I seriously wish that I had been at Carpenters and Elvis concerts at the very peak of their careers!!! You were so lucky! I can only imagine Elvis in '70, and Carpenters in '73. The Carpenters released "Now And Then" (their 5th album) in May of 1973. It reached #2 on the Billboard chart, and is one of my favorite albums. So you probably heard them perform my favorite songs like Masquerade, Close To You, Yesterday Once More, We've Only Just Begun, Heather, Rainy Days And Mondays, Superstar, For All We Know, Bacharach Medley, Top Of The World, etc! ...I wonder if there was there an orchestra with the band...
I think it was 1973 that Karen saw a picture of herself on tv, in a yellow jumpsuit, and was very upset about the bulge on her waist. And the troubles with weight-loss took over her life. ...too sad to talk about that in much detail, so....
My uncle and grandparents were big fans of Elvis, so I was too. I remember gathering around the tv every time he was on. I have very fond memories of that!
And I remember the night that the Beatles were introduced to America on the Ed Sullivan show! My Mom yelled to everyone in the house to come see this great show on tv! 😆
I'm four years younger than you, and grew up in one of the biggest "flyover" areas of the US, so my experience with Carpenters, Elvis etc, was with my radio, which was constantly turned on. Also the tv, to a lesser extent. And Laramie Wyoming doesn't seem like a mecca for fame, but I guess Laramie is the only place within a thousand miles! 🥴
Karen Carpeneter died 42 years ago.
Today is February 4th, 2025. So today marks 42 years since Karen Carpenter passed away. This is a sad time, but a very good time to listen to her most beautiful voice and look at some of your favorite pictures of Karen. Personally, I look at Karen's eyes, they melt my heart!
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I'm a fan and still listen to some of their albums. I really admire and enjoy Karen's voice and, especially, Richard's arrangements and production. But, world class singer or drummer? If someone can point me to examples of her world-class drumming, I'd like to hear them. And her voice....pretty limited range, pretty limited dynamics and color. Pleasant, good, even very good, but I can't stretch my admiration to the world class level. |
@grislybutter like I said, I’m a fan. She deserves her place among pop history’s best loved. But she sang in a very narrow range of pitch, dynamics, style and color, things that count for me in the tabulation of the best voice category. |
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