The Carpenters Full Biography

the carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen and Richard carpenter producing a distinctively soft musical style they became one of the best-selling music artists of all time during their 14-year career the carpenters recorded 11 albums 31 singles 5 television specials and a short-lived television series their career ended in 1983 by Karen's death from heart failure brought on by complications of anorexia extensive news coverage surrounding the circumstances of her death increased public awareness of eating disorders the duo's brand of melodic pop produced her record-breaking run of hit recordings on the American top 40 in adult contemporary charts and they became leading sellers in the soft rock easy-listening an adult contemporary genres the carpenters had three number-one singles and five number two singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and 15 number-one hits on the adult contemporary chart in addition they had 12 top 10 singles to date the Carpenters album and single sales total more than 100 million units musical and lyrical style Richard Carpenter was the creative force behind the carpenters sound an accomplished keyboard player composer and arranger Richard Carpenter was called by music critic Daniel Levitin one of the most gifted arrangers to emerge in popular music in a period when contemporary music was dominated by heavy rock they're smooth harmonies were not in step with the trends of the day dot the sound the Carpenters were going for was rich in melodic along the same vein as the harmonies found in their contemporaries the Beach Boys and the the Mamas and the Papas but with greater fullness and orchestration most of Richard's arrangements were classical in style with frequent use of strings and occasional brass and woodwind instruments as well Richard's work with Caron was heavily influenced by the music of late Paul whose overdubbing of the voice of partner Mary Ford allowed her to be used as both the lead in harmonizing vocals by use of multi-tracked recordings Richard was able to use Karen and himself for the harmonies to back Karen's the overdubbed background harmonies were distinctive to the carpenters but it was the soulful engaging sound of Karen's lead voice that made them so recognizable Karen did not possess a powerful singing voice but close miking brought out many nuances in her performances Richard Cole's a musician and broadcaster commented no singer is so closely miked up so unforgivingly as Karen Carpenter that is frightening for singers because the closer the microphone the more unforgiving it is in exposing the weaknesses in a singer's voice Karen's lower register was warm and distinctive Richard arranged their music to take advantage of the qualities of said lower register even if Karen's full vocal range spanned over three octaves many of the Carpenters songs are in the keys of D U there's a kind of hush all over the world 'if lat only yesterday e hurting each other yesterday once more F I'll never fall in love again and G and when he smiles reason to believe for all we know you'll love me Richard is best known for his use of the Wurlitzer electric piano whose sound he described as warm and beautiful he also played the grand piano Hammond organ synthesizer and even the harpsichord with the bend in the recording studio he often would overdub his acoustic piano parts with a Wurlitzer electric piano to thicken the sound from the mid-1970s Richard also used Fender Rhodes pianos while touring he often would have a grand piano as well as both the Rhodes in a Wurlitzer electric piano onstage for different songs Karen was an accomplished drummer and initially only played drums but soon began to sing for the group in addition to playing the drums before 1974 Karen played the drums for all their songs according to Richard she considered herself a drummer who sang dot however while Karen's vocals soon became the centerpiece of the group's performances at five feet four inches tall performing behind her drum kit made it difficult for audiences to see her it was soon apparent to Richard and their manager that the audience wanted to see more of Karen although unwilling she eventually agreed to sing The Ballad standing up front returning to her drums for the lesser-known songs as the group's popularity increased demand for Karen's vocals overshadowed her drumming gradually she played the drums less by the time their album a kind of hush was released in 1976 she had not played the drums for the studio sessions at all though she continued to play some during concerts from spring 1976 onward the tour's would include a drum medley for Karen to play and a piano solo number was included for Richard Karen made a final return to studio drumming for the track when it's gone it's just gone on the album made in America albeit in tandem with Nashville session drummer Larry London she also provided percussion in tandem with Pauline Howe DeCosta on the song those good old dreams pre carpenters 1946 1964 childhood carpenters were both born at Grace New