According to the Bilboard Archive Charts, on October 2, 1976, the week that "Goofus" peaked at #56, the number one song was "Play That Funky Music" by Wild Cherry. That sort of gives you an idea where "pop" music was and where the Carpenters were...

 

This is the single that probably should have never been a single.  It is an ok album track with some cool background vocals. By this time, the Carpenters had started on the downward slope for having songs rank high on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.  This song did reach #4 on the Adult Contemporary chart.  It was their first single not to reach the top 40 and their first single to not reach #1 or #2 on the AC chart. 

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It is now widely known that Richard was having issues with Quaaludes and Karen had her own demons to deal with.  They were touring and were tired.  This album showed that and their choice of singles reflected that also.

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Not a song that I choose to listen to often, but I don't also skip when listening on a CD.  In addition to the original album, "Goofus" appears on five of the compilation albums.