Anyone read this?

Austin Chronicle, September 24,2015:
Herb Alpert’s School of Music
Trumpeter’s alums include Waylon, Satchmo, and Karen Carpenter
Herb Alpert:
"Most of the great artists we had were unknown until they started recording for us.
Like the Carpenters, for one. For about a year into their recording contract, nothing was happening.
I had the feeling from some of the people in my own company of, “Why did you sign these kids? They’re too soft.
They don’t sound like what’s on the radio.” But that’s the reason I signed them.
When I heard [Karen Carpenter’s] voice, it was like magic to me.
Wow, what a sound. What a beautiful voice this girl has.
And she didn’t even know she was a singer. She thought she was a drummer."

Source:
http://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/music/2015-09-24/herb-alperts-school-of-music/
 
Thinking about Richard Carpenter's exit from the music world....

" Musicians don't retire; they stop when there's no more music in them."
Louis Armstrong

Kenny Rogers, this Friday Last,
"....Rogers stated that he felt that he owed the fans who've supported him for so long the chance to say goodbye..."
" The singer said he would also release a sixth album of Christmas songs ..."
 
Release date is Jan. 7, 2016
SOME KIND OF LONELY CLOWN: THE MUSIC, MEMORY, AND MELANCHOLY
LIVES OF KAREN CARPENTER (HARDCOVER EDITION) by Joel Samberg

“This book brings back so many lovely and amusing memories of a sadly
missed friend. She was unique and irreplaceable in so many ways. Joel has
been thorough in his research, and his love and respect for Karen shine
through. Love and thanks for the fun and the magic of her musical soul.”
—Petula Clark

“An insightful look at the life of Karen Carpenter, a singing hero of mine.
I had the pleasure of opening for the Carpenters in 1975, but it was more
exciting that they recorded several of my songs, particularly ‘Solitaire,’
which featured a breathtaking Karen vocal accompanied by Richard’s
magnificent orchestration. Mr. Samberg’s book is a worthy tribute to her
everlasting legacy as one of the great vocalists of all time.”
—Neil Sedaka

Source:
http://www.bearmanormedia.com/some-...n-carpenter-hardcover-edition-by-joel-samberg
 
Milwaukee Journal, June 2, 1974,
Carpenters Keep Building
(Excerpts):
"Their Westbury Music Fair engagement was an indicator of how far they've come since 1971,
in seven days they grossed nearly $150,000.According to a Music Fair Spokesman, the Carpenters'
share was $100,000. for a weeks work in a theater with fewer than 3000 seats."
"What the Carpenters sell is melody and the creamy, smooth, low voice of Karen Carpenter."
"She took formal drum lessons for nearly two years."

More:
https://news.google.com/newspapers?...AIBAJ&sjid=_CgEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6001,1568203&hl=en
 
MONDAY, OCT 12, 2015 05:59 PM EDT
It’s not all about you, Bruce and Bono: This is why the Rock Hall is so lame
It's also not the Boss' fault. But as long as Hall of Fame favors personalities over impact,
it gets history wrong.
TIM SOMMER
----
"Other omissions may not be personal, but instead reflect a consistent artistic bias of the Hall.
For instance, the Carpenters made exquisite pop records constructed with a grace and skill comparable to Brian Wilson, George Martin, and Phil Spector;
they were also a huge part of people’s lives and a generational touchstone.
They belong in the Hall as much as other high-pop acts like the Mamas and the Papas, Neil Diamond, and Abba
(all selections I agree with, by the way), yet clearly the “While we were listening to Steely Dan and the Doobie Brothers
in the 1970s we thought (fill in the blank) were uncool” bias of the Hall is going to block their entry."
----
Source:
http://www.salon.com/2015/10/12/its...nd_bono_this_is_why_the_rock_hall_is_so_lame/
 
Hal Blaine in Modern Drummer, July 19,2005:
MD: How was Karen as a drummer?
Hal: "I’ve always said there’s nothing wrong with female drummers.
There are some fine female drummers out there, but to me Karen always looked like a little high school kid sitting behind drums.
She rushed a bit, but that’s because she didn’t have that kind of training. It was just her and her brother.
When I first met them they were two little chubby kids wearing Western clothing.
Joe Osborn, the great bass player, brought them to me and said, “You’ve got to produce these kids, they’re so good.”
I said, “Joe, when do we have time?” We were in the middle of a Neil Diamond date.
Karen was very nice, but there was just no way. And right after that A&M signed them."