Haven Hospital now called Yale New Haven Hospital in New Haven Connecticut two parents Harold and Agnes Richard Lynn was born on October 15th 1946 and Karen and followed on March 2nd 1950 which was a quiet child who spent most of his time in the house listening to records and playing the piano Karen on the other hand was friendly and outgoing she liked to play sports including softball with the neighborhood kids but she also spent a lot of time listening to music in June 1963 the carpenter family moved to the Los Angeles suburb of Downey California in the fall of 1964 Richard enrolled at California State College at Long Beach where he met future songwriter partner John Bettis Wesley Jacobs a friend who played the bass and two before the Richard Carpenter trio and Frank Pooler with whom Richard would collaborate to create the Christmas standard Merry Christmas darling in 1966 that same fall Karen enrolled at Downey High School where she found she had a knack for playing the drums sfn Coleman 1994 P equals 51 friend and fellow band member Frankie Chavez inspired Karen to play the drums she would often borrow Chavez's drum kit when he taught her she and Frankie must have worked down the rudiments the cadences and the press roles for hours recalls Richard when Karen finally got a Ludwig drum kit from her parents in late 1964 she was able to play it professionally in what Richard had described in their documentary close to you remembering the Carpenters as exotic time signatures 1965 1968 the Richard Carpenter trio and spectrum by 1965 Karen had been practicing the drums for a year and Richard was refining his piano techniques with Pooler as his teacher in late 1965 richard teamed up with classmate and friend west jacobs who played tuba and stand up bass with his sister playing drums the three formed a jazz trio in mid-1966 the Richard Carpenter trio entered the Hollywood Bowl annual Battle of the Bands they played an instrumental version of The Girl From Ipanema in their own piece titled iced tea the trio won the battle of the bands on June 24th 1966 and were signed up by RCA Records dot they recorded songs such as the Beatles every little thing and Frank Sinatra's strangers in the night for RCA an RCA committee reviewed their recordings and chose not to produce them and the Richard Carpenter trio were released from RCA in 1991 some 25 years later a couple of these recordings were released as part of a from the top boxed set of carpenters material later in 1966 Karen tagged along at a late-night session in the garage studio of Los Angeles bassist Joe Osborne and joined future carpenters collaborator and lyricist John Bettis at a demo session where Richard was to accompany an auditioning trumpet player asked to sing Karen performed for Osburn who said never mind the trumpet player this chubby little girl can sing dot Osburn signed Karen by herself as a singer to his fledgling label magic lamp records and the label put out a single featuring two of Richard's compositions looking for love and I'll be yours the single was not a hit and the label soon became defunct however Osburn let Karen and Richard continue to use his studio to record demo tapes in 1967 Richard and Karen teamed up with four other student musicians from Long Beach State to form a band called spectrum SF and Coleman 1994 P equals 63 the group often performed at The Whisky A Go Go SF and Coleman 1994 P equals 50 for spectrum member John Bettis worked with the Carpenters until Karen's death in 1983 composing many songs with Richard in 1968 spectrum disbanded in west jacobs of the richard carpenter trio left for the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Richard and Karen received an offer to be on the television program your all-american college show in mid-1968 their performance of June 22nd 1968 was Richards and Karen's first television appearance with bassist Bill Sasori kruta disappearance and their other appearances on the show in 1968 . during this time Richard and Karen continued to refine their craft and produce demo tapes in Joe Osborne's Garage one of these was heard by and M records Herb Alpert who was intrigued by Karen's voice the and am co-owner signed them to a record contract said Richard we signed with on dem and came herb and he shook our hands and said in so many words it was a pleasure to meet you let's hope we have some hits 1969 1983 carpenters Richard and Karen Carpenter's signed to on dem records on April 22nd 1969 under the name carpenters since Karen was technically underage she was 19 at the time her parents had to co-sign for her sfn Coleman 1994 P equals 76 Richard and Karen had decided to sign as carpenters without the definite article Karen said they had been influenced in the name by the pop music group bred in the album notes for their 2004 release carpenters gold 35th anniversary edition richard stated another carpenter Bettis composition top of the world was originally intended as strictly an album cut but when Lynn Anderson scored a hit with the song in early 1973 the carpenters opted to record their own single version it