My First Carpenters Vinyl

[20thcentury]

I remember buying my first Carpenters vinyl, and it was the Readers Digest 4LP red box set of which I used to play over and over again before the emergence of compact discs of course.

The Carpenters are quite simply the best ever vocal group of their genre.

 

[GaryAlan]

My First....
Even with the emergence of cd,
I manage(d) to play my vinyl as often as possible.
The first vinyl I actually was able to purchase....honestly, I can't remember,
but,
the Passage Cassette Tape was the first music I ever owned outright !
Interestingly enough, I am still collecting vinyl.....
latest being the Memories 45-Single of
Argentina/Occupants
and
Japanese 45-Single of
Silent Night/Jingle Bells/Ave Maria.

 

[Harry]

My first Carpenters vinyl was the "(They Long To Be) Close To You" single. Second was the CLOSE TO YOU album. Third was the OFFERING album.

 

[Nancy J. Limauro]

Mine was the 8 track "Close to You"....

 

[Toolman]

"We've Only Just Begun" single (which I still have, though I lost the sleeve over time).

 

[CraigGA]

Mine was the single of Yesterday Once More. Karen's voice hypnotized me moving from the verse to the chorus and the perfect vocal overdubs connected me as a forever fan. My first album was The Singles 1969-1973, of which I had wore out and bought again 3 times, plus one tape cassette and one original cd release and one of the original remastered classics.

 

[Eyewire]

For me the first and last vinyl was THE SINGLES 1969-1973. Unfortunately it was destroyed in a flood. IMO, one of the best albums of all time by anybody.

I moved on to CDs after that. I currently lack the physical space for a proper analog setup. I do miss the large album art and the smell of a new record. Cracking open a jewel case just isn't the same.

 

[tomswift2002]

The first Carpenters vinyl I had was the grey 1978 Canadian LP "Carpenters Collection" set that I got from my grandparents in 1999 when they were getting rid of their vinyl collection due to their record player having died a few years earlier (or rather it was the amp part that had died, but then they were not able to find a system that was compatible with the record player). But I had heard the album a few times prior, as it was the only adult record that was non-religious.

 

[K.C. Jr]

My first was the "Ticket To Ride" single.
After that, I bought both Christmas LPs for "decorations". And maybe I used them for something more .

Then, about a month after that, lo and behold! I received all the original 10 studio albums from a family member (he was clearing out some of his extremely extensive record collection).
At least half were still sealed. Those that weren't could have been considering the immaculate condition. (Well, actually I take that back, N&T did have a mildewed smell ) Also included was a still sealed Live at the Palladium. I definitely felt pretty blessed after that...

 

[song4u]

The Close to You album, when I was 10 or 11, when it was a new album. I had borrowed one from my friend and knew I had to get my own. Then waited every week for the TV Guide to see if they'd be on TV. (Even then I didn't like that cover picture!)

 

[Rudy]

No clue here. The records were just around the house while growing up--I don't think they were really claimed to be anyone's, although Now & Then has my sticker on it. The first of my own that I know of for my "good" collection might have been Passage and Christmas Portrait. (Through one fluke or another, I've ended up with Passage on CD, LP, cassette and 8-track).

 

[LondonRobert]

I 'think' my first vinyl was Now and Then. Then a school friend gave me Carpenters S/T album from her Dad. I remember buying Voice of the Heart as it was released too.

 

[DF1950]

The "Tan album" I bought in 1971 at the base PX while stationed at Wakkanai, Japan with the Air Force. I was there for most of 1971. For the rest of my service, I moved around a lot and didn't have a chance to buy any albums. Unfortunately, all my vinyl albums were donated to Goodwill at some point.

 

[Jamesj75]

My first vinyl was Carpenters (aka Tan). I think that everyone who knows me (and my affinity for Carpenters) would be surprised to learn that my first Carpenters' album was not procured by me but was a gift --- a gift from a school friend who moved away shortly thereafter. (Little did she know the monster she created! If I may borrow the name of Gaga fans for a moment... ). I know I've mentioned this previously, but I cut out the inner picture of Karen and Richard and framed it. So I mutilated the first Carpenters' album I owned!! It was love at first sight/listen. I thus had to purchase the earlier albums and the lifelong obsession was cemented.

