Karen Carpenter

At 32 years old, Karen Carpenter has this physical status:

Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950 – February 4, 1983) was an American singer and drummer who, alongside her older brother Richard, was a member of the Carpenters' duo.

Other singers and commentators praised her for her contralto voices and drumming skills.

Anorexia and body dysmorphia would later be raised as a result of her struggles with eating disorders. Carpenter was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and her family and her family moved to Downey, California, in 1963.

After graduating, she began to study the drums in high school and joined the Long Beach State choir.

The Carpenters were signed to A&M Records in 1969, the first years of touring and recording, achieving commercial and critical success throughout the 1970s.

Carpenter was initially the band's full-time drummer, but the position of frontwoman was increasingly limited as drumming was reduced to a handful of live showcases or tracks on albums.

Although the Carpenters were on hiatus in the late 1970s, she recorded a solo album, which was released years after her death. Carpenter had the eating disorder anorexia nervosa, a condition that was little known at the time, and was briefly married in the early 1980s.

She died at the age of 32 from heart disease due to her illness.

Her death brought greater visibility and awareness of eating disorders.

Her career continues to receive acclaim, with one of Rolling Stone's Top 100 Greatest Singers of all time being named one of the Top 100 Best Singers of All Time.

Early life

Karen Anne Carpenter was born in March 2, 1950, at Grace New Haven Hospital (now known as Yale New Haven Hospital) in New Haven, Connecticut, the granddaughter of Agnes Reuwer (née Tatum, 1915 – October 15, 1988) and Harold Bertram Carpenter (November 8, 1908 – October 15, 1988). Harold was born in Wuzhou, China, where his parents were missionaries. He was educated at boarding schools in England before finding jobs in the printing industry.

Richard, the elder by three years, discovered a passion for music at an early age, becoming a piano prodigy. Karen's first words were "bye-bye" and "stop it," the former said in response to Richard. She loved dancing and by age four, she was enrolled in tap dancing and ballet lessons.

After Harold was offered a job by a former business associate, the family moved to Downey, Los Angeles, in June 1963. Carpenter began attending Downey High School in 1964 at the age of 14 and was a year younger than her classmates. She joined the school band first in order to avoid gym classes. Bruce Gifford, the conductor, (who had previously taught her elder brother), gave her the glockenspiel, an instrument she adored, and after admiring her companion and classmate, drummer Frankie Chavez (who had been playing from an early age and idolized jazz drummer Buddy Rich), she begged to play them instead. Because it was used by her favorite drummers, Joe Morello and Ringo Starr, Carpenter wanted a Ludwig drum set. Chavez begged her family to buy her a $300 (roughly $2,600) Ludwig kit, which she would have learned how to play. Her enthusiasm for drumming led to her learning how to read intricate lines and determining the difference between traditional and matched grip. She could be playing in difficult time signatures, such as the 54 in Dave Brubeck's "Take Five," within a year.

Carpenter was initially nervous about going public, but she later said she was "too invested in the music to be concerned about it." She graduated from Downey High School in 1967, winning the John Philip Sousa Band Award and enrolling as a music major at Long Beach State, where she performed in the college choir with Richard. Karen had a natural voice that was particularly suitable for pop, according to her conductor, Frank Pooler, and she gave her lessons in order to achieve a three-octave range.

Personal life

Carpenter had a difficult relationship with her parents. They had hoped that Richard's musical abilities would be recognized and that he would enter the music industry, but they were not prepared for Karen's success. She lived with them until 1974. Carpenter converted two Century City apartments into a single unit in 1976; the doorbell chimed the opening notes of "We've Only Just Begun." She collected Disney memorabilia and adored softball and baseball. She had played baseball with other children on the street and was picked before her brother was invited to games. She analyzed baseball statistics and became a New York Yankees fan. She made her debut in the 1970s as the starter on a celebrity all-star softball team.

