Leon Russell passes away age 74

[ullalume]

Sad news. A real talent and the author of 3 of the Carpenters' best - Superstar, A Song For You, This Masquerade.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/14/a...r-and-musicians-musician-dies-at-74.html?_r=0

 

[Rumbahbah]

The bad news in 2016 just keeps on coming...

Although Leon never wrote specifically for Karen, her voice and his songs were just a perfect match.

 

[DF1950]

One of the blogs (politics/current events) I follow posted on his death, and embedded the Superstar video by the Carpenters to give an example of his music. Many admiring comments posted there on Karen's performance. I think it's fair to say that they (C's) had the definitive version of the song.

 

[theninjarabbit]

This is very sad. When I saw this on the forums, I was a bit shocked. Great songwriter and musician. God rest his soul and send my condolences to those near him.

 

[KJKennedy]

Yeah, this was sad news. Not many really remember, but Leon Russell was big back in the 70's, selling out major arenas and popular in rock circles with a bluesy, swampy rock sound - but I think it's his ballads that are standing the test of time.
Speaking of Leon, I recently found out he played the piano on the Badfinger hit 'Day After Day' a song that always reminded me of the C's sound, with the layered vocals and beautiful piano fills. If Richard had ever produced a rock band, this is how I imagined it would've sounded.
Rest in peace Leon.

 

[Jerry L. Verdot]

This is very sad, we can all take a great comfort with what Mr. Russell left us. He has left a great legacy of music, especially for all of us that love Carpenters. Superstar, A Song for You & This Masquerade are 3 of my all time favorites. Leon Russell will be greatly missed.

 

[MissK]

Interesting blog from Splashing Rocks

Splashing Rocks: LEON RUSSELL, KAREN CARPENTER, AND THE UNITY OF OPPOSITES »

 

[Chris Mills]

Karen and Richard probably got to meet Leon Russell during the recording of the album Passage as he played piano on the track Man Smart, Woman Smarter.

 

[Yamaguchi]

As MissK posted above, I examined Leon Russell's "distant" but mutually productive relationship with the Carpenters several years ago. See Splashing Rocks: LEON RUSSELL, KAREN CARPENTER, AND THE UNITY OF OPPOSITES ». The interesting thing was that shortly after my article, there was an interview with Leon on, I believe, Huffington Post, in which he expressed his special fondness for Karen's singing, observing as follows: "Well Karen Carpenter was just a singularly amazing singer. There was just not anybody like her. I produced a gospel duet called the O'Neal Twins; they were a couple of twin brothers who were soul singers and they sang gospel songs like The Everly Brothers. I asked them one day who their favorite singer was and they both said together, "Karen Carpenter." So that's kind of amazing for me." . . . So people in all walks of music have much to thank Leon Russell for, and Carpenters fans can especially thank him for Superstar, This Masquerade, and A Song for You. Maybe Leon and Karen will meet in the hereafter, it would be very interesting and amusing. RIP.

 

[Toolman]

It's so absurd...every eulogy I've read of Russell makes no mention of Carpenters in connection with "A Song for You" or "This Masquerade". Every time some singer on "The Voice" covers one of those (or "Superstar"), they refer to one of the other covers, not Carpenters, as their inspiration. Come on. Carpenters absolutely recorded the definitive "Superstar", and certainly gave the other two Russell masterpieces stronger legs. It's through Carpenters that I discovered Leon Russell and became a fan (check out his collaboration with Elton John if you haven't -- great stuff). Leon Russell and Karen Carpenter were somehow just meant to be connected in song. God bless 'em both.

 

[Yamaguchi]

It's so absurd...every eulogy I've read of Russell makes no mention of Carpenters in connection with "A Song for You" or "This Masquerade". Every time some singer on "The Voice" covers one of those (or "Superstar"), they refer to one of the other covers, not Carpenters, as their inspiration. Come on. Carpenters absolutely recorded the definitive "Superstar", and certainly gave the other two Russell masterpieces stronger legs. It's through Carpenters that I discovered Leon Russell and became a fan (check out his collaboration with Elton John if you haven't -- great stuff). Leon Russell and Karen Carpenter were somehow just meant to be connected in song. God bless 'em both.

Well, what matters is that Leon himself had great appreciation for Karen and the Carpenters' treatment of his songs and their music in general. As usual with the Carpenters, their musical peers (Leon, McCartney, Elton John, K D Lang, Shania etc.) recognize their greatness; if the creep critics don't, so much the worse for them.

 

[John Tkacik]

When "Superstar" was released in the Fall of 1971, they became my favorite musical group. It is one of my top 3 Carpenters songs.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

It's so absurd...every eulogy I've read of Russell makes no mention of Carpenters in connection with "A Song for You" or "This Masquerade". Every time some singer on "The Voice" covers one of those (or "Superstar"), they refer to one of the other covers, not Carpenters, as their inspiration. Come on. Carpenters absolutely recorded the definitive "Superstar", and certainly gave the other two Russell masterpieces stronger legs.

It is surprising that "Superstar" doesn't get mentioned, because K&R definitely had the definitive version (plus the biggest hit version) of that tune. The other two, not so surprising -- they fall into what I would call the "forgotten Carpenters songs," songs that big fans like us know and love, but the "general public" buying music these days is buying their hits collections more than anything, so those two songs don't get near the exposure they once did.

 

[Must Hear This Album]

I seem to recall reading a late-career interview with Leon Russell, where he praised Carpenters music, writ large, and recounted attending a Carpenters sound check, just to hear Karen sing. Am I making this up?

 

[JBee]

One of the blogs (politics/current events) I follow posted on his death, and embedded the Superstar video by the Carpenters to give an example of his music. Many admiring comments posted there on Karen's performance. I think it's fair to say that they (C's) had the definitive version of the song.

Yes. I've never heard "Superstar" done better than anyone else than the Carpenters. And even though "A Song for You" has been covered a million times I still prefer the Carpenters version over any other. Russell was another writer - along with Bacharach and Paul Williams who even if they weren't writing specifically in the Carpenters vein, seemed to write songs that were a great fit for Karen's voice.

Really a sad week in music. Double whammy loss of Leonard Cohen and Leon Russell. Brilliant musicians.

 

[Mark-T]

Can you imagine Karen singing "Hallelujah"?

 

[Yamaguchi]

I seem to recall reading a late-career interview with Leon Russell, where he praised Carpenters music, writ large, and recounted attending a Carpenters sound check, just to hear Karen sing. Am I making this up?

I read somewhere that Leon Russell played as a guest backup (keyboards or guitar, I guess) in the studio for the recording of one of the "Passage" album cuts, but don't know for sure.

 

[GaryAlan]

Yes, Yamaguchi,
Passage LP !
Credits:
Leon Russell, Piano on
Man Smart,Woman Smarter

 

[Graeme]

Can you imagine Karen singing "Hallelujah"?

If she sang her Hallelujahs as well as she sang her Alleluias in Christ Is Born then that would have been something special indeed.

 

[Murphy]

I was surprised to see that Leon Russell was the guiding force behind Gary Lewis and the Playboys very early in his career. I loved their sound, but it didn't sound very much like Russell's "style".