You would think that I would feel particularly affectionate for this powerhouse album, which included the hits "For All We Know," "Rainy Days and Mondays," and "Superstar" as well as outstanding ballads "Let Me Be the One," "(A Place to) Hideaway," and "One Love." And yet, for me, it ranks third on my list of faves, preceded by Horizon and A Kind of Hush.

One other point: Remember when albums sold for $5 and singles (45s) sold for $1? At 40+ years later, you can download a single for $1. Everything has changed, and yet still $1 for a song... When a new Carpenters' single was released, I would dutifully buy the single. Then, when the album came out, I would throw away the single because I now had the song on an album... Horrors! What was I thinking?!?! I still have a few original singles, but I have all my albums in their original vinyl, even one with a gaping hole in the packaging...

 

[BarryT60]

My sister & brother had the first albums, Close To You, Carpenters, and A Song For You. It wasn't until the spring of 1973 that I could afford my own music....

My first Vinyl: 'Sing'.

Then - as chronicled in another thread, my first album was Now & Then. That Grass cutting money paid off!

I recall asking for and receiving Ticket To Ride and The Singles 1969-1973 for Christmas in 1973.
That year - how I loved - dearly loved sitting in the den, with the Christmas lights shining,, the stereo headphones on - and those albums playing, as I gazed at the album covers... I must have read and re-read that Singles Booklet a hundred times.

Possibly my favorite Christmas as a kid. And the one Christmas, I can say with a fair amount of certainty, that I still have the gifts I recieved!

 

[BarryT60]

My first vinyl was Carpenters (aka Tan). I think that everyone who knows me (and my affinity for Carpenters) would be surprised to learn that my first Carpenters' album was not procured by me but was a gift --- a gift from a school friend who moved away shortly thereafter. (Little did she know the monster she created! If I may borrow the name of Gaga fans for a moment... ). I know I've mentioned this previously, but I cut out the inner picture of Karen and Richard and framed it. So I mutilated the first Carpenters' album I owned!! It was love at first sight/listen. I thus had to purchase the earlier albums and the lifelong obsession was cemented.

You would think that I would feel particularly affectionate for this powerhouse album, which included the hits "For All We Know," "Rainy Days and Mondays," and "Superstar" as well as outstanding ballads "Let Me Be the One," "(A Place to) Hideaway," and "One Love." And yet, for me, it ranks third on my list of faves, preceded by Horizon and A Kind of Hush.

One other point: Remember when albums sold for $5 and singles (45s) sold for $1? At 40+ years later, you can download a single for $1. Everything has changed, and yet still $1 for a song... When a new Carpenters' single was released, I would dutifully buy the single. Then, when the album came out, I would throw away the single because I now had the song on an album... Horrors! What was I thinking?!?! I still have a few original singles, but I have all my albums in their original vinyl, even one with a gaping hole in the packaging...

Throwing out the singles?!?! Horrors indeed! I had a similar story... One year - I decided to assemble a folder of all the keepsakes and newsletters from the fan club. Anyway - I used the single sleeve from Only Yesterday to decorate my notebook... and although I still have that notebook and cherish it's contents, I regretted using that artwork the moment the scissors hit that silver paper.

I think I replaced the sleeve later with some marked down purchase at the local record store - but the original is glued to a 25 cent blue folder... still in my possesion...

 

[Jamesj75]

...I recall asking for and receiving Ticket To Ride and The Singles 1969-1973 for Christmas in 1973.
That year - how I loved - dearly loved sitting in the den, with the Christmas lights shining,, the stereo headphones on - and those albums playing, as I gazed at the album covers... I must have read and re-read that Singles Booklet a hundred times.

