Ray Coleman Biography

[newvillefan]

I have a question about Karen's life in Newport Beach. I don't remember much of anything being said about her time there with Tom in any bio. Like just when did she live there? Was it a home she owned previously or that she only lived in when married? Anyone have any info about it?.

She bought the house after she married Tom. The house was broken into and the housemaid held up at gunpoint (Karen wasn't there at the time) and I don't think she ever set foot in the place again. Tom got the house as part of Karen's last will and testament.

 

[song4u]

She bought the house after she married Tom. The house was broken into and the housemaid held up at gunpoint (Karen wasn't there at the time) and I don't think she ever set foot in the place again. Tom got the house as part of Karen's last will and testament.

Thanks. I remember something like that holdup mentioned but thought it was in Bel Air. All runs together in my mind. She must not have lived there long then. I remember the prescription bottle that Levenkron had was from a Newport Beach pharmacy so knew she lived there at some point. I thought she left everything to Richard in her will, and he paid him 1 mil to sign a confidentiality agreement.

I apologize if this is a touchy subject for some. I'm just getting a timeline straight in my mind. I wonder if he wanted to live there for his boat, or to get her farther away from work.

 

[GaryAlan]

Liner Notes for the 40th Set, Made In America, include this mini-bio:
"In April of that Year (1980) Karen was introduced to Tom Burris.
A whirlwind romance ensued, and Karen and Ton were married on August 31st, 1980.
As a result, the album was not finished until Spring of 1981.
The marriage was, in effect, finished by November."

Schmidt, page 298 : "He (Burris) is no longer at liberty to speak of his relationship with Karen."
"There's an agreement between me and the Carpenters where I don't reveal anything." (Burris, ibid.)
Itchie Ramone..."Karen bought the house in Newport Beach... the time there was short-lived, as she
preferred to stay in Bel-Air..." (ibid.,page 234).

 

[GaryAlan]

1994 Coleman Biography, page 213:
(1976) Jerry Weintraub to Moss,
"...I'm going to print your first deal with them in the paper, and you're gonna be run out of town."
Weintraub (ibid., 212), " informed Moss that, in his opinion, the Carpenters' had a 'terrible deal'.

And, thus, another Question(s):
Why would those words from Weintraub have anything to do with getting the duo a better contract ?
Did A&M Records have anything to fear from those words?
Were the duo even, remotely, considering 'jumping ship'?
Great as 'we' know they are,
what other recording company in 1976 would have signed them if they had left A&M?
Finally, was the 1969 contract not on solid legal ground for Weintraub to use such words in negotiation ?

 

[newvillefan]

1994 Coleman Biography, page 213:
(1976) Jerry Weintraub to Moss,
"...I'm going to print your first deal with them in the paper, and you're gonna be run out of town."
Weintraub (ibid., 212), " informed Moss that, in his opinion, the Carpenters' had a 'terrible deal'.

And, thus, another Question(s):
Why would those words from Weintraub have anything to do with getting the duo a better contract ?
Did A&M Records have anything to fear from those words?
Were the duo even, remotely, considering 'jumping ship'?

Jerry was their new manager and as such it was his job to get them the best deal they could. Despite Richard's loyalties to Herb, A&M was still just their record label at the end of the day. They could have easily decided to cut their ties with A&M if they'd wanted to in 1976. Herb and Jerry knew full well that the Carpenters had brought them back from the brink when they broke in 1970 and one description of them is that they were "the ship that A&M sailed on".

Great as 'we' know they are,
what other recording company in 1976 would have signed them if they had left A&M?
Finally, was the 1969 contract not on solid legal ground for Weintraub to use such words in negotiation ?

I'm no expert, but I reckon there would have been massive interest from other labels in signing the Carpenters in 1976. Record contracts are renewed every few years, a little friendly blackmail by Jerry Weintraub was probably just his way of saying he knew full well they hadn't had a lucrative deal with A&M up to that point.