was released in September 1973 and became the carpenters second billboard number-one hit in December 1973 now and then they're now and then album from 1973 was named by mother Agnes carpenter it contained the popular Sesame Street song sing in the ambitious yesterday once more a sidelong tribute to oldies radio which incorporated renditions of eight hit songs from previous decades into a faux oldies radio program the single version of the track became their biggest hit in the United Kingdom holding the number-two spot for two weeks it was kept off the top first by Gary Glitter's I'm the leader of the gang I am and then by Donny Osmond's version of young love in 1974 the Carpenters achieved a sizable international hit with an up-tempo remake of Hank Williams's jambalaya on the Bayeux while the song was not released as a single in the u.s. it reached the top 30 in Japan number 12 in the United Kingdom as part of a double a-side with mr. guter and number three in the Netherlands in late 1974 a Christmas single followed a jazz-influenced rendition of Santa Claus is coming to town the singles 1969 1973 the carpenters did not record a new album in 1974 the group had been touring extensively and the principles were exhausted in Richards words there was simply no time to make one nor was I in the mood during this period the pair released just one Hot 100 single a Paul Williams Ruger Nichols composition called I won't last a day without you taken from their 1972 LP a song for you the carpenters finally decided to release their original two years after its original LP release and some months after Maureen McGovern's 1973 cover in March 1974 the single version became the fifth and final selection from that album projected chart in the top 20 reaching number 11 on the Hot 100 on May 25th 1974 since top of the world was at number 11 and falling in 1974 his first weekend please mr. postman was at number 11 and rising in 1974 last week the Carpenters failed all three times by one position each time that year to reach the top 10 in place of the new album for 1974 their first greatest hits package was released featuring new remixes of their prior hit singles some with a newly recorded lead and including newly recorded bridges and transition materials so that each side of the album would play through with no breaks something that Richard would come to regret this compilation was entitled the singles 1969 1973 and topped the charts in the US for one week On January 5th 1974 it also topped the United Kingdom chart for 17 weeks non-consecutive and became one of the best-selling albums of the decade ultimately selling more than seven million copies in the US alone horizon 1975 the carpenters gained another hit with a remake of the Marvelettes chart-topping Motown classic from 1961 please mr. postman released in late 1974 the song soared to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1975 becoming the duo's third and final number one pop single it also earned Karen and Richard their record-setting 12th million selling gold single in America the carpenter Bettis composition only yesterday followed please mr. postman as the duo's last Hot 100 top-ten hit reaching number four both singles appeared on their 1975 LP horizon which also included covers of the Eagles desperado and Neil Sedaka's solitaire which became a moderate hit for the duo that year horizon was certified platinum but going to the discs late release after the second single was already dropping off the charts it was their first album to fall short of multi-platinum status The Carpenters were among the first American recording acts to produce music videos to promote their records in early 1975 they filmed a performance of please mr. postman at Disneyland as well as only yesterday at the Huntington gardens a kind of hush and passage their subsequent album a kind of hush released on June 11th 1976 achieved gold status but again owing to its late release became the first carpenters album not to become a Platinum certified record since ticket to ride seven years earlier their singles releases in 1976 were successful but at this time contemporary hit radio was moving forward with changing musical styles which ultimately caused the careers of most soft groups like the carpenters to suffer the duo's biggest pop single that year was a cover of Herman's Hermits there's a kind of hush all over the world which peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 I need to be in love Karen's favorite song by the carpenters charted at number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 however it followed there's a kind of hush to the top spot on the adult contemporary charts and became the duo's 14th number-one adult contemporary hit far in a way more than any other act in the history of the chart The Carpenters very first television special aired on December 8th 1976 and went to number 6 on the Nielsen's dot another television special the Carpenters at Christmas aired on December 9th 1977 the disco craze was in full swing by 1977 an adult appeal easy-listening artists like The