Possibly my favorite Christmas as a kid. And the one Christmas, I can say with a fair amount of certainty, that I still have the gifts I recieved!

Barry, I really enjoyed reading your Christmas story. Thanks for sharing!

Throwing out the singles?!?! Horrors indeed! I had a similar story... One year - I decided to assemble a folder of all the keepsakes and newsletters from the fan club. Anyway - I used the single sleeve from Only Yesterday to decorate my notebook... and although I still have that notebook and cherish it's contents, I regretted using that artwork the moment the scissors hit that silver paper.

I think I replaced the sleeve later with some marked down purchase at the local record store - but the original is glued to a 25 cent blue folder... still in my possesion...

Glad I'm not the only one with such a story... I'm in good company! Actually, I like your idea for organizing those keepsakes and newsletters. In general, I have tried to downsize things over recent years and attempt to reduce clutter. Yet my Carpenters' purchases, gifts, and memorabilia will remain intact and in my possession. We are not alone...

 

[Must Hear This Album]

I was born in 1971. I, literally, grew up hearing Karen Carpenter’s milk chocolate vocals and big brother Richard’s genius arrangements on the radio. What a privilege. My big sister purchased all the vinyl albums, but not The Singles 1969-1973, since she figured she already owned most of those songs (fair enough, right?). I was staying overnight at a friend’s house in 1983, and his mother played the singles album, and it stopped me in my tracks. I knew the songs, but the remixes and re-recordings...holy sh*t. I started saving money, immediately, and purchased the original singles collection as soon as I could afford it (I purchased it from the blue-haired old lady who owned and operated our local record store in my hometown, “June Mel-o-dy”). I started my own collection in the ensuing years:

Yesterday Once More, (TV offer) 1984?
Yesterday Once More, (A&M version) 1985
Close To You, 1985
Ticket To Ride, 1985 (I remember being horrified at first listen and thinking my turntable was broken, as Karen’s vocals seemed so draggy...)
Passage (found an unopened, original copy in my big brother’s collection, and he embarrassedly gave it to me, claiming he had “no idea” how it got into his collection...chump.
A Song For You, 1986
A Kind Of Hush, 1986

And then in college, I happened upon a Billboard magazine ad promoting Lovelines on the front page, and I scrounged up all my change, spare dollar bills, and cashed my next paycheck from my dishwasher job in the dorm cafeteria (that I usually sent home to my parents - I felt true guilt over that...) and I bought the cassette. I immersed myself in that cassette for the remainder of my freshman year, hoping my parents wouldn’t notice the missing check (they never did).

For what it’s worth, my first Carpenters CD purchase was the From The Top collection, that I cashed-in my check as a dorm Resident Assistant to purchase (and again hoped that my parents wouldn’t notice the missing check...they never did), and I had to listen to it by borrowing my friends’ CD players, since I couldn’t afford one. I actually made audio cassettes of the collection, so I could listen to it on the cassette player my sister gave me when I left for college.
Wow. I didn’t realize, until writing this post, how many financial hardships I went through in college just to be a Carpenters fan.

 

[Harry]

It's fun reading the accounts of those younger than me. Basically, as an adult when Carpenters first appeared, I bought 'em as they came out. But for those of you who didn't have that opportunity, it's interesting to see what order things came to you.

harry

 

[ScottyB]

First vinyl: Only Yesterday / Happy single. This was my personal first, even tho either one of my older brother or sisters owned virtually ever Carpenters single prior to this one.

 

[Made In America]

"Superstar" single in 1971. Couldn't afford LPs as I was just a little runt back then. Barely could afford a 45 for that matter. That was back in the day when children would cherish what they had. I didn't start buying LPs until the mid-70's. The first Carpenters LP I bought was "Christmas Portrait". Then I began making up for the hungry years by buying the rest of the 70's albums. I was shocked by how good the albums were. Never any filler material like all other LPs I had purchased up until then. By the time "Made In America" was released, I was in the auto-purchase mode where everything they released would be bought.

 

[Mark-T]

Begun single followed by CTY album.