More&Source:
http://www.moderndrummer.com/site/2005/07/hal-blaine-2/#_
 
Long Beach Press Telegram
10/19/15:
Time to figure out the rules for the Long Beach Music Hall of Fame
Source:
http://www.presstelegram.com/arts-a...e-rules-for-the-long-beach-music-hall-of-fame

The Carpenters, siblings Richard and Karen, pose with their Grammy during the 13th annual 1970 Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, Ca., March 17, 1971.
Should they be eligible for the Long Beach Music Hall of Fame because they grew up in nearby Downey?

Despite the implied crowd of the pronoun, we are just one man in this mixed-up, crazy world. We can’t tackle all of its woes and problems by ourself.
What we’re concerned with right now is the Long Beach Music Hall of Fame, which is an actual thing. If it weren’t an actual thing, we wouldn’t have any problems. We’d just do the nominating, electing and inducting from our barstool in The Barn.
We need rules, we need names, we need people do some of the work. That is, besides Michelle and John Molina, who bought the former Vault 350 on Pine, in which the Long Beach Hall of Fame will reside in one form or another. They’ve done enough.

Here’s one thing: Rules of eligibility.
The Cleveland-based Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with whom, its legal department reminds us, the Long Beach Hall is not affiliated, has, as its main criterion, the requirement that the artist/band is first eligible 25 years after the release of its first album. What, exactly, constitutes an album will be of concern a few years down the line, but for current purposes, because an eligible album would have been released in 1991 (the Hall probably will open in 2016), we’re saying an album is a platter or tape with songs on it. Is the 25-year rule cool with everyone, or do we loosen it up a bit to, say, 10 years?
Here’s a tougher one: What sort of ties to Long Beach does an artist/band need to have? Do they have to be born here? How many Long Beachers need to be in the band to make it eligible (all of them? One of them? Half? More than half?)? Can they get in if they’ve merely done something momentous in Long Beach (the Eagles famously broke up on stage at the Arena, the Stones got their biggest scare here, the Beach Boys played their first show here, etc.)? Are they eligible if they merely retire in Long Beach or own a house here, as John Lee Hooker did at the end of his career (has anyone ever referred to Hooker as the great Long Beach bluesman?).

How married are we to the boundaries of Long Beach? Do we let people in adjacent towns sneak in by swimming across the river or crawling under the concertina wire? Can we, for instance, swipe the odd Downey musician, like the Carpenters and the Blasters? We can make a great case for them, of course.
In fact, we withdraw the question in those two particular instances, but what about Metallica’s Downey guys James Hetfield and Ron McGovney?
 
In Memory of Corey Wells,
and,
Three Dog Night:

An Old Fashioned Love Song - charted #4 Oct. 1971

Q:"With
"Old Fashioned Love Song,"
Three Dog Night is the band of the planet at the time ... How did the song get to them?"
A: Paul Williams:
"You know, I wrote the song thinking it was perfect for The Carpenters. It was money in the bank with them, I thought.
A nice fit, kind of a throwback song with a rinky-dink sound to it and all.
Richard Carpenter, I don't think made it through the first verse before he picked up the needle off of the (acetate).
Richard didn't love it.
Chuck Kaye, who was head of publishing at A&M Records sent it to Richie Podolor, who was the producer for (the band).
And all three hits that I had with Three Dog Night started off with them not loving it and the producer loving it.
All three of them were great records, and thank God they became hits.
But, you know, sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly, we get that good fortune."

