Showing posts with label cubby O'Brien. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cubby O'Brien. Show all posts

July 14, 2023

Karen and Richard Carpenter Celebrate Mouseketeer and Drummer Cubby O'Brien

July 14, 1977. A rather special day for a variety of reasons. Here's Richard and Karen Carpenter in Las Vegas celebrating the birthday of drummer Cubby O'Brien. A rare group photo taken a few months before the debut of their 1977 release Passage. 

It's a special photo for me as well! I saw them play Vegas during this series, and in a funny coincidence, I share a birthday- today- with the beloved Mouseketeer. 

I was blessed to see the Carpenters several times during their all too short career. Their music had an enormous impact on my life! If you're curious to read an in depth look at each of their recordings, including rare photos, and get a look at life during the time of Karen and Richard's massive impact on radio, look no further. Below is a list of each album review as well as ones written a decade earlier. In addition, there are many, many articles and rare photos as stand alone posts on the blog. Enjoy!

My "Revisited / Fresh Look" Reviews:
 
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December 12, 2020

Carpenters Band Offers Their Tribute

At the end of 1973, Karen and Richard Carpenter were so hot in the music business that Billboard magazine published a twenty something pages long supplement to celebrate their accomplishments. Both Yesterday Once More and the Now & Then album peaked just short of the summit at Number Two. The next releases by Carpenters would bring them to Number One. Soon to be gold Top of the World had just been released as a new single, and The Singles 1969 - 1973 would come out a few weeks later. It'd top the charts in January 1974.  

Along with the expected industry congratulations and an interview based story with the duo, the Carpenters band took out their own ad. It's this one that is most touching. Doug Strawn, Bob Messenger, Danny Woodhams, Tony Peluso, and Cubby O'Brien signed luggage tags representing different places they'd traveled together. The opening line, "Superstars? Don't ask us." testify to the oft told story that even though Karen and Richard were the clear bosses, the whole team comprised a single family. The ad is a pretty sweet message, a time capsule of sorts of an era long ago and far away.

I'm revisiting each of the Carpenters albums and the impact of their music one at a time. I've finished The Singles 1669 - 1973.  (You can find it here.) The next one I'm working on is  Live in Japan.  In addition to the many articles on Karen and Richard on the blog, the list of original and new reviews appears below.
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My Initial Reviews of the albums:

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