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!
@unclewilburthanks for the reminder--a dose of Karen is relaxing in these crazy times. I was lucky to have experienced my first two concerts featuring male and female vocalists as follows (although at the time i didn't really know how lucky i was):
1. First concert---Elvis at the International in Vegas (1970) visiting my best friend who had moved from Laramie and convinced me to go even though i didn't want to-i was an ignorant 18 year old-i never stopped thanking him for that
2. Second concert ever--The Carpenters at A&S Auditorium in Laramie, Wyoming (1973)--i think the student price ticket was $2. I was in love forever.
The Carpenters were that kind of group that many of my friends wanted to shun because they were a bit kitschy, but many of them finally caved pleading, in effect, that even tough guys need a puppy; and it didn't hurt that the puppy could croon like an angel. The best of the songs were classic but classics from an earlier time.
I wouldn't describe myself as a tough guy but I find the the "kitschy" aspect just as off-putting now as I did in the mid-seventies, riding the school bus to and from high school, force-fed top 40 radio.
Nevertheless, I generally recognize and respect good musicianship when I hear it.
No doubt there are records I enjoy that others here might term "kitschy".
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! 🥴
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.
@grislybutterlike 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.
Me either...and I got one of my first kisses at a junior high school dance with the Carpenters' "Close to You" playing in the background. She will be forever be among my favorites just for that.
@unclewilburI can't remember if there was an orchestra with them or not but i kind of doubt it although there is a pit at the A&S auditorium. Yes, i heard many of the songs from that album and Yesterday Once More remains my all time favorite of theirs. I remember Karen had a grade school class come on the stage with her while she sang a song but i don't remember which one it was. Similar to my Elvis experience though and being more of an Allman Brothers/Skynyrd/James Gang fan, i hadn't planned on going to see them but my girlfriend begged and once again i was forever grateful. Most of today's female vocalists can only dream of having a voice like that.
As for Elvis i still have the program from that show and he was indeed at his height--i've seen many concerts over the years including Stones, Skynyrd, Dead, CSN&Y, Clapton...but i still think Elvis was the greatest entertainer i ever saw--he put everything he had into that show...i still remember all the women lining up to kiss him and give him their panties and bras...
BTW in later years i always wondered why the Carpenters came to Laramie of all places--i guess they were booked at a lot of universities and that's the only one in Wyoming...
@77jovian@grislybutterI'm no vocal expert either; however, many sources say she had a 3 octave range but it was the purity of her contralto that set her apart from other female vocalists and she was once quoted as saying "The money's in the basement". I also read that Neil Sedaka called her the greatest female pop vocalist of all time but then again i don't know what his credentials are...😀
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!!!
@unclewilburWhat a great story! When i saw them it was Denver's Mile Hi Stadium and the hilarious part was that Neil Young (who was not there to perform) was sitting and rocking out on the side of the stage smoking a J (i assume) while they sang "Sweet Home Alabama" -- apparently they had reconciled and Young had apologized for his song Alabama
@unclewilburI envy you tremendously. I am still waiting for my coffee with Paul McCartney.
A college classmate of mine had a coffee with Yoko Ono. As in - she bought a property, wanted to change the garden, looked for a landscape architect, happened to find him, he came over, surveyed the land, and she said: would you like to come in for a coffee? And he doesn't even care for the Beatles. Freaking unbelievable!
The best I’ve got to tell about is meeting a Lucinda Williams on four occasions, and the first time I was unfortunately coming off like Dennis Hopper in Apocalypse Now when he was going off on how great Marlon Brando was. And to my dismay, the last time or maybe the second to the last time that I met her, like it was at least a couple of years if not more later, she remembered me from the first time.
I was thinking, "Of all the things I’d rather were not remembered about me."
I got arrested at the Queen's Budapest concert when I climbed a 20 foot wall to get inside the stadium. Not only I didn't see the Queen (how cool that would have been) but I was embarrassed to ashes in front of my date. A german sheppard dragged me down and placed me in front of the cops like a frail bird in a split second. It was impressive.
@grislybutter, I cannot even come close to topping that. As far as the Lynyrd Skynyrd experience that the OP shared, that’s another one I have nothing to compare to.
I watched a couple of documentaries about that band, and the one I liked the best, that I found most interesting, was (I think) the one titled If I Leave Here Tomorrow. Anyway, back after the crash in the late ’70s and early ’80s when I was in the Air Force I found their music to be great to drink massive quantities of alcohol and do other stuff and to party to, but as fascinating as I now find their story, most of the music that band recorded now does very little for me (although if I got loaded up on Jack Daniels it might come back to me why I used to like it), but I will say that I really like the beginning of Sweet Home Alabama (". . . big wheels keep on turning, carry me home to see my kin, singing songs about the southland . . .")
And after watching that documentary, even though it didn’t rejuvenate my enthusiasm for their music, it made me think I would have liked to have been partying with them when they were in their heyday. They were impressive.
@grislybutterYou win hands down! Luckily no cellphones back then to memorialize your humiliation.
My only celebrity encounter was a good one--got to meet and yak with Ian Anderson for about 30 minutes backstage in Caracas, Venezuela after the concer--the organizer was a good buddy. Ian wouldn't shake hands (said a fan broke his finger once) but i have a great pic and memory--didn't get to meet Martin Barre though--he wouldn't come out of the dressing room...
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!!! 😃
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!!!
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.
I must say I’m really surprised at the number of posts on this site. I’ve always loved Karen Carpenter, a world class voice. I put her in the same category as Barry Manilow who has been reviled as very unhip, but is also a world class performer and composer.
No, @grislybutter, meeting Lucinda and doing an imitation of a coked up Dennis Hopper in Apocalypse Now is not in the same league. This one is yours, my friend--you have earned it.
I remember her and have always liked her music. Tonight when I was playing the trombone, I cued up a few of her songs to remember her and expand my list of familiar songs to play. I have always loved her voice and always thought it tragic that her talent was lost to her bulimic ways. My wife appreciates my playing and so its customary to play for her before dinner. She will often make requests which I happily comply to play. I am blessed to be able to give her musical joy with my limited talents. I am thankful she enjoys my efforts.
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