Karen Carpenter

This quote says it ALL!



'Buddy, this is Karen Carpenter.' He said, 'Karen Carpenter, do you know that you're one of my favorite drummers?

How many drummers can boast of receiving an accolade from Buddy? And knowing Buddy, he wasn't just "being nice to the girl."
.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TFGBqek7JBE

A duet of This Masquerade with the immortal Ella Fitzgerald. I would KILL to have this in its entirety...
Can you imagine how Karen Felt when Buddy said that. Knowing how condescending Buddy could be with people. I would have been nervous and shaking when I met him! If he said that to me I probably would have thought that I was on candid camera! Or just simply passed out!
 
Nice to see some Karen Carpenter love going on. If you want to hear some spirited drumming from KC (along with some of the duo's tight, layered harmonies and some fun musical ideas) check out "Another Song". Here's how Richard Carpenter described it:

"A perfect example of pretentious, wacky 60s musical abandon, it is complete with a recitative (lifted from Handel) and extended solo backside. Karen’s and my multi-tracked vocal break, which precedes the Borodin-inspired penultimate section, however, is still thrilling to listen to."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zG-S79OgkqA
 
Agree. Dying in an untimely fashion is an extremely shrewd career move, particularly if you are a musician, an actor, a poet/writer, or a politician. It is GREAT for the legacy.

Jim Morrison is still worshipped by many today, but when he was alive, most of us went to the concerts to see what crazy Jim would do next to outrage and offend.
 
Karen Carpenter??

Is Karen Carpenter really not on this Website? Meg White makes it, but not Karen Carpenter?? Wow...
 
Re: Karen Carpenter??

You're not the first one to ask this question. Im puzzled myself! I don't know why either.
She was an amazing drummer!
 
Re: Karen Carpenter??

Good one, Klark. For a long time I always judged her drumming by her simple and tasteful work in ballads, in which she also sang. Then I saw her doing a goofy show drumming spot in YouTube and realised she had a pretty decent jazz technique - nimble and precise.

Drummers who are also lead vocalists have always amazed me. And, of course, they never compete with or down out the singer :)
 
Let's stage a riot or a boycott or something.

Or maybe you could compile the data you'd put on her page and forward it to Big B. That would expedite the process.
 
Oh Man,

You just "drummed up" some very sad memories and feelings. I fell in love with her just for her sensuous, lazy, laid-back voice, and then again for her percussion. The Carpenters ROCKED, and I don't care who doesn't share my feelings.

She was beautiful and heavily talented in every possible description- she gave rock and "pop" a genre that has yet to be equaled. When Karen passed away, I cried like a baby for a day or 2.

OK, I'll admit it-- I'm all misty-eyed thinking about her now.
I remember going to jail in 1980-something for starting a fistfight with one of Leslie West's (Mountain) roadies who (after too many shots and bong hits) said some things about her. Cost me about $400 in fines, a year's probation, but it cost him a tooth!

May God bless her sweet soul.

C. P.
 
On the plus side, Karen's thread in the Drummers section of the forum has three pages.

Guess, you can't have everyone and you'd expect some fine drummers not to be listed - Chris Cutler for one. Never mind, they are greatly appreciated in their circles and that's what matters most. Gongs and DW listings are just one chunk of the icing on the cake.
 
Oh Man,

You just "drummed up" some very sad memories and feelings. I fell in love with her just for her sensuous, lazy, laid-back voice, and then again for her percussion. The Carpenters ROCKED, and I don't care who doesn't share my feelings.

She was beautiful and heavily talented in every possible description- she gave rock and "pop" a genre that has yet to be equaled. When Karen passed away, I cried like a baby for a day or 2.

OK, I'll admit it-- I'm all misty-eyed thinking about her now.
I remember going to jail in 1980-something for starting a fistfight with one of Leslie West's (Mountain) roadies who (after too many shots and bong hits) said some things about her. Cost me about $400 in fines, a year's probation, but it cost him a tooth!

May God bless her sweet soul.

C. P.
With you all the way on that CP. One of the all time great female vocalists IMO. Her drumming? Well, I'd rather regard that as a display by someone with so much talent to spare. What a voice though. For me personally, almost up there with Alison Moyet in the distinctive timbre scale.
 
I'm surprised that Karen is not listed. I'm a heavy metal drummer, and well, I think good drummer no matter the kind of music, should be here, and she MUST have a well deserved spot in this web site. Igor Cavalera, not listed aswell :-(
 
Yes!

That is absolutely true, Ruok. You are correct.


Karen Carpenter always considered herself a "drummer who could sing". Not a singer who could play drums. ;-)


What a genius she was...at BOTH! ;-)


Play On! :)

I agree! I remember her saying that as well. A drummer who could sing. That's how KC described herself in an interview I saw once.

She WAS amazing!
 
From John Bonham:

"I'd like to have it publicised that I came in after Karen Carpenter in the Playboy drummer poll! She couldn't last ten minutes with a Zeppelin number." - Mick Bonham Book - 1975 interview
 
From John Bonham:

"I'd like to have it publicised that I came in after Karen Carpenter in the Playboy drummer poll! She couldn't last ten minutes with a Zeppelin number." - Mick Bonham Book - 1975 interview

i'll bet she could. i think it more likely that Bonzo couldn't play jazz.

ps: i love both

pps: SANDY WEST !!!!!
 
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