Great American Voices: Karen Carpenter

When discussing outstanding musical artists, it is only fitting to begin by highlighting the finest of all Great American Voices: Karen Carpenter. She and brother Richard burst onto the music charts fifty years ago when (They Long to Be) Close to You made music lovers sit up and take notice as it topped the Billboard charts in only six week's time. 

Carpenters records were never the flavor of the month. Eschewing popular trends, they were instead finely designed works meant to build a career upon, recordings crafted to endure decade after decade. Richard's production and arrangements were tasteful in their approach and stunning in their detail. Rarely if ever did his work compromise or overshadow the voice of Karen, the woman who would become the cornerstone of their sound during an unfortunately shortened career. Hers was so distinctive a voice that the sound of one rich, soulful, and perfect note brought instant recognition. Yes, she was that gifted. Karen had a voice only God Himself could have created. 

Today marks almost four decades since Karen's shocking death at the age of 32. It would be natural to focus on what could have been or on the illness that sadly consumed her life, but it is better to honor her memory and highlight some of her most profound work. And what a wonderful legacy she left behind!

We've Only Just Begun, Goodbye to Love, Superstar, Yesterday Once More, Top of the World, I Need to Be in Love, Rainy Days and Mondays, For All We Know. The list of well known hits by the duo rolls off the tongue of anyone who turned on the dial to 70's radio. Amidst musical acts of all types and ever changing trends, there among them stood the girl next door, the approachable Karen Carpenter with her distinctively intimate, tender, and vulnerable voice. An American original appreciated by fans worldwide.

Listeners who chose to venture beyond the singles that helped define the decade were rewarded by discovering some of the most substantial works in their catalogue. 

It was not until after much success and later in their career that Karen and Richard chose to record music from the Great American Songbook. Once they did, critics and fans alike expressed the idea that perhaps the duo was meant to produce this kind of material all along. They may have been right.

When putting together the 1975 album Horizon, Richard thought it was time for Karen to record something totally different than what they had done in the past or what was currently heard on the airwaves. 

Their take on the Andrews Sisters elegant 40's hit "I Can Dream, Can't I? paid off handsomely. Remaining faithful to the genre, the song was orchestrated by the era's gifted Billy May and sung beautifully by Karen in her majestic lower register. It was a risky choice but worth the end result. With it came a new level of respect and interest. This was a full eight years before Linda Ronstadt's much acclaimed collaboration with Nelson Riddle, when her What's New album rose to the Top Five of the pop charts. Unknowingly the Carpenters began a trend- even if somewhat delayed- by setting the stage for many more Pop and Adult Contemporary artists to try their hand at this potentially lucrative direction. Interesting note: Richard does not appear on this song, making it the very first Karen Carpenter solo performance since the duo signed to A&M Records.

Karen and Richard's Horizon also contained another unexpected cut, the plaintive and insightful Desperado, first recorded by the Eagles, Ronstadt, and eventually many others. With Neil Sedaka's Solitaire and Richard Carpenter's own composition Only Yesterday on the same collection, the album became a favorite of critics and fans alike. Proving Karen could successfully record in any genre, it served another purpose as well: Horizon squarely placed Karen in the same league of artists as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Perry Como, and others like them who were rightly considered American treasures, artists the duo themselves considered at the top of the craft. Could this have been Richard's plan all along? As part of a duo, his sister would never win a Grammy for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, but if Richard had his way, this stellar collection would prove Karen was their peer, the heir apparent that could have dominated the category as a solo artist.

In addition to that sublime album and their new take on the Andrews Sisters tune, the duo recorded two other standards notable of mention. The best of the two, Victor Young and Edward Heyman iconic "When I Fall in Love", seems to have been written just for Karen. Even though it had been recorded many times before the public first heard it on their 1980 television special, Karen brings even greater depth and warmth than the beautiful Nat King Cole rendition. Quite the accomplishment. Her reading of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's Little Girl Blue strikes an even sadder note given the details of Karen's troubles. The painful yearning in her voice couldn't be hidden. Certainly, there should have been many other classics recorded. In a different world, there would have been at least one full album of them.

Beyond the numerous hit singles they introduced to the public and dipping their toes into the standards of the past, Karen and Richard brought several album cuts to the forefront, songs which became new American standards. 

Leon Russell's intimate "A Song for You" became the iconic recording in her hands as Karen exposed her very soul, singing words that would haunt her fans after her passing. The beautiful jazz tinged "This Masquerade", another lovely Leon Russell composition recorded years before George Benson made it famous, shimmered in its elegance as Karen's supple voice glided over Richard's sparkling piano. 

Certainly one of the most heartbreaking songs the duo ever recorded, the Paul Williams penned Ordinary Fool, became further proof of Karen's status as the best of her generation. Invoking lyrical shades reminiscent of the earlier Goodbye to Love, she took loneliness and resignation to an entirely new level of despair. Richard's wisely restrained arrangement made it all the more stunning. This ultimate saloon song was first sung in the mid-70s but it remained shelved until it surfaced in 1983 on the first of several posthumous Carpenters albums, Voice of the Heart.

Unfortunately, Karen's pop chart rivals were painstakingly slow in expressing their admiration for her once in a lifetime gift. After Karen passed, it seemed everyone hopped on board calling it out, giving her the accolades long overdue. (Richard has yet to receive his.) Nonetheless, the list of her admirers grows with every subsequent generation, stretching across boundaries of genre and demographic: Elton John, Gloria Estefan, Madonna, John Fogerty, Shania Twain, many others, and perhaps in the most touching honor, John Lennon and Paul McCartney- two of Karen and Richard's biggest influences. The ongoing abundance of tribute acts - who cannot quite duplicate her nuanced brilliance- only testifies to her impact and that of her brother, who carefully stewards her enduring legacy. 

Half a century after first coming into the public eye, Karen Carpenter is an artist that is still written about, discussed, and heard. Beyond her earthly life, she remains an influencer who continues to make her mark in contemporary culture. Greatness is not defined by popularity. It is a recognized description for something that is unique, timeless, and far beyond ordinary skill or capability. Greatness is achieved by artists just as complex and extraordinary as the art produced. In these ways and many more, Karen Carpenter is the Great American Voice.

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In addition to my being a guest contributor to Randy L. Schmidt's excellent Carpenters: All Illustrated Discography, I have written almost 200 articles on this blog about Karen and Richard Carpenter. Look deeper and you'll find album reviews, rare photos, and more- including an article about when I saw them in concert and was finally was able to meet them back stage in Las Vegas. 

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This is part of a continuing series of posts on the albums of Karen and Richard Carpenter. There are also numerous stand alone posts highlights different aspects of their career, recordings, and life. 

Below is the list of my initial reviews of their albums and then my "Revisited /Fresh Look" reviews a decade later. 

My Initial Reviews of the albums:

Offering/Ticket to Ride

Close to You

Carpenters

A Song for You

Now & Then

The Singles 1969-1973

Live In Japan

Horizon

A Kind of Hush

Live at the Palladium

Passage

The Singles 1974-1978

Christmas Portrait

Made in America

Voice of the Heart

An Old Fashioned Christmas

Time (Richard Solo)

Lovelines

Karen Carpenter (Solo)

 

My Revisited / Fresh Look at the albums:

Offering / Ticket to Ride
Close to You
Carpenters 
A Song for You 

Now & Then

The Singles 1969 - 1973

Live in Japan

Horizon

A Kind of Hush

Live at the Palladium

Passage