Karen Carpeneter died 42 years ago.

FYI

Karen's birthday is coming soon.

She was born March 2, 1950.

She would be 75 years old. 

She was beautiful!!!

When I'm reading comments on audiogon about the music people listen to, I pay attention because I'm open to new music and I wonder if anyone will mention the Carpenters.

I'm aware of the bias against the Carpenters because some people think they're too square, not rocky enough, etc. But it seems to me that Carpenters is excellent audiophile material, at least for audiophiles who are into music, (as opposed to audiophiles who are into analyzing their gear). But I have never seen anyone here mention the Carpenters despite Karen's voice (which is considered the greatest of all time by many, including me), great layered harmonies, lush arrangements with hundreds of orchestral, rock, and pop instruments, great songwriting, excellent recording, etc. 

Maybe some people don't want to be known for liking music that others consider to be square. Nevertheless, some of the most admired musicians gave high praise to them, including Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney, John Lennon, etc. And in a 1975 Playboy magazine readers' poll, Karen Carpenter was voted the best rock drummer of the year – edging out Led Zeppelin's John Bonham, The Who's Keith Moon and The Beatles' Ringo Starr. 

So, what's not to love about the Carpenters? 

It's good to know that people still appreciate the Carpenters!

I just turned off my TV, and I'm going to turn on some Carpenters. 😁

@carlso63
Exactly!
Here is a typical situation in 1970. Four, sixteen year old boys are cruising around in a car, and listening to the most popular radio station. "Close To You," which is number one on the charts is playing on the radio. All four boys look at each other and shake their heads, roll their eyes, and say "No." The button is switched to the second most popular station. (Remember when we had buttons?) The Carpenters are playing on both stations! And all the boys wonder what’s happening!

The boys go to their homes and turn on the radio as they go to sleep. Of course, the Carpenters are playing on the radio again. The words are interesting. The melody feels nice. There is harmony, and layers of beautiful voices. They listen.......

For some people, it took a while to appreciate the significance of the Carpenters.

@mitchagain “Have you picked up the 2018 release: "Carpenters with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra?"

I stream that album often, but I haven’t bought it. I really like it for a different flavor of Carpenters music. And since you’ve reminded me of it, I will definitely listen to it tonight.

@discnik

Fifty cents???

You must have more albums than cents!!! 

Or should I say, you have more albums than sense...

...Either way seems right. 😜

Anyway, I've done much worse. Twenty-five years ago I put together a $20,000 high end audio system and sold it for a great loss just one year later!

You might ask why I would do that.... Well the answer is even more preposterous.  I quit a great job, sold most everything, and moved to a deserted island called Dry Tortugas. So I definitely have regrets too!!

@grislybutter 

Wow!!!  You didn't mention specifics about who misspelled what. So I looked around the comments only to find that I misspelled "Carpenters" in my title!!! 

I am so embarrassed. Spelling, punctuation, and grammar is important to me. And misspelling the name of my beloved Karen is particularly embarrassing. I tried to edit my mistake but it can't be done after thirty minutes. I know this because I tried to add a comma to a different comment that I made, and then learned about the thirty minute limitation on editing. 

Anyway thanks for pointing out my mistake. Unfortunately I can't fix it. And by the way, it's difficult to write more than a few words in this little box because I can't see everything that I've written. I have to scroll around, if you know what I mean.

@mitchagain I never heard the song “Hey Papa” so I streamed it to know more. It’s a nice song and I could listen to more of that. 
 

There are many things like music, movies, news, popular trends, etc that I have missed through most of my life, because I lived a fairly remote life. Dry Tortugas is just one example. But currently I’m getting caught up with normal [abnormal] life.

@grislybutter You wrote “ESL” … My brain refuses to cooperate with acronyms so I looked it up.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  Now I get the idea. Is that a real acronym?!? A lot of time could be saved for the reader if it were written as “english second language.” 😄. Anyway, what is your first language, and where are you from?

…And about my mistake, my embarrassment was much more harsh than your words. ☺️ But I’ll get over it.

@wyoboy 

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! 🥴

@grislybutter

Dang it!!! I should have been a landscape architect.

Meeting Yoko would be a trip!!! She’s a mystery to me, but meeting her would be great. IMAGINE MEETING JOHN!!!! (pun intended 😃)

Seriously, John was my favorite Beatle. Paul has become my favorite recently.

@wyoboy 

👍 Great story, man!!! 😃

@wyoboy 

Because you mentioned Lynard Skinard, I’ll tell a quick story about their Memphis concert in the summer of 1975. I showed up at the doors of the concert about 4 hours early and nobody else was around. About 30 minutes later, five long haired guys walked past the doors, inside. They looked at me with a smile, and opened the door to let me in. Then I realized it was the band! It was pretty cool meeting them like that. We talked for about 5 minutes as I walked around with them, and chose my preferred seat in the empty concert hall. 
 

The concert was great! There were about 100 frisbees flying around during the concert! What a scene!!!

I could never understand why Alabama was playing there in such a remote place. A few minutes ago I looked at the map where I accidentally ran into Alabama in the middle of nowhere. There is a place called Pitman Center with a population of 461 people. I have no idea how many people lived around there in 1981, or if there was any organized village. Apparently there’s a bar in the boondocks, and hundreds of people living in the hills! I have no clue why Alabama would play there!!!

I haven’t been to as many concerts as some people I know. But I’ve had some very unusual concert experiences. In 1981, I was working for Smoky Mountain National Park and I had a paycheck to cash. Unfortunately, several days before getting my check, I had been assigned very remote living quarters on the north side of the park. On my way home, I was sitting at an intersection in the middle of nowhere with my paycheck. If I turned right it takes me to my new living quarters in the middle of nowhere. If I turn left it’s also the middle of nowhere, so what the heck, I went left. First thing I saw was a miserable tiny old shack on the side of the road. This tiny dilapidated shack turned out to be a moonshine dispensary of sorts, which is another story. So, continuing down the road to nowhere, it’s getting dark, and there’s nothing in sight but trees and road.

Finally, after half an hour of boonies, there’s a parking lot full of cars, and something that looks like a bar. It looked like a place to cash my check. As I walked in the door it felt like entering a different world. Suddenly there must have been hundreds of people! There was music, and lights, and action in the wilderness. The music caught my attention in the first few seconds. It wasn’t the sort of music I expected in the boonies, it was great! The band was Alabama!!! Wow!

I cashed my check, had some beers, bought some cds, and found my favorite country music!!! 😃

It occurred to me that most people on audiogon are mainly into rock. So, many of you might not know who Alabama is or how famous they are. So I will give you some information below.

ALABAMA is the band that changed everything. They reeled off 21 straight #1 singles, a record that will probably never be equaled in any genre. They brought youthful energy, sex appeal and a rocking edge that broadened country's audience and opened the door to self-contained bands from then on, and they undertook a journey that led, 73 million albums later, to the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Thank you.  🤔

● Thank you Karen and Richard for the music that gives me such comfort and joy. 
● Thank you for the nice people here on Audiogon who shared their love for the Carpenters and other music.
● Thank you for the audio system that I have. 

As @coltrane1 said,  "The greatest music was during the 60's and 70's.

I'm so glad to be a Boomer!!!  😃

@immatthewj   Thanks for mentioning the Carpenters Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. I just listened to it, and would not have had the pleasure if you hadn't mentioned it. For me, there's a lot to love about this recording!!! First of all, Karen's voice is always orgasmic for my ears! And Richard's arrangement of an entire orchestra is ingenious! 

It's just my opinion, but I feel sorry for anyone that doesn't enjoy the Carpenters.  😊