Carpenters were getting less airplay their experimental album passage released in 1977 marked an attempt to broaden their appeal by venturing into other musical genres the album featured an unlikely mix of jazz fusion bwona she no home calypso man smart woman smarter an orchestrated balladry I just fall in love again 2 sides and included the hits all you get from love is a love song sweet sweet smile and calling occupants of interplanetary craft calling occupants was supported with the TV special space encounters which aired May 17 1978 with guest star Suzanne Somers and John Davidson although the single release of calling occupants became a significant top-ten hit in the United Kingdom and reached number one in Ireland it only peaked at number 32 on the US pop charts and for the first time a carpenter's album did not reach the gold threshold of 500,000 copies shipped in the United States in early 1978 they scored a surprise top 10 country hit with the up-tempo fiddle Sweden sweet sweet smile written by country pop singer juice Newton in her longtime musical partner at a young the singles 1974-1978 in place of a new album for 1978 a second compilation the singles 1974-1978 was released in the UK in the United States their first Christmas album Christmas portrait became a seasonal favorite returning Karen and Richard to platinum status it was shortly followed by the Carpenters a Christmas portrait a television special which aired December 19th 1978 during the sessions several non Christmas songs were also recorded such as where do I go from here slow dance and Honolulu City Lights most of which were not released until after Karen's death brief hiatus Richard sought treatment for his addiction to quaaludes Edyta pika Kansas facility for six weeks starting in January 1979 he then decided to take the rest of the year off for relaxation and rehabilitation Karen at this point neither wanting to take a break from singing nor seek help for her anorexia decided to pursue a solo album project with renowned producer Phil Ramone in New York the choice of Ramon and more adult-oriented and disco dance tempo material represented an effort to retool her image the album was finished by spring 1980 but Richard anandam executives voted to reject it which reportedly devastated Karen the eponymous album was finally released 13 years after Karen's death in 1996 made in America and Karen's final days Karen proceeded with plans to record a new album with her brother who had now recovered from his addiction and was ready to continue their career the carpenters produced their final television special in 1980 called music music music with guest stars Ella Fitzgerald and John Davidson however ABC was not happy with the special as it was music from start to finish unlike the previous specials which included sketch based comedy ABC felt it was too much like a PBS program On June 16th 1981 the carpenters released what would become their final LP as a duo made in America the album sold around 200,000 copies and spawned a final top 20 pop single touch me when we're dancing which reached number 16 on the Hot 100 it also became their 15th and final number-one adult contemporary hit the album also produced three other singles including want you back in my life again those good old dreams and a remake of the Motown hit beechwood 4 - 57 89 the singles fared well on the adult contemporary charts beechwood 4 - 57 89 the last single by the carpenters to be released in Karen's lifetime was released on her 32nd birthday promotion for the album included a whistle-stop tour of America Brazil and Europe preceded by a disastrous live appearance for a Japanese telethon event filmed outdoors on the lot of on Dam in August 1981 during their segment the last of the show the playback audio cut out midway through their performance of touch me when we're dancing the ensuing scenes along with Karen's reaction left it obvious to viewers that the whole band had been miming three further singles from the album failed to ignite the charts karen sought therapy for her eating disorder with noted psychotherapist stephen laven crone in new york city in September 1982 she called her therapist to say her heart was beating funny and she felt dizzy and confused admitting herself into hospital later that month Karen was hooked up to an intravenous drip she ended up gaining in eight weeks in November 1982 Karen left the hospital and despite pleas from family and friends she announced that she was returning home to California and that she was cured Karen's death on February 3rd 1983 Karen visited her parents the following morning February 4th her mother found her lying unresponsive on the floor of a walk-in closet after they spent 20 minutes in a waiting room a doctor entered to tell Richard and his parents that Karen was dead the autopsy stated that Karen's death was caused by a Mateen cardiotoxicity resulting from anorexia nervosa under the anatomical summary the first item was heart failure with anorexia as second the third finding was cachexia which is extremely low weight and weakness and