Good to know that. I don't likeFacebook, it killed all my favorite C's email lists. I'm happy this forum is still pretty active.
33rd Anniversary of Karen's Death (2/4/83)
- Thread starter Diane Sampson
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Good to know that. I don't likeFacebook, it killed all my favorite C's email lists. I'm happy this forum is still pretty active.
manofsteel1979
Member
First off....glad to see some familiar "faces" still here after a few years of absence. 
Secondly, 33 years. Longer than she was alive...sobering to think of for many reasons.
However, I prefer to think of the positive, namely her and Richard's music which stands the test of time. As I type this, HORIZON is spinning on my turntable and she is alive and well, her voice filling the room. As i said years ago in a similar thread, she is immortal.
Secondly, 33 years. Longer than she was alive...sobering to think of for many reasons.
However, I prefer to think of the positive, namely her and Richard's music which stands the test of time. As I type this, HORIZON is spinning on my turntable and she is alive and well, her voice filling the room. As i said years ago in a similar thread, she is immortal.
Chris
Well-Known Member
Thank you. Glad you noticed the YOM little logo on her jacket.
Of course I don't mind that you saved it. Pleased to know you liked it.
Don Malcolm
Well-Known Member
The painful part of this anniversary is what always comes to the fore: the tragic loss of someone so sublimely talented, who had so much more that she could and would have given us. I suspect that virtually all of us here make an extra effort to connect with that unparalleled "voice of the heart" every time that star-crossed date (February 4) comes around on the calendar.
But I think "manofsteel" really has it right: the proper thing is to remember the positive and give equal thanks for Karen's life on the day she was taken from us as we would naturally do on her birthday. Every day of the year is, after all, equally appropriate for us to treat ourselves to the gifts she left for us--gifts that never cease to keep giving.
But I think "manofsteel" really has it right: the proper thing is to remember the positive and give equal thanks for Karen's life on the day she was taken from us as we would naturally do on her birthday. Every day of the year is, after all, equally appropriate for us to treat ourselves to the gifts she left for us--gifts that never cease to keep giving.
Nancy J. Limauro
Nancy J. "YoNance" Limauro
Imagine...Karen would be 66 next month...something tells me she'd be as beautiful as ever. I remember that horrible day..I was cutting hair at the Ct Post Mall in Milford Ct. when the news blurb came over the air..We had WKCI, a.k.a KC101..Notice the letters are Karen Carpenter's initials...
JBee
Active Member
One of the heartening things during this sad anniversary is that going through all the web/Facebook/Tumblr/Twitter tributes to Karen is that the top two things always mentioned by individuals is 1) Karen's incomparable voice and how the Carpenter's music touched their lives and 2) her pioneering place as a role model as one of the pre-eminent female drummers in history, and perhaps the best singing drummer of all time [which I think was something that usually was ignored in her lifetime especially when she moved away from the drums]. The elephant in the room, the cause of her death, was rarely mentioned except either in sadness or because of how many lives Karen may have saved by putting a face on an unknown disease. It's a far cry from when I was growing up in the 80s/90s and Karen Carpenter was just talked about for Christmas music and, mostly, for the reason behind her death.
Time really has a role to play. 33 years later, all those "image" questions that always hampered the recognition of the Carpenters from the media and critics are largely gone because new generations have no idea what that's about, and in a way, Karen's "image" has boomeranged in her favor. People, including those who were born after the Carpenters were huge (like myself) generally love KC (just as they did in 1974 as well, if you read the Rolling Stone article, so nothing has really changed). They love her for her voice, for her drumming, and for her fragility, that unique blend of melancholy and hope that you could always detect in her singing voice, even if you had no idea it mirrored her internal life.
Even in Karen's lifetime there seemed to be few people who actually knew her that didn't adore her in some fashion. Why? Because she was funny, and genuine and...normal. Just think of how many outfits she would continually re-use at TV/public appearances despite having millions of dollars, apparently just because she liked wearing them (like a regular person) - I can't think of a female popstar now (or even then?) who does that. I think that's what a lot of Carpenters fans then and now picked up on. Everytime I hear her talk in interviews (radio/tv or read biography or view documentaries) she just seems like literally the "girl next door" (though she would hate that term I know). Except this girl next door just happened to have one of the best voices in recorded music. She wanted to be remembered in one of the 1978 radio interviews as a musician who made good music and a "nice person", I think the fact that she was very much both, in a world of celebrities becoming famous for doing nothing and/or bad behavior, explains the staying power.
And of course I always remember Richard during this time. I'm happy he's had a happy family life. He has now lived more of his adult life without his little sister/musical partner/best friend/muse for longer than she was on Earth. Having siblings myself (and nowhere near as close as the Carpenters) I can't imagine the loss.
Time really has a role to play. 33 years later, all those "image" questions that always hampered the recognition of the Carpenters from the media and critics are largely gone because new generations have no idea what that's about, and in a way, Karen's "image" has boomeranged in her favor. People, including those who were born after the Carpenters were huge (like myself) generally love KC (just as they did in 1974 as well, if you read the Rolling Stone article, so nothing has really changed). They love her for her voice, for her drumming, and for her fragility, that unique blend of melancholy and hope that you could always detect in her singing voice, even if you had no idea it mirrored her internal life.
Even in Karen's lifetime there seemed to be few people who actually knew her that didn't adore her in some fashion. Why? Because she was funny, and genuine and...normal. Just think of how many outfits she would continually re-use at TV/public appearances despite having millions of dollars, apparently just because she liked wearing them (like a regular person) - I can't think of a female popstar now (or even then?) who does that. I think that's what a lot of Carpenters fans then and now picked up on. Everytime I hear her talk in interviews (radio/tv or read biography or view documentaries) she just seems like literally the "girl next door" (though she would hate that term I know). Except this girl next door just happened to have one of the best voices in recorded music. She wanted to be remembered in one of the 1978 radio interviews as a musician who made good music and a "nice person", I think the fact that she was very much both, in a world of celebrities becoming famous for doing nothing and/or bad behavior, explains the staying power.
And of course I always remember Richard during this time. I'm happy he's had a happy family life. He has now lived more of his adult life without his little sister/musical partner/best friend/muse for longer than she was on Earth. Having siblings myself (and nowhere near as close as the Carpenters) I can't imagine the loss.
michael hirons
New Member
Remembering Karen with you all today. It's hard to believe it has been so long since she's been gone, but it's great to know that we still celebrate her and the recordings that we'll treasure our entire lives.
michael hirons
New Member
Nancy J. Limauro
Nancy J. "YoNance" Limauro
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