Petula Clark, Olivia Newton-John, and Dionne Warwick were her close friends. Carpenter, although she was enjoying her work as a female drummer in what was largely an all-male field, was not in favour of the women's liberation movement, saying she believed a wife should cook for her husband and that when married, this was what she wanted to do.

Carpenter expressed no interest in marriage or dating, implying that a marriage would not thrive during constant touring, adding, "I will never marry" as long as we're on the road most of the time. She said the music industry made it impossible to meet people and that she refused to marry someone for the sake of marriage. Carpenter told Olivia Newton-John that she long for a happy marriage and a family. She married several influential people, including Mike Curb, Terry Ellis, Mark Harmon, Steve Martin, and Alan Osmond. She married real estate developer Thomas Burris in the Crystal Room of The Beverly Hills Hotel following a whirlwind romance on August 31, 1980. Burris, who died with an 18-year-old son, was nine years older than her younger sister. Karen was taped singing "Because We Are in Love" just days before the wedding reception, and the tape was played for guests. The song was written by her brother and John Bettis and was released in 1981. The couple married in Newport Beach, California.

Carpenters are desperate for children, but Burris had undergone a vaping procedure and refused to seek an operation to reverse it. Their marriage did not survive this marriage and ended after 14 months. Burris was living beyond his means, borrowing up to $50,000 (the equivalent of $149,000 in 2021) at a time from his wife to the point where she reportedly had only stocks and bonds left. Carpenter's pals also said he was impatient. Karen Kamon, a close friend, recalled an occasion when she and Carpenter appeared to be distant physically, not at their regular table but in the dark, wearing heavy dark sunglasses, unable to drink and crying. The marriage was "the straw that broke the camel's back," according to Kamon. It was certainly the worst thing that could have happened to her."

Carpenter updated her will and left Burris' marital home and contents to Burris in September 1981, but left everything else to her brother and parents, who were estimated at 5–10 million dollars (between $15,000,000 and $30,000,000 in 2021). Carpenter and Burris broke up two months later, after an altercation over a family dinner in a restaurant. When she was in Lenox Hill Hospital on October 28, 1982, Carpenter filed for divorce.

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Career

Two Plus Two, a Carpenter's first band, formed with friends from Downey High, was Carpenter's first band. They split up after she suggested that her brother Richard join the club. The Dick Carpenter Trio was formed in 1965 by Karen, Richard, and his college companion Wes Jacobs, a bassist and tuba player. The band performed jazz in nightclubs, performed jazz in nightclubs, and was also on the television talent show Your All-American College Show. Richard was immediately impressed with his sister's musical abilities, saying she would "fully maneuver the sticks as if she had been born in a drum factory." Margaret Shanor, a singer, did not appear at this time; rather, she appeared on some televisions. The three musicians have signed RCA Records and released two instrumentals, but they were not announced.

The Carpenters were invited to audition with bassist Joe Osborn, who is best known for being a member of the Wrecking Crew, a recording-musician group. Karen was initially thought she'd only be the drummer, but she soon found herself awed by her enchanting voice. Osborn has signed a recording deal with his company, Magic Lamp Records; he was not particularly concerned about Richard's involvement.

Jacobs left the three children at the Juilliard School in 1967, and the Carpenter siblings were eager to try out new musical styles. The siblings, along with other musicians, such as Gary Sims and John Bettis, formed Spectrum, a band that concentrated on a natural vocal sound and recorded many demo tapes in Osborn's garage studio, figuring out how to convert voices to multitrack tape. Record companies had snubbed several of those tapes. The group had a difficult time attracting a live audience because their music was so dissimilar to the hard rock and psychedelic rock that was then fashionable in pubs.

