As a kid in the early 1970′s, I was subjected to endless hours of listening to “The Carpenters” on albums and 8-track courtesy of my parents who loved the popular duo of Karen and Richard Carpenter.
I liked their music and all, as much as a pre-teen kid could, but it was hard to get psyched up to the sounds of “Rainy Days and Mondays” as you are hurtling down the freeway at high speeds….
As I grew up and my musical tastes expanded and flourished, I came to appreciate that The Carpenters not only made great music and had great classic songs but I also came to realize…
Karen Carpenter has the best singing voice I have ever heard. Even to this day, I have yet to hear anyone that can touch her. Now, I can be bombing down the freeway and “Rainy Days and Mondays” will come on the radio and I still am amazed at how beautiful of a voice she had.
The Carpenters were very popular during the 1970′s. The duo started in 1968 and charted 30 singles during their short career. Twenty-two of those songs hit the top-10 on the charts. They won 3 Grammy Awards.
Karen Carpenter died in 1983 from Heart Failure related to anorexia, a disease she had been fighting most of her life. She was 32 years old.
Through endless classics like “Rainy Days and Mondays”, “Close to You”, “Superstar”, “We’ve only just begun”, “I won’t last a day without you”, and countless others……her music will live on forever.
My dad was a huge Carpenters fan. I remember a letter he wrote to me when she died. He wrote, “The day did not start off well. I found a slug in the shower with me, and Karen Carpenter died.” I’ll never forget that.
By: Seasweetie on August 17, 2011
at 11:31 am
Seasweetie – Hopefully he had it in the other order….surely Karen warranted being ahead of the slug…..
By: TheIdiotSpeaketh on August 17, 2011
at 11:34 am
Now that you mention it, I think he did.
By: Seasweetie on August 17, 2011
at 11:44 am
My whole family were Carpenters’ fans. We watched their TV shows together, had their music on in the background of Sunday dinners, interrupted our Christmas Eve festivities for their specials. I learned a number of their songs (long forgotten) on both organ and guitar, and remember the words to almost every one of their songs to this day – no mean feat, with the potholes in my memory compliments of the drugs I take.
It broke my heart when she died, more so from the sheer idiocy of the public pressure that cost her first her health, then her life. Both the wife and I are involved online with charities that fight anorexia and bulimia.
And while I love the rain, to this day, “..Mondays always get me down”.
By: johncerickson on August 17, 2011
at 12:13 pm
Her death is so sad!
By: Kathryn McCullough on August 17, 2011
at 1:44 pm
Kathy – Yes, and if she was still alive today, she would still be younger than Stevie Nicks and should still be doing concerts and recording records….. what a loss.
By: TheIdiotSpeaketh on August 17, 2011
at 1:51 pm
In the 70s I was a young mother and as a family we all sang along to the Carpenters. Rainy Days and Mondays certainly resonates with me still.
Oh and 8 tracks. I thought nobody remembered those.
By: Judith on August 17, 2011
at 5:13 pm
Judith – Somewhere in a box, in storage, I still have a whole boatload of 8-tracks…… I still remember well the day that we were able to afford our first casette player for the car…..
By: TheIdiotSpeaketh on August 17, 2011
at 5:23 pm
Dude, you find those 8-tracks, I’ll buy ‘em off ya! I got at LEAST 2 players around here. And I’ll even take ‘em if they don’t work quite right, ’cause my dad has an 8-track RECORDER!
)
(And that, children, is why you should be careful about embracing ANY technology!
By: johncerickson on August 17, 2011
at 7:25 pm
Karen DID have the most gorgeous voice in the world. She did not have to oversing or do vocal gymnastics like so many singers do today. Her voice was pure beauty.
By: Diane Sampson on August 19, 2011
at 2:11 am
Diane – I could not have said it better
By: TheIdiotSpeaketh on August 19, 2011
at 6:31 am
Karen’s voice is like non other!! She was a BEAUTIFUL Lady with much LOVE and LAUGHTER that other’s ONLY dreamed of having. Her imagine of herself unfortunately NOT good. after all these years I still remember her. It’s sad to see ALL these MOST famous people with LIVES that are SO SHORT. I have read SO many articles about Celebrities that STRUGGLE with SO MANY issues. This just shows that we NEED to enjoy everyday as if it maybe our LAST. Remember: “To ALWAYS look at what YOU have, and be THANKFUL for who YOU are. For everyone is WORTH so MUCH!! May the LORD the WORLD!!! “WE ALL ARE SPECIAL” GOD BLESS
By: ANONYMOUS on March 8, 2012
at 8:16 pm