So I naively (foolishly? uncoolly?) stated (acknowledged? CONFESSED!?) that I did not know that song by the Beatles. Once, when I discussed The Dave Clark Five’s sunny hit song “Because” with someone, she mentioned The Beatles song, “Because.” Now, as I’ve heard a lot of, and personally prefer, the Beatles’ earlier material, I don’t claim to know every Beatles song.
I don’t give a farthing about the latest on Lindsay Lohan, or Lady Gag-Gag, but the local paper sure does.Īs Duke Ellington said, “If it sounds good, it IS good.” That would seem to be true at any time in the past, present and future. Richard plays piano and sings harmony, and there’s a cute little rap beginning at 3:50): They all come from a “Live at the BBC” performance in 1971, when she was just 21 (Richard was 25).Ī medley of her two most famous songs, “ Close to You” (recorded version here) and “ We’ve Only Just Begun” (recorded version here it was originally a commercial for a bank), both showing her off in the low range. Even her stage performances there are often lip-synched, so I’ve chosen some genuinely live ones. There are many Carpenters songs on YouTube, but most are recordings. Her brother now spends his time endlessly remixing and reissuing their songs.īut let’s remember The Voice. Her body couldn’t take it, and in 1983 she died of heart failure. She was also an anorexic (you can see her emaciated state in this video), swallowing laxatives like candy. That’s the good part.Ĭarpenter was a romantic, but never found true love (I would have volunteered, for she was only two months younger than I) and she lived through one unhappy marriage. Her voice was noticed by Herb Alpert, who recorded The Carpenters on A&M records, and she quickly became a star. She started off as a drummer in high school, and sang and drummed in her brother’s band, which included a tuba (see her drumming here). Yes, her songs (many written by her brother Richard) were sometimes more than a bit cheesy, but her voice redeemed them all.Īnd what a voice it was! Rich and mellow, with a thrilling quality in the low range-”the money notes,” Richard called them-her sound has never been equaled in pop music.Ĭarpenter’s story is sad (there’s not much I don’t know about her). Yet since I was a lad, when I first saw her black bangs and heard the amazing voice that issued from below, what I felt for the Songbird of Downey, California was something akin to love. Confessing a love for the Carpenters-Karen in particular-is like confessing a love for Sugar Daddy suckers, or Hello Kitty.
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