Source:
http://www.tennessean.com/story/ent...behind-song-old-fashioned-love-song/18996381/
 
Informative review ?
Chronicles (2005)
Three-cd set,
To add to the myriad greatest-hits compilations, anthologies, and special showcases of the Carpenters' unique sound currently flooding the market,
this three-CD long-box set may be misinterpreted as another greatest-hits showcase, but it is far from it.
Chronicles is actually a repackaging of three landmark albums: Close to You, Carpenters, and A Song for You.
Each of these records was critical to the group's rise to pop super stardom and delivers hits including "We've Only Just Begun," "(They Long to Be) Close to You," "Rainy Days and Mondays," "Superstar," and "Top of the World" among other fan favorites.
While the aforementioned list may give Chronicles the appearance of being a greatest-hits record, there is plenty of filler on the three discs to prove otherwise.
So while this may be ideal for fans wanting to get the complete early releases on disc, casual fans and those just beginning to explore the group's rich past should be directed toward Singles 1969-1981 or Gold instead. ~ Rob Theakston."
 
GaryAlan said:
Chronicles is actually a repackaging of three landmark albums: Close to You, Carpenters, and A Song for You.
Click to expand...

Repackaging indeed: the middle disc still spells out the title as CAREPENTERS. The discs and inserts are a straight re-purposing from the Remastered Classics CDs.

Harry
 
A brief addendum to the alert I posted regarding the article in the November 2015 Closer Magazine.
It is on the shelf at Publix Supermarkets.
I spent an unusual amount of time in the check-out line today.
Thus, I had some time to peruse the article. (Sorry, no purchase by me.).
Two pages: including text and beautiful photographs.
Nothing 'new', although, it is promoting the newly published book by Joel Samberg.
The article: Very tastefully presented. Well written with great photos.
 
Another "teaser" from Closer Magazine appears November 2,2015, on the Magazine's Web Page.
"... Joel Samberg,
author of the new book Some Kind of Lonely Clown: The Music, Memory and Melancholy Lives of Karen Carpenter."

Notice:The Large photo of Karen and Richard is inaccurately dated (as 1981),
this photo (Karen in Red pantsuit, Richard white slacks) is most probably 1978.
(It served as template for one of the Fan Club Posters which I do have. Also,
this photo appears in the Japan Compilation of 1979, Carpenters First Ten Years.)
 
11/03/2015 AT 03:30 PM EST
Diana Pearl
40 Captivating Interviews from 40 Years of Good Morning America

It's been 40 years for Good Morning America.
Which means 40 years of celebrity guests, talked-about politicians, superstar athletes, and other compelling figures visiting the show.
Here, 40 of the most compelling interviews in the show's 40 year history:

#2. RICHARD CARPENTER
Less than a year after Karen Carpenter's death, brought on by anorexia,
her brother and band mate, Richard, opened up about Karen and their last album together.

More:
http://www.people.com/article/good-morning-america-best-interviews
 
DailyHerald Newspaper November 7,2015,
with accompanying photo:
Christmas music
" Last, but definitely not least, ANYTHING from The Carpenter's Christmas album "Christmas Portrait."
I could listen to that album over and over.
Actually, I DO listen to it over and over during the season.
My favorite song from that album is "Merry Christmas, Darling."
Karen Carpenter sings so effortless on any song she performs, but this IS my favorite Christmas song and Christmas album."

Source:
http://www.rrdailyherald.com/blogs/christmas-music/article_3841b03a-85a7-11e5-8f78-2bb60b9f092a.html
 
Source :
http://articles.latimes.com/1987-06-25/entertainment/ca-10398_1_sound-stage

25th Anniversary Of Record Label : A&M Celebrates Independence
June 25, 1987|STEVE POND

