What do you think of The Carpenters? I'm a relatively new fan. I knew of their "big" songs but never paid that much attention to them until recently.

But I've never seen them discussed here on the org or very rarely at least. I know they're considered to be schmaltzy and a sugary act by many and they were. That's what I like about them though. They didn't pretend to be anything else.

A few favorites:

-And who can ever forget Karen's voice? Her voice is so beautiful and haunting. Her voice has quickly become one of my faves. Richard is very talented as well and underrated. Karen brought the songs to life with her magical voice but Richard was the creative force behind the group and is underrated as an arranger/producer.

Actually, I think "The Carpenters" as a whole are underrated. I hardly hear their songs on the radio and don't hear much about them period.

They made nice songs that are of course classics. Who could forget "Close to You"? A true classic. Their music crossed racial lines, and it was tragic to learn what Karen suffered from over the years, behind the scenes.

Karen could sing her ass off.

When I was young I listened to the radio......

Love that song!

Karen has one of the greatest voices of anybody of all time and Richard's a great composer so yeah I dig some material from the Carpenters, definitely. Especially their arrangements of songs like "Close to You" and "We've Only Just Begun" (the latter one I think is my favorite Carpenters song).

They have some nice classics. Nice group

I love their music!

They were constantly on the radio when I was growing up, but then again , I'm old

BTW, "We've Only Just Begun" (Paul Williams/Roger Nichols) was originally written for a bank commercial!

From Wikipedia:

The song originally debuted in a wedding-themed television commercial for Crocker National Bank in California in the late winter of 1970, with Williams providing the vocals. Crocker Bank had begun an advertising campaign designed to appeal to young newlywed couples and enlisted Williams and Nichols to write a song conveying the start of a new life in marriage. The bank stressed that they didn't want a conventional jingle, and instead planned the new song to play over footage of a couple featured in the commercial, in a format similar to the modern day music video. A direct reference to the bank was thus left out, in part to make the song more marketable. Williams later confessed that the team would have had trouble conceiving of a reasonable rhyme for the word "Crocker".^[2]

Richard Carpenter had seen the Crocker Bank commercial late one night that winter and instantly identified Williams' vocal work. He called Williams and asked if a full-length version of the song were available. At the time, only the two verses heard in the commercial and no bridge were in existence. As Williams himself admits in the documentary Close to You: Remembering The Carpenters, he and Nichols had had only minor success with some album cuts and B-sides but no singles. The Carpenters' interest offered a chance at getting a major single recorded by one of the hottest groups of the era. Williams freely admits that he 'lied through his teeth' and claimed that there was, in fact, a bridge and an additional verse, forming a complete song.

As a result, Nichols and Williams burned the midnight oil for many nights, stalling Carpenter as he waited to hear the complete song. Once it was played for him, Carpenter admits, he saw 'Big Hit' immediately. According to Nichols, the ends justified the deceptive means, since Carpenter selected the composition for the duo's third single and included it on the LP Close to You giving the song and the work of Nichols and Williams a life, and a contract at A&M Records for which according to the duo, they were eternally grateful.

...

Timmy84 said:

Karen has one of the greatest voices of anybody of all time and Richard's a great composer so yeah I dig some material from the Carpenters, definitely. Especially their arrangements of songs like "Close to You" and "We've Only Just Begun" (the latter one I think is my favorite Carpenters song).

I agree Timmy. "We've Only Just Begun" is a keeper. Great classic by the Carpenters. Karen's voice was very soothing and she had a way of making you feel what she expressed in her songs.

[Edited 8/3/11 12:33pm]

paligap said:

I love their music!

They were constantly on the radio when I was growing up, but then again , I'm old

BTW, "We've Only Just Begun" (Paul Williams/Roger Nichols) was originally written for a bank commercial!

