1972, a cover by Bob Seger reached #76 on the Billboard Hot 100.[11] The single was released from his album Smokin' O.P.'s.[12]
• Also in 1972, British blues rock outfit Chicken Shack covered the song on their album Imagination Lady.[13]
• In 1974, Leon Russell released a version with a funk tempo and his own rewritten lyrics from the perspective of a "rock star".[1] His single reached #73 on the Billboard Hot 100[14] and was included on his album Stop All That Jazz.[15]
• In 2005, a duet by Dolly Parton and Joe Nichols was included on Parton's covers album Those Were The Days.

In 1970, a duet by Johnny Cash and June Carter went to #2 on the country chart.[16]

In 1993 former Led Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant released a version on his studio album Fate of Nations. Plant's version reached #63 on the UK Singles Chart.[17]

Personnel

• Robert Plant – lead vocals
• Maartin Allcock – mandolin
• Chris Hughes – drums
• Phil Johnstone – harmonium
• Charlie Jones – bass guitar
• Kevin Scott MacMichael – guitar
• Lynton Naiff – string arrangement

Charts

French singer Johnny Hallyday covered the song in French in 1966. His version, titled "Si j'étais un charpentier", reached #3 in Wallonia (French Belgium).[18]