They all come from a “Live at the BBC” performance in 1971, when she was just 21 (Richard was 25).Ī medley of her two most famous songs, “ Close to You” (recorded version here) and “ We’ve Only Just Begun” (recorded version here it was originally a commercial for a bank), both showing her off in the low range. Even her stage performances there are often lip-synched, so I’ve chosen some genuinely live ones. There are many Carpenters songs on YouTube, but most are recordings. Her brother now spends his time endlessly remixing and reissuing their songs.īut let’s remember The Voice. Her body couldn’t take it, and in 1983 she died of heart failure. She was also an anorexic (you can see her emaciated state in this video), swallowing laxatives like candy. That’s the good part.Ĭarpenter was a romantic, but never found true love (I would have volunteered, for she was only two months younger than I) and she lived through one unhappy marriage. Her voice was noticed by Herb Alpert, who recorded The Carpenters on A&M records, and she quickly became a star. She started off as a drummer in high school, and sang and drummed in her brother’s band, which included a tuba (see her drumming here). Yes, her songs (many written by her brother Richard) were sometimes more than a bit cheesy, but her voice redeemed them all.Īnd what a voice it was! Rich and mellow, with a thrilling quality in the low range-”the money notes,” Richard called them-her sound has never been equaled in pop music.Ĭarpenter’s story is sad (there’s not much I don’t know about her). Yet since I was a lad, when I first saw her black bangs and heard the amazing voice that issued from below, what I felt for the Songbird of Downey, California was something akin to love.
Some Of Her Favorite The Carpenters Songs – “Superstar”, “I Need to Be In Love”.
#KAREN CARPENTER GREATEST VOICE OF ALL TIME TV#
TV Shows – Dallas (1978), Marcus Welby, M.D.Karen Carpenter was of English, German, Irish, Dutch, Scottish, and Welsh descent. It was absolutely the worst thing that could have ever happened to her”. The failure of her marriage had an adverse effect on the artist and one of her friends said the marriage was “the straw that broke the camel’s back. This affected their marriage and she finally filed for divorce on October 28, 1982. She wanted to have children but her husband had undergone a vasectomy and was against the decision to get an operation to reverse it. Thomas Burris (1980-1983) – On August 31, 1980, she got married to real-estate developer Thomas James Burris in the Crystal Room of The Beverly Hills Hotel.Pop, Easy Listening, Soft Rock, Jazz Instruments Sibling – Richard Carpenter (Older Brother) (Musician, Record Producer, Arranger, Songwriter, Conductor).Father – Harold Bertram Carpenter (Worked in the Printing Business).
She had also taken tap dancing and ballet lessons. Later, she attended California State University, Long Beach as a music major and performed in the college choir along with her brother. Karen Carpenter studied at Downey High School from where she graduated in the spring of 1967 and received the John Philip Sousa Band Award. Grace New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Connecticut, United States Nationality Education Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park, Westlake Village, California, United States Sun Sign At the age of 32, Karen Carpenter passed away on February 4, 1983, in Downey, California, United States due to “emetine cardiotoxicity due to or as a consequence of anorexia nervosa.” Resting Place