From Wikipedia:

The song originally debuted in a wedding-themed television commercial for Crocker National Bank in California in the late winter of 1970, with Williams providing the vocals. Crocker Bank had begun an advertising campaign designed to appeal to young newlywed couples and enlisted Williams and Nichols to write a song conveying the start of a new life in marriage. The bank stressed that they didn't want a conventional jingle, and instead planned the new song to play over footage of a couple featured in the commercial, in a format similar to the modern day music video. A direct reference to the bank was thus left out, in part to make the song more marketable. Williams later confessed that the team would have had trouble conceiving of a reasonable rhyme for the word "Crocker".^[2]

Richard Carpenter had seen the Crocker Bank commercial late one night that winter and instantly identified Williams' vocal work. He called Williams and asked if a full-length version of the song were available. At the time, only the two verses heard in the commercial and no bridge were in existence. As Williams himself admits in the documentary Close to You: Remembering The Carpenters, he and Nichols had had only minor success with some album cuts and B-sides but no singles. The Carpenters' interest offered a chance at getting a major single recorded by one of the hottest groups of the era. Williams freely admits that he 'lied through his teeth' and claimed that there was, in fact, a bridge and an additional verse, forming a complete song.

As a result, Nichols and Williams burned the midnight oil for many nights, stalling Carpenter as he waited to hear the complete song. Once it was played for him, Carpenter admits, he saw 'Big Hit' immediately. According to Nichols, the ends justified the deceptive means, since Carpenter selected the composition for the duo's third single and included it on the LP Close to You giving the song and the work of Nichols and Williams a life, and a contract at A&M Records for which according to the duo, they were eternally grateful.

...

Hehehe yeah I remember viewing how the song came to be. Loved how Richard turned it from a commercial jingle to a pop classic.

2elijah said:

Timmy84 said:

Karen has one of the greatest voices of anybody of all time and Richard's a great composer so yeah I dig some material from the Carpenters, definitely. Especially their arrangements of songs like "Close to You" and "We've Only Just Begun" (the latter one I think is my favorite Carpenters song).

I agree Timmy. "We've Only Just Begun" is a keeper. Great classic by the Carpenters. Karen's voice was very soothing and she had a way of making you feel what she expressed in her songs.

[Edited 8/3/11 12:33pm]

I know, right? I can't explain it, but her voice just goes through inside and just... you can feel her soul in the records. It's almost chilling.

the carpenters are great

i remember a few years ago going back to someones house for a post club party and in the morning the story of the carpenters was on tv and we were all fucked and glued to it as the perfect post club chillout

it's funny that stuff like country and western is also great morning after chillout music

2elijah said:

They made nice songs that are of course classics. Who could forget "Close to You"? A true classic. Their music crossed racial lines, and it was tragic to learn what Karen suffered from over the years, behind the scenes.

I'm reading "Little Girl Blue" right now by Randy Schmidt and it goes into great detail about Karen's struggles with anorexia. It's truly a heartbreaking read. I knew she was ill obviously but I had no idea just how sick she was. Her dysfunctional family, particularly her Mother, certainly didn't help matters.

When it comes to their music, I truly believe that Karen's first love was drumming however and not singing.

Karen seemed so happy playing the drums which she had been playing since she was in High School.

Cinnamon234 said:

2elijah said:

They made nice songs that are of course classics. Who could forget "Close to You"? A true classic. Their music crossed racial lines, and it was tragic to learn what Karen suffered from over the years, behind the scenes.

I'm reading "Little Girl Blue" right now by Randy Schmidt and it goes into great detail about Karen's struggles with anorexia. It's truly a heartbreaking read. I knew she was ill obviously but I had no idea just how sick she was. Her dysfunctional family, particularly her Mother, certainly didn't help matters.

When it comes to their music, I truly believe that Karen's first love was drumming however and not singing.

Karen seemed so happy playing the drums which she had been playing since she was in High School.

It was so long ago, I never realized she played the drums. I was of course surprised when I found out she suffered from anorexia, and when the reports came out later about how bad it was getting. Sad really, she was so talented.

