Karen Carpenter

Putting aside the fact she had one of the best ever female voices in pop history, her drumming was very advanced for pop of the day. Her drumming in "another song" was close to prog rock in pop tems. I love her articulation and totally egoless musicianship. Just imagine her prowess if she hadn't gone so young. IMO, a way better than credible drummer who's tub thumping reputation suffered as a result of her unique vocal talent taking the limelight.
 
Very talented indeed! Singer,writer,composer,arranger,etc. Her and her brother Richard were some of the best at their game in the 70's. While as a young rock drummer I didn't care for everything they put out, you had to respect their accomplishments. OTOH,,,it was very sad HOW she died. I don't remember which news story I read it from years ago, nor do I have a link, but the story from former band members was that the Carpenters were perfectionists of sorts and if you missed something on stage you were grilled pretty hard about or even fired. Karen and her brother used to read all of the reviews they could find from shows the night before--at that time it was all newspaper reviews--in different towns they traveled through. One time Karen read a review the next day that mentioned "the chubby little drummer"--meaning her when she took her turn drumming during the course of the show-- and it really upset her. At the time, she was thin and looked perfectly fine but it really began the sad chain of events that began her downward spiral to her ultimate end. Sad that words can hurt people like they do.
 
John Bonham's notorious for at times having a meathead attitude. Truth is he couldnt last a minute in a Carpenters tune. And that's precisely why he said this Im sure. Karen Carpenter was a fantastically skilled drummer at a time when it was UNHEARD of for girls to play drums. I love John Bonham's playing but dislike his misogynist attitude that is actually wrong in this statement.
 
Thank You Bernhard
It is fitting that she be here among all of the great ones.
 
Karen capenter is one of my drumming heroes.

Until recently I didn't realise how funny she was too, (saw a youtube clip about how she started with the glockespiel and switched to the drums)

What a talent. What a waste (her untimely death)
 
Putting aside the fact she had one of the best ever female voices in pop history, her drumming was very advanced for pop of the day. Her drumming in "another song" was close to prog rock in pop tems. I love her articulation and totally egoless musicianship. Just imagine her prowess if she hadn't gone so young. IMO, a way better than credible drummer who's tub thumping reputation suffered as a result of her unique vocal talent taking the limelight.

A very late Amen to that. A perfect summation. My all-time favorite female voice.
 
A lot of people don't realize, Karen started that whole style of that open, sparse single headed tom tom fills that everyone used in the 70's. She didn't have monstrous technique but she was tasty and musical. The studio musicians who eventually played drums copied her style.
 
A lot of people don't realize, Karen started that whole style of that open, sparse single headed tom tom fills that everyone used in the 70's. She didn't have monstrous technique but she was tasty and musical. The studio musicians who eventually played drums copied her style.

Karen before Hal Blaine??
 
I saw a video of her, drumming and singing, and all the sudden she goes into this fill...it was really cool, very much like the fills Bonzo did on D'yer maker. very musical drumming, and at the point in her career she could have chosen not to drum...I think she just really loved playing drums.
 
Karen before Hal Blaine??

Mmmm, it was different. Blaine defined the 60's and played more 8ths and 16ths. Not that choppy accented type of thing that got popular in the 70's. And the close mic-ing really brought out the punch of the single heads that wasn't especially prevalent on those Wrecking Crew recordings.
 
31 years ago today we lost one of my greatest influences: Karen Carpenter. Gone way too soon. In tribute I thought I would post one of my favorite vids of her playing drums. Check her out starting about the 3:05 mark on this video...amazing stuff. And she always seemed to just purely love playing the drums. RIP Karen...you are missed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm0kdP8LnLY
 
Right on !

She was a great talent.

.
 
And also in my top 3 all time favorite singers regardless of genres. Every singer on these reality shows should listen and watch Karen's total classy style. Understated with absolutely no need to shout or do vocal runs.
 
What a talented girl. Gone too early.
 
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