In 1969, A&M Records signed the Carpenters to a recording contract. Karen debuted as both the group's drummer and co-lead singer, and she started singing all of her vocals from behind the drum kit. Offering (later renamed Ticket to Ride); her brother wrote ten of the album's thirteen songs and performed on five of them. Both siblings sung the opening and concluding tracks in unison. Karen performed bass guitar on two tracks, "All My Life" and "Eve," as well as drumming under Osborn's guidance. She appeared on "All I Can Do" for the fifth time in 5/4 times, while "Your Wonderful Parade" featured several snare and bass drum overdubs to imitate the sound of a marching band. As the Carpenters' first single, the track "Ticket to Ride," a Beatles cover song that later became the album's title track, debuted. Billboard Hot 100 has 54 articles. "They Long to Be") Close to You" and "We've Just Begun" were two hit singles on their forthcoming album, 1970's Close to You." They reached their high point at No. 1. No. 1 and No. On the Hot 100, there are 2, respectively.

Karen was difficult for people in the audience to see her kit because she was just 5 foot 4 inches (1.63 m) tall. Richard and manager Sherwin Bash persuaded her to stand at the microphone to sing the band's hits while another performer (former Disney Mouseketeer Cubby O'Brien served as the band's other drummer for many years), after reviews complained that the band had no central point in live shows. She began to fail in live performances as she felt more comfortable behind the drum kit. Carpenter became more and drumming less on the albums after the introduction of Now & Then in 1973, and Bash says she was "the one" that people were following." She would perform a showcase in which she moved around the stage playing various variations of drums starting with the Carpenters' 1976 concert tour and continuing into later. Closer miking who captured her voice well captured her character well in her studio performances. Despite a three-octave range, many of the duo's hits prominently feature her lower contralto singing, prompting her to yell, "The money's in the basement."

Carpenter has always regarded herself as a "drummer who sang." Ludwig Drums, including the Ludwig SuperSensitive Snare, which she adored greatly, was she favored Ludwig Drums. However, she did not drum on any Carpenters' album. Except for "Jambalaya," she was the only featured drummer on Ticket to Ride and On Now & Then. Karen performed on many of the Carpenters' recording sessions and appeared on most of the Carpenters' studio sessions when she did not play drums herself, according to Hal Blaine. Karen was told about Blaine's presence, but she and Richard accepted on the grounds that she and Richard wanted hit singles. Blaine was eager to play in the studio, and it was simple to capture Carpenter's guide vocal without it spilling into the drum mics. Blaine lauded Karen's drumming abilities, but said her greatest strength was as a singer and felt himself more comfortable in a recording studio, which demanded a different approach from that of an onstage performance. Karen performed on "Those Good Old Dreams" in tandem with Paulinho da Costa, and in unison with Larrie Londin, she played drums on the song "When It's Gone (It's Just Gone)" on Made in America.

Richard Carpenter, who died in the mid-1970s, developed a Quaalude addiction. Since their September 4, 1978 concert at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, the Carpenters often postponed tour dates, and they ultimately stopped touring entirely. In 1980, Karen performed a medley of standards in a duet with Ella Fitzgerald on the Carpenters' television show Music, Music, Music. The Carpenters returned to the stage in 1981, after the unveiling of the Made in America album (which was also their last), as well as a tour of the BBC show Countrywide.

Carpenter's last song, "Now" was recorded in April 1982. Although Richard was worried about her health, he nevertheless thought her voice was as good as ever.

On Osborn's Magic Lamp label, Carpenter released her first solo album, "Looking for Love"/ "I'll Be Yours" in 1967. Only 500 copies were made, and the company was discontinued shortly thereafter. Karen recorded a solo album with producer Phil Ramone in 1979, when Richard took a year off to address his heroin use. The sessions featured music that was quite different from Carpenters', with more mature lyrics and tapping full advantage of Karen's vocal register. Despite attempts by producer Quincy Jones to convince Richard and A&M executives to abandon the album after a remix, the album received a tepid response from him in early 1980 and was shelved by A&M Records co-owner Herb Alpert. Carpenter was charged by A&M to pay for her unreleased album, which was deducted from the duo's future royalties. In 1989, a portion of the solo album was first released on the Carpenters' album Lovelines, which included some of its songs (as remixed by Richard). Karen Carpenter's complete solo album was finally released in 1996.

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