The Carpenters

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What's the opinions here of the duo The Carpenters , Karen and Richard , from the 60s and 70s ?
I'd be especially interested in the opinions of those my age-ish and older , who knew of them ~ Frankly , before Karen's sad death , which would certainly have given a certain ~ um , gravitas , to use a big , pretentious , word , I'm (sorta) sorry - to her image - ???????

I remember listening to The Carpenters growing up during the 70's, along with several other bands from that time period. I love Karen's voice, she was amazingly talented. I sometimes wish I could go back to those days, life was so much easier then.

At the time I viewed them as assurance for adults that all youth were not wild sex, drug crazed hippies. I do think trying to hold up that pristine image was a burden that helped do her in.

I did like the 90's tribute album by alt rockers of that era
If I Were a Carpenter (tribute album)

I like the Carpenters I have a CD of theirs.

I like their songs.

As a vocal group, The Carpenters popularity did not take off until Karen started singing in the lower female registers. Although her skills as a drummer earned admiration from drumming luminaries and peers, she is best known for her contralto vocal range. She sang more lead vocals than her brother.

Her death was another heart-breaking moment in my life.

I screamed WHY??? when I heard she died from complications from anorexia. it felt like my heart was ripped out and stomped into mush. she was SO TALENTED! I admired her drumming- hell, I admire anybody who could sing in level voice while simultaneously whipping those cymbals, that is a real congenital talent. to this day I mutter to myself, god-damn! this did NOT have to be!

...Boy , AB , that is really interested that you were so affected !
I think I still remember reading of the death , in the New York Post somewhat infamous tabloid , maybe having brought one to have/give to my father in the hospital .

I can just imagine how she'd sound today. heaven's band is enriched.

Yesterday Once More: Amazingly great song!

^^^
yes, it is playing in my head as I write this

...Trying to play music on the streets/busk , I've been using a tambourine as my main instrument - Frankly , and I bang it pretty hard , (so much so that people complain) it gives my ear some " endless banging " mild pain ~ Really , I need to find some less loud percussion instruments , too , but I can't afford it now ~ having a st7eady 4/4 keeps me in the groove , but it makes me plod too much , too .
Someone said " get a string instrument " , probably right , but what ?

^^^
yes, it is playing in my head as I write this

...The " Only Yesterday " song is a particular favorite of mine - I have long harbored the thought of doing a slightly more " rock " version of it .
One reason , oddly , that I came to like it as a pop music buff looing at histories of pop-rock in the 80s is that , seeing it listed as a large hit , the title threw me , even though I knew that I must have heard it ~ Perhaps I thought of it as " Since mI Threw My Sadness Away " , not that title ~ just as I rather thought of " Yesterday Once More " as " All The Oldies But Goodies " or so like .
Some of the carpenters' more " chirpy " songs can show you why they sometimes turned people off ~ the lesser hit " Sweet Sweet Smile " or , at least when heard too many times (In the old " AM Music Effect " ! ) " Close To You ...........

I was born in 1974, so I was too young for their music. I do know of them, though, and knew that Karen died of anorexia, a condition that was virtually unknown to the wider medical/psychiatric community at the time. Just a couple generations before, childhood malnutrition was still common in the US, so the idea that somebody would DELIBERATELY starve herself must have seemed bizarre to the WW2 generation.

I personally think that in the 60s, when excessive thinness became fashionable among women, is when anorexia really started to emerge. After Karen died, it unfortunately opened up the floodgates, her young fans saw that and were attracted to it instead of repulsed. That sounds strange, but many cases of anorexia and bulimia have started when a girl reads about it and decides to try it.

I think it's similar to what is called the Werther Effect, where public awareness of specific people who have killed themselves leads to a spike in suicides and suicide attempts. "Werther" was a character in an 18th century novel who killed himself, and people read the book and tried it for themselves. The Werther Effect is still somewhat of a mystery to psychiatrists.

a complication or comorbidity of the anorexia related to her inbalanced electrolytes which stopped her heart.