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Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular MusicA B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y ZCARPENTERS, TheBrother/sister vocal duo, stars of '70s MOR pop. Richard (b 15 Oct. '46) and Karen Carpenter (b 2 March '50; d 4 Feb. '83) both b New Haven CT; moved to West Coast '63. He took up piano at age nine, played in a semi-pro club trio at 16; she was a drummer; bassist Wes Jacobs joined to make the Carpenters a trio; victory in a 'battle of the bands' at the Hollywood Bowl '66 was to have won an RCA contract, but the deal fell through. They formed Spectrum with four Cal State students; John Bettis later became Richard's writing partner, Danny Woodhams their guitarist; at the time progressive rock wiped out their mannered pop. They carried on recording demos; signed to A&M by Herb Alpert, they reached no. 54 with cover of Beatles' 'Ticket To Ride'; the debut LP first called Offering '69 was quickly retitled to capitalize on it. Another cover, title track of second album Close To You '70 originally written by Burt Bacharach for Dionne Warwick, was a no. 1, with trademark boy/girl harmonies, Richard's classical keyboard, immaculate pop sheen courtesy of producer Jack Daugherty: it was the epitome of A&M's corporate 'easy listening' policy, and the next five singles were all USA top three entries: 'We've Only Just Begun' written by Paul Williams/Roger Nichols; 'For All We Know' from film Lovers And Other Strangers, 'Rainy Days And Mondays' (Williams/Nichols), Leon Russell's 'Superstar', 'Hurting Each Other'. A shrewd mix of covers and Carpenter/Bettis material made hit after hit: 19 top 40s USA, 16 UK in '70s. Yesterday Once More '74 with a triple gatefold automobile sleeve and a side of golden oldies was an attempt to break the bland mould of the albums. Singles collection 1969-1973 was a massive seller (no. 1 in UK, 115 weeks on LP chart), followed by 1974-1978. Karen's pure, soaring voice was a good mix with her brother's baritone; she combined lead/harmony vocals with drumming (in the stage act more than in the studio); top 40 hits ranged from Neil Sedaka's 'Solitaire' to Klaatu's 'Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft', including chart-toppers 'Top Of The World' and 'Please Mr Postman' '73-4. Karen collapsed from 'exhaustion' '74; she was suffering from anorexia and had a fatal heart attack '83. By this time sales were falling partly due to relaxation of the gruelling album/tour schedule that had obtained until '77, when Richard moved into production. Voice Of The Heart '83 was released posthumously. They won three Grammys; Karen's solo album was finally released '96, good enough to make some fans wonder why it hadn't been released much sooner. |