general body decline associated with chronic disease Emma teen cardiotoxicity implied that Karen abused ipecac syrup although there was no evidence to suggest that Karen abused it as her brother and family never found EPIK ACK vials in her apartment even after her death at her funeral more than a thousand mourners attended among them her friends Dorothy Hamill Olivia newton-john Petula Clark Dionne Warwick and Herb Alpert on October 12th 1983 the carpenters received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame a few yards from the Dolby theatre Richard Harold and Agnes carpenter attended the inauguration as did many fans Karen's death brought media attention to anorexia nervosa and also to bulimia 1983 present post carpenters following Karen's death Richard has continued to produce recordings of the duo's music including several albums of previously unreleased material and numerous compilation albums voice of the heart an album that included some finished tracks left off of made in America and earlier LPS was released in late 1983 it peaked at number 46 and was certified gold two singles were released make believe it's your first time a second version of a song Karen had recorded for her solo album and a song which had been a minor hit in 1979 for Bobby Vinton reached number 7 adult contemporary but only reached number 101 on the pop side your baby doesn't love you anymore got to number 12 adult contemporary for the second Christmas season following Karen's death Richard constructed a new Carpenters Christmas album entitled an old-fashioned Christmas using outtake material from the duo's first Christmas album Christmas portrait and recording new material around it Richard Carpenter married his first cousin Mary Rudolph on may 19th 1984 Christie Lynn which was the name Karen had chosen for a daughter if she ever had one little girl blue was born on August 17th 1987 Tracey Tatum on July 25th 1989 Mindy Karen named after her late aunt on July 7th 1992 followed by Colin Paul and Taylor marry Richard Mary and their four daughters and one son live in Thousand Oaks California where the couple are supporters of the Arts in 2004 Carpenter and his wife pledged a three million dollar gift to the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza foundation in memory of Karen Carpenter more recently Richard has actively supported the carpenter Performing Arts Center at his alma mater California State University Long Beach he continues to make concert appearances including fundraising efforts for the carpenter center in 2007 and 2009 the current owners of the former carpenter family home on new Ville Avenue in downey obtained permits from the city to tear down the existing buildings on the site to make room for newer and larger structures in spite of ongoing protests from fans in February 2008 a group of fans got their protest campaign covered in their Los Angeles Times at that time an adjacent house that had once served as the band's headquarters and recording studio had already been demolished in the main house was on the verge of being demolished as well the original house was immortalized on the now-and-then album cover and was the place where Karen Carpenter died in the words of one fan this was our version of Graceland logo 71 the on dem graphics Department hired Craig Braun and associates to design the album cover for their third album entitled carpenters I recognized it to be a great logo as soon as I saw it says Richard dot in addition the logo was used on every carpenters album since the third one is said by Richard to keep things consistent though every carpenters album from the logos inception shows the logo the logo did not appear on the front cover of their album passage but a small version appeared on the back cover promotion and Turing although the carpenters had a rough start in 1969 with the lukewarm reviews of their first album offering they tried to promote themselves by being Burt Bacharach SOPA nning performance in a live concert in 1974 at the Riviera Hotel Las Vegas Karen Carpenter explained then Richard took over and said wanted us to put together a medley of his songs any tunes of his that we wanted to do and it took a couple of months we arrived at eight tunes the medley eventually was abridged and released on their eponymous album carpenters in 1971 the song was shortened from almost 13 minutes to 5 minutes the band maintained a demanding schedule of concert tours and television appearances among their numerous television credits were appearances on such popular series as The Ed Sullivan Show The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson The Carol Burnett Show in 1971 and 1972 the Mike Douglas show in 1971 and the Johnny Cash show also in 1971 where they played their hits for all we know and rainy days and Monday's the duo appeared in a television special on the BBC in 1971 where they performed songs live they were also the featured performers in a summer replacement series make your own kind of music which aired on NBC every Tuesday at 8 p.m. in the United States both Karen and Richard