Cinnamon234 said:

2elijah said:

They made nice songs that are of course classics. Who could forget "Close to You"? A true classic. Their music crossed racial lines, and it was tragic to learn what Karen suffered from over the years, behind the scenes.

I'm reading "Little Girl Blue" right now by Randy Schmidt and it goes into great detail about Karen's struggles with anorexia. It's truly a heartbreaking read. I knew she was ill obviously but I had no idea just how sick she was. Her dysfunctional family, particularly her Mother, certainly didn't help matters.

When it comes to their music, I truly believe that Karen's first love was drumming however and not singing.

Karen seemed so happy playing the drums which she had been playing since she was in High School.

Karen has NEVER gotten props for being one of the best drummers of all time. I'm serious. I saw that footage - and footage from when they were just starting out and they were "the Richard Carpenter trio" (I believe it was either 1966 or 1967-ish) and Karen definitely killed it on the drums. She played drums on the first, I believe, five Carpenters records.

But yeah Karen's life is just sad. It was even sadder to see that her family didn't know how to react to her issues especially with anorexia and when one of them (Richard) finally saw what was going on, all he could do was react in tough love (or anger) because he didn't know what was really going on with his sister, considering how tight they were as brother and sister.

paligap said:

I love their music!

They were constantly on the radio when I was growing up, but then again , I'm old

BTW, "We've Only Just Begun" (Paul Williams/Roger Nichols) was originally written for a bank commercial!

From Wikipedia:

The song originally debuted in a wedding-themed television commercial for Crocker National Bank in California in the late winter of 1970, with Williams providing the vocals. Crocker Bank had begun an advertising campaign designed to appeal to young newlywed couples and enlisted Williams and Nichols to write a song conveying the start of a new life in marriage. The bank stressed that they didn't want a conventional jingle, and instead planned the new song to play over footage of a couple featured in the commercial, in a format similar to the modern day music video. A direct reference to the bank was thus left out, in part to make the song more marketable. Williams later confessed that the team would have had trouble conceiving of a reasonable rhyme for the word "Crocker".^[2]

Richard Carpenter had seen the Crocker Bank commercial late one night that winter and instantly identified Williams' vocal work. He called Williams and asked if a full-length version of the song were available. At the time, only the two verses heard in the commercial and no bridge were in existence. As Williams himself admits in the documentary Close to You: Remembering The Carpenters, he and Nichols had had only minor success with some album cuts and B-sides but no singles. The Carpenters' interest offered a chance at getting a major single recorded by one of the hottest groups of the era. Williams freely admits that he 'lied through his teeth' and claimed that there was, in fact, a bridge and an additional verse, forming a complete song.

As a result, Nichols and Williams burned the midnight oil for many nights, stalling Carpenter as he waited to hear the complete song. Once it was played for him, Carpenter admits, he saw 'Big Hit' immediately. According to Nichols, the ends justified the deceptive means, since Carpenter selected the composition for the duo's third single and included it on the LP Close to You giving the song and the work of Nichols and Williams a life, and a contract at A&M Records for which according to the duo, they were eternally grateful.

...

Interesting! Richard definitely had a great ear for music and knew what songs would work well for the group and Karen's voice.

Speaking of "We've Only Just Begun", I read that this was THE Wedding Song of the 70's, which I can totally see . Perfect song for people getting married.

Here's a nice performance of "We've Only Just Begun"

Karen looks and sounds great. The Carpenters were supposedly perfectionists who always wanted their live performances to sound exactly like the records which doesn't leave much room for improv but still a great performance nonetheless.

What I really love about Karen's voice is that although she was not what you would call a "belter" as her vocals were more understated, she had such great clarity in her voice and a wonderful, unique tone that she didn't need to do that. Her voice was every bit as effective (if not more) as some of the more "powerful" singer or "Belters". Her voice really gets to you. You believe every word she sings.

I just adore her voice.

Timmy84 said:

2elijah said:

I agree Timmy. "We've Only Just Begun" is a keeper. Great classic by the Carpenters. Karen's voice was very soothing and she had a way of making you feel what she expressed in her songs.

[Edited 8/3/11 12:33pm]

I know, right? I can't explain it, but her voice just goes through inside and just... you can feel her soul in the records. It's almost chilling.

You hit it on the nose. I like it when artists put their "soul" into their singing where you can feel the words, the emotions, and actually listen to the words and the music. Often times people just get caught up the music, but they don't feel the words or the emotions or messeage in it. Those were the "radio days" where songwere on replay, so many of the classics just got stuck in your head, and you pretty much caught yourself from time-to-time, just humming songs consistently played on the radio, anytime of the day.

These days, most people design their own playlist, so they listen to songs on their own time, whereas, back in the day, you turn on a station at home, and keep it to the same one, and you will hear the same song played again in less than 2 hours, so you more or less became conditioned, in a sense, to hearing a lot of the classics on repeat.

Cinnamon234 said:

paligap said:

I love their music!

They were constantly on the radio when I was growing up, but then again , I'm old

BTW, "We've Only Just Begun" (Paul Williams/Roger Nichols) was originally written for a bank commercial!

From Wikipedia:

The song originally debuted in a wedding-themed television commercial for Crocker National Bank in California in the late winter of 1970, with Williams providing the vocals. Crocker Bank had begun an advertising campaign designed to appeal to young newlywed couples and enlisted Williams and Nichols to write a song conveying the start of a new life in marriage. The bank stressed that they didn't want a conventional jingle, and instead planned the new song to play over footage of a couple featured in the commercial, in a format similar to the modern day music video. A direct reference to the bank was thus left out, in part to make the song more marketable. Williams later confessed that the team would have had trouble conceiving of a reasonable rhyme for the word "Crocker".^[2]

Richard Carpenter had seen the Crocker Bank commercial late one night that winter and instantly identified Williams' vocal work. He called Williams and asked if a full-length version of the song were available. At the time, only the two verses heard in the commercial and no bridge were in existence. As Williams himself admits in the documentary Close to You: Remembering The Carpenters, he and Nichols had had only minor success with some album cuts and B-sides but no singles. The Carpenters' interest offered a chance at getting a major single recorded by one of the hottest groups of the era. Williams freely admits that he 'lied through his teeth' and claimed that there was, in fact, a bridge and an additional verse, forming a complete song.

As a result, Nichols and Williams burned the midnight oil for many nights, stalling Carpenter as he waited to hear the complete song. Once it was played for him, Carpenter admits, he saw 'Big Hit' immediately. According to Nichols, the ends justified the deceptive means, since Carpenter selected the composition for the duo's third single and included it on the LP Close to You giving the song and the work of Nichols and Williams a life, and a contract at A&M Records for which according to the duo, they were eternally grateful.

...

Interesting! Richard definitely had a great ear for music and knew what songs would work well for the group and Karen's voice.

Speaking of "We've Only Just Begun", I read that this was THE Wedding Song of the 70's, which I can totally see . Perfect song for people getting married.

Here's a nice performance of "We've Only Just Begun"

Karen looks and sounds great. The Carpenters were supposedly perfectionists who always wanted their live performances to sound exactly like the records which doesn't leave much room for improv but still a great performance nonetheless.

What I really love about Karen's voice is that although she was not what you would call a "belter" as her vocals were more understated, she had such great clarity in her voice and a wonderful, unique tone that she didn't need to do that. Her voice was every bit as effective (if not more) as some of the more "powerful" singer or "Belters". Her voice really gets to you. You believe every word she sings.

I just adore her voice.

True, and when they performed live, they pretty much sounded just like the songs they recorded. I have to admit that Karen had a very, soothing and relaxing voice that made you think about life and visualize what she sang about, so-to-speak.

[Edited 8/3/11 12:57pm]

Speaking of Karen, does anyone own her solo album?

I know it was originally sheleved by A&M and was released only after her death. The record company didn't think the material was strong enough to release and apparently her brother Richard agreed as well. This had to be devastating to her as I know she wanted to be on her own and go the disco/Donna Summer route, but after listening to a few songs on the album I have to say that I was not all that impressed by what I heard. I'll have to listen to the whole thing though to give a more fair review.

In "Little Girl Blue", the author claims that Rod Temperton (who submitted several songs for Karen's solo album, but she only ended up using two of his songs) offered Karen "Off The Wall" and "Rock With You". As we all know, these songs were eventually offered to Michael Jackson and recorded for his "Off The Wall" album, but I thought that was interesting.

I can't imagine Karen singing either of those songs and I can't imagine anyone singing those songs as well as MJ but who knows. It could have worked maybe. With the kind of voice she had, she could make anything sound amazing pretty much lol.

Love them! Karen had a voice like honey...

I like them.

paligap said:

I love their music!

They were constantly on the radio when I was growing up, but then again , I'm old

BTW, "We've Only Just Begun" (Paul Williams/Roger Nichols) was originally written for a bank commercial!

From Wikipedia:

The song originally debuted in a wedding-themed television commercial for Crocker National Bank in California in the late winter of 1970, with Williams providing the vocals. Crocker Bank had begun an advertising campaign designed to appeal to young newlywed couples and enlisted Williams and Nichols to write a song conveying the start of a new life in marriage. The bank stressed that they didn't want a conventional jingle, and instead planned the new song to play over footage of a couple featured in the commercial, in a format similar to the modern day music video. A direct reference to the bank was thus left out, in part to make the song more marketable. Williams later confessed that the team would have had trouble conceiving of a reasonable rhyme for the word "Crocker".^[2]

Richard Carpenter had seen the Crocker Bank commercial late one night that winter and instantly identified Williams' vocal work. He called Williams and asked if a full-length version of the song were available. At the time, only the two verses heard in the commercial and no bridge were in existence. As Williams himself admits in the documentary Close to You: Remembering The Carpenters, he and Nichols had had only minor success with some album cuts and B-sides but no singles. The Carpenters' interest offered a chance at getting a major single recorded by one of the hottest groups of the era. Williams freely admits that he 'lied through his teeth' and claimed that there was, in fact, a bridge and an additional verse, forming a complete song.

As a result, Nichols and Williams burned the midnight oil for many nights, stalling Carpenter as he waited to hear the complete song. Once it was played for him, Carpenter admits, he saw 'Big Hit' immediately. According to Nichols, the ends justified the deceptive means, since Carpenter selected the composition for the duo's third single and included it on the LP Close to You giving the song and the work of Nichols and Williams a life, and a contract at A&M Records for which according to the duo, they were eternally grateful.

...

^^^ Same here. My friends and I used to play their records all the time and sing along. Plus their songs were easy to sing to and Karen sang in my range. A lovely voice and unforgettable songs...until the disco era. Too bad she passed so young.

Karen's voice is so angelic.

One of the most touching and angelic voices ever. Such a beautiful tone.

She has a timeless voice........ Merry Christmas Darling is my favorite followed by Rainy Days & Top Of The World.

Another very beautiful song by The Carpenters...



...Bless The Beasts and the Children



Music for adventurous listeners

tA

Tribal Records

A couple from Richard Carpenter's solo albums...



...Time & Karen's Theme



Music for adventurous listeners

tA

Tribal Records

Really love them.

I love Tony Pelusos guitar solo in this.

paligap said:

BTW, "We've Only Just Begun" (Paul Williams/Roger Nichols) was originally written for a bank commercial!

That commercial was the brainchild of Hal Riney - one of the all-time giants of advertising...