It was, almost certainly, the first time that Herb Alpert, Suzanne Vega, Barry White, Joe Jackson,
Richard Carpenter and David Crosby had been in the same room together.
And it was quite likely the first time that a single display case of promotional items included a Peter Frampton watch, a Cat Stevens yo-yo, Cheech and Chong candles and a Police (the band, not the department) whistle.
And it was definitely the first time that a wall of Herb Alpert memorabilia was on public display: a letter from RCA Records turning him down for a job in the A&R department, a sales chart showing Alpert's 1962 recording of "The Lonely Bull" at No. 6, an early newspaper clipping headlined "Many Expect Herb Alpert to Be Jolly Mexican Type," and even the small reel-to-reel tape recorder on which the original version of "The Lonely Bull" was recorded.
The paraphernalia was on display and the musicians were in attendance at the A&M Records sound stage Tuesday night for a cocktail party celebrating the 25th anniversary of A&M, the local record label that grew from a two-man operation out of Herb Alpert's Fairfax District garage into the best-known and most prestigious independent label in the country.
Symbols of that success were displayed on wall panels at Tuesday's bash. One named every artist ever signed to A&M. Another listed the label's Top 100 hits (the top five are the Police's "Every Breath You Take," Carole King's "It's Too Late," the Carpenters' "Close to You,"
Alpert's "This Guy's in Love with You," and the Captain & Tennille's "Love Will Keep Us Together").
However, the real story of A&M--the shifts in musical tone over the years--was told in the display that occupied one side of the room. One portable wall showed A&M's artists from the '60s, when the the emphasis was on soft-rock and pop acts. Another dealt with the '70s, with artists like Joe Cocker, Cat Stevens, Supertramp and Styx reflecting more of a contemporary rock edge and a third dealt with the diversity of the '80s: from Bryan Adams and the Police to Janet Jackson.
For the week long celebration, the label has flown in staffers from 45 countries as well as virtually all its American employees. Besides a marathon of daytime meetings, private nighttime concerts are scheduled.
Things got under way with Tuesday's party on the sound stage where Charlie Chaplin shot many of his films. A&M President Gil Friesen (the company's third employee) welcomed the staff and introduced Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss--the A and M of A&M.)
Said a grinning Alpert, who launched the label with record promotion man Moss in 1962, "Twenty-five years ago, I never even imagined that I'd be standing in front of this many people associated with A&M . . . wearing a name tag. It kind of gives you an identity crisis."
But then, the variety of artists present in person and in photos was enough to give any record company chief an identity crisis. At one side of the room, the acclaimed and waif-like singer Suzanne Vega talked to the beefy rock 'n' roll veteran David Crosby, who just signed a solo deal with A&M.
Elsewhere, Nashville-based roots-rocker John Hiatt chatted with Glen Tilbrook, an English singer-songwriter from the pop band Squeeze. Massive, deep-voiced disco pioneer Barry White prowled the room. So did warbly Irish popster Feargal Sharkey. And so did easy-listening mega-seller Richard Carpenter and critically acclaimed rock newcomers David & David, and Elvis Costello sidekick Nick Lowe and Joe Jackson and . . . .
The party's visual displays were designed to be fairly low-key. "We didn't want to inundate you with memorabilia," said Moss, "but some of it's kinda cute."
Still, it made its point. "It's a pretty amazing story, really," said Vega's manager Ron Fierstein. "A musician and a businessman started this label because the other labels wouldn't pay attention to them, and look what happened. If you're like me and you think you're an entrepreneur, that's encouraging."
A couple of hours into the party, some of the artists were clearly tiring of having their pictures taken and others were milling around outside the sound stage. But plenty of folks still jammed the room and looked at the memorabilia--and Alpert took time to think about what this party and this anniversary meant.
"I don't think of A&M as any age," he said quietly. "A very good friend of mine died a couple of weeks ago at the age of 82, and I didn't think of him as being that old, either--I just thought of him as my good friend."
Alpert, who's also celebrating the anniversary with "Diamonds," his biggest hit in years, shrugged. "I don't think of it as a milestone. I don't want to take away from the joy of this for anybody else, but it almost seems like this means a hell of a lot more to other people than it does to me.
As far as I'm concerned, we're just doing our jobs and having fun, and that's what we're going to continue to do."
 
Source:
http://diymag.com/2015/12/17/spring-king-tarek-musa-takes-us-through-his-favourite-drummers

SPRING KING’S TAREK MUSA TAKES US THROUGH HIS FAVOURITE DRUMMERS:
There’s something brilliantly quirky about a singing drummer, and with that in mind,
we asked Tarek to recommend us a few super-talented sticksmen that inspire him to keep on truckin’:
#2 "... Karen Carpenter was a genius.
I don’t know many people that can do what she did, as a drummer and singer ..."
 