would later state in a 1980 radio interview that they were often taken advantage of in their dealings with television during the early 70s and wanted more control in the production of future projects in May 1973 the carpenters accepted an invitation to perform at the White House for President Richard Nixon and visiting West German Chancellor Willy Brandt the carpenters played numerous concerts from 1971 to 1975 by the mid-1970s extensive touring and lengthy recording sessions had begun to take their toll on the duo and contributed to their professional and personal difficulties during the latter half of the decade Karen dieted obsessively and developed the disorder anorexia nervosa which first manifested itself in 1975 when she collapsed during a show in Las Vegas exhausted karen was forced to cancel concert tours in the Philippines UK and Japan Richard has said that he regrets the six and seven day work schedules of that period adding that had he known then what he knows now he wouldn't have agreed to it Karen looked noticeably thin although not sickly in the music video produced for the only yesterday single Richard developed an addiction to quaaludes which began to affect his performance in the late 1970s and led to the end of the duo's live concert appearances in 1978 public image the carpenters popularity often confounded critics with their output focused on ballots and mid-tempo pop the duo's music was often dismissed by critics as being bland and saccharine The Recording Industry however bestowed Awards on the duo who won three Grammy Awards during their career Best New Artist and Best Pop Performance by a duo group or chorus for they long to be close to you in 1970 and Best Pop Performance by a duo or group for their eponymous LP carpenters in 1971 in 1974 the Carpenters were voted favorite pop rock band duo or group at the first annual American Music Awards Richard would often state in interviews that many critics usually judged them to drink milk eat apple pie and take showers in Coleman's The Carpenters the untold story richard stressed repeatedly how much he disliked the on dem executives for making their image squeaky-clean and the critics for criticizing them for their image rather than their music in a documentary about the carpenter's musician and songwriter Paul Williams stated the duo was often labelled as being too vanilla Williams supported them by saying yes but what an exquisite flavor vanilla is legacy Karen Carpenter has been called one of the best female vocalists of all time by influential media as diverse as Rolling Stone magazine and National Public Radio and Paul McCartney called her the best female vocalist ever saying that she was the best female voice in the world melodic tune --fill and distinctive a critical reevaluation of carpenters occurred during the 1990s and 2000's with the making of several documentaries produced in the United States Japan and Great Britain like close to you remembering the Carpenters United States the sayonara Japan and only yesterday the carpenters story Great Britain it has been said that Karen's signature vocals helped spur more contralto singers into pop music such as Anne Marie Rita Coolidge and Melissa Manchester despite contentions that their sound was too soft to fall under the definition of rock and roll major campaigns and petitions exist toward inducting carpenters in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990 the alternative rock band Sonic Youth recorded Tunick song for Karen which depicted Karen saying goodbye to relatives as she got to play the drums again and meet her new friends Dennis Wilson Elvis Presley and Janis Joplin a tribute album if I were a carpenter by contemporary artists such as Sonic Youth Betty sir veered Shonen knife grant Lee Buffalo Matthew sweet and The Cranberries appeared in 1994 and provided an alternative rock interpretation of carpenters hits several of their songs have achieved the status of popular standards superstar has been covered by numerous artists with popular recordings from Luther Vandross and Ruben Studdard to Bette Midler Shonen knife Sonic Youth and Colleen Hewitt both we've only just begun and they long to be close to you have been honoured with Grammy Hall of Fame awards for recordings of lasting quality or historical significance modern entertainers such as Christina Aguilera Gwen Stefani Shania Twain Jann Arden Anastasia the course Mary J bleach Alicia Keys Chrissie hind' Gloria Estefan Lorrie Morgan LeAnn Rimes Michelle Wright KD Lang Kelly Jones of Stereophonics Christina Perri Beyonce Johnny Borrell of razorlight Joe O'Meara from S Club carnie Wilson from Wilson Phillips Mandy Moore Michael Jackson and Madonna have listed Karen Carpenter as a huge influence on their careers grammy awards and nominations throughout the 1970s Karen and Richard were nominated numerous times for Grammy Awards Richard Carpenter was also nominated for a Grammy Award for their instrumental song flat Baroque they won three Grammy Awards and had two songs inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame you