Carpenters Country

Every since the country chart success of Sweet, Sweet Smile from their ambitious 1977 album, Passage, Karen and Richard Carpenter  were asked if they'd ever consider creating an entire disc of country tunes. 

One of the most clever ads the A&M Records 

promotions team devised for Karen and Richard.

This photo might fit for a future country compilation.

With Karen's warm voice, this was a fairly natural direction for the duo to take every once in awhile. Going all the way back to 1970, the Carpenters included country tinged selections in several of their albums, starting with their breakthrough album, Close to You. 

In chronological order, here's a look at the Country Collection that never was:

Reason To Believe 

Top Of The World

Jambalaya

End of the World

Desperado

I'm Caught Between Goodbye and I Love You

One More Time

Sweet Sweet Smile

Two Sides

Those Good Old Dreams

When It's Gone

Two Lives 

The Uninvited Guest 

Thanks to Warren at the A&M Corner discussion boards, we get these shots of a four song promotional disc entitled Country Collection. Issued while their country hit was climbing the charts, its gave jockeys a chance to look backward and play some other selections for their listeners. Was this prepping a new audience for the music of Karen and Richard? Like many things, this is one aspect to their "What coulda been" that we fans will never know.