Despite the advent of SMS, emails, Christmas cards still more heartfelt
by Leo Ortega Laparan II
December 20, 2015
Greeting cards have all been sent; the Christmas rush is through. But I still have one wish to make, a special one for you…,”
Karen Carpenter first sang, that in 1970, a time when the world was still a far cry from being conquered by mobile communications and social media.

And sending greeting cards on special occasions, like Christmas, was the best way to convey one’s earnest and most profound Yuletide message to kin and friends.
Forty-five years later, The Carpenters’ classic holiday season smash “Merry Christmas, Darling” still plays true for Lianne Hidalgo, 22, who is already on the rush to scribble her messages on Christmas cards that would accompany gifts, which she would personally give or send to folks dear to her.
I really appreciate receiving Christmas cards because there’s something tangible I can always go back to, hold, and read anytime I want,” Liutongco said, mentioning also that she has this box full of letters and cards she has kept through the years. “That’s why I also send cards, to make my recipient feel special, like how I feel whenever I receive one.”
ON A DOWNHILL
According to The Great Idea Finder and WhyChristmas.com, the custom of sending commercially printed Christmas greeting cards originated in London in 1843. Civil servant Sir Henry Cole commissioned Royal Academy member John Calcott Horsley to design a card for him to send to his friends. Each card had the words “A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You,” featuring a family of three generations merrymaking, according to Michelle Higgs’ e-book “Christmas Cards.”
People initially exchanged handwritten Christmas cards in person, and later, influenced by Cole’s interest in the new “Public Post Office,” sent them via postal service.
-----
Today, holiday greeters have even more options – ranging from e-cards, e-mails to short messaging service (SMS) to social media networks, like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, to video chat services via Skype.
The rapid evolution of technology may have brought about better platforms and more convenience to people, but, it does not grind without causing setbacks to the billion-strong letter-writing and greeting card-manufacturing/distributing industry.
In an email to MB, Filstar Distributors Corporation, the Philippine distributor of the world-renowned Hallmark Cards, admitted that they have been experiencing the crunch. Hallmark is the largest manufacturer of greeting cards established in the US.
“There has been a steady decline in greeting card sales with the emergence of SMS and social media,” Filstar Marketing Supervisor Charlene Owen admitted. “This has led [us] to a [downsizing] our model line by eliminating several captions, like those pertaining to distance, since some have become irrelevant due to apps, like Skype and Viber; and decreasing production quantities.”
-----
PART OF MEMORIES
But Carlos observed that there are still people, although minimal, who believe in sending letters and greeting cards through mail.
“Writing [personalized messages] is still closer to the heart, rather than sending a text message, where you can just abbreviate everything.
The next thing you’ll know, messages have already been deleted, and you have to do so in your inbox when it’s full to make way for other incoming messages,” he pointed out.
“But the letters, the cards are there to stay as part of the memories.”
 
Online Poll:
http://www.avclub.com/article/would-you-rather-christmas-waltz-nancy-wilson-or-k-229896
Would you rather “Christmas Waltz” with Nancy Wilson or Karen Carpenter?
By Erik Adams and Gwen Ihnat
Dec 24, 2015
-----
"After years of seeing them unjustly disparaged , I hope that we are now in a more civilized era wherein we can finally come out and call
The Carpenters brilliant instead of dorky. "
Karen has always had my heart. Her voice was purely sweet but never saccharin, as it held an intimate sincerity (See also: Garland, Judy.) that
made it resonate with those lucky enough to hear it."
"It sounds like there’s a permanent smile caught in Karen Carpenter’s voice, especially during that “time of year when the world falls in love,”
along with a wistfulness that always gave her vocals a needed gravity. So when she wraps up her descriptions of “frosted window panes”
and “painted candy canes” and ends the waltz with her very best wishes for the season,
like always, she sounds like she’s sending those wishes straight to you. "
 
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