 

[GaryAlan]

Very good points, all ! Newvillefan,
However, I do wonder which record companies--in 1976---would have expressed
any interest in signing the duo. Had it been very early 1975, I can see it-- but, by the time
Weintraub became manager, things were unraveling in the lives and career of the duo.
Of course, I highlighted the passage in Coleman,from Weintraub's negotiations, to--once again--
express my anathema to Weintraub's methods of managing the duo-- even his approach
to his other clients (John Denver) overall. Yes, he may have gotten them a "better deal"
at that re-signing in 1976, and kept them on television from 1976-1980, and (later) even produced the CBS Movie !
But, and Richard Carpenter reiterates and accentuates---"we were a recording act above all",
thus, Weintraub needed to get their 'recording career' back on track.
Highlighting one later detail: After he had gotten Karen communicating with Levenkron, he
expressed scorn because "he wasn't even a real doctor" (TV interview documentary).
Didn't Weintraub do his homework beforehand? How could it come as a mystery that he wasn't an M.D.?
I'm always bemused that Sherwin Bash was fired because of the Neil Sedaka incident, but,
apparently Weintraub 'fit the bill' for the more unproductive times !
And, at the first 1969 signing with A&M---did the duo even have a manager present.
After all, if memory serves, Sherwin Bash was Herb Alpert's manager at the time. (Correct me, if wrong.)

 

[GaryAlan]

Always interesting to dip into the pages of this Authorized Biography,
Coleman, page 329:
Time: "...the performances of some excellent songs...were strong...and the album sold moderately well."
Lovelines: "...three fine ballads...redeemed an average batch."

 

[newvillefan]

Time: "the album sold moderately well."
Lovelines: "...three fine ballads...redeemed an average batch."

This always makes me chuckle...it reeks of Richard's editorial control. Bet you any money the "three fine ballads" he was thinking of are:

1. When I Fall In Love
2. You're The One
3. Little Girl Blue

This "average batch" was far superior to Voice Of The Heart, Made In America, Passage and A Kind Of Hush in my book. It's almost like the slant is directed at the inclusion of Karen's solo tracks and that really annoys me, especially when you look at the kudos Billboard gave the album when they singled out 'If I Had You' as being "captivating".

 

[John Tkacik]

I'm looking for information from anyone who may have a newer version of the book than mine. I have a hardcover 1st edition and it has a glaring jump in continuity in Part 2: A Middle-American Dream. The bottom half of a page talks about Karen's diet in 1969 and frequenting "Pink's" and McDonalds. The last line is the start of a new paragraph: "Though she played drums and sang well, the dichotomy of....". The top of the next page is the middle of a paragraph talking about a television appearance where Karen sang "For Once In My Life". It starts with: "sing, she said no. Richard also asked the producers,..."
Can anyone tell me how much text I am missing in this skip? I'm assuming that this paragraph is a description of one of their "Your All-American College Show" performances from 1969.

 

[A&M Retro]

My first edition book has the same error. Big time editing miss!

 

[Murray]

I'm looking for information from anyone who may have a newer version of the book than mine. I have a hardcover 1st edition and it has a glaring jump in continuity in Part 2: A Middle-American Dream. The bottom half of a page talks about Karen's diet in 1969 and frequenting "Pink's" and McDonalds. The last line is the start of a new paragraph: "Though she played drums and sang well, the dichotomy of....". The top of the next page is the middle of a paragraph talking about a television appearance where Karen sang "For Once In My Life". It starts with: "sing, she said no. Richard also asked the producers,..."
Can anyone tell me how much text I am missing in this skip? I'm assuming that this paragraph is a description of one of their "Your All-American College Show" performances from 1969.

My first-edition copy has the same error as well. Fortunately, I found a later edition copy in the public library some years ago, and it was corrected. Here's the missing text:

Though she played drums and sang well, the dichotomy of Karen's positioning blurred their impact, according to some admirers. Even at this stage, Henry Mancini, the respected pianist, arranger, and composer of such movie classics as "Moon River", "Charade", and "Days Of Wine And Roses", was among the early skeptics about her dual role.
As a judge on "Your All American College Show" in September 1969, he had been out numbered when he voted for Karen, as she played drums and sang solo on "For Once In My Life". When Richard had appealed to her to step out from the drums and just sing, she said no.

 

[newvillefan]

As a judge on "Your All American College Show" in September 1969, he had been out numbered when he voted for Karen, as she played drums and sang solo on "For Once In My Life".

Has this clip ever aired since the original broadcast? I'd bet any money it hasn't but that Richard has a copy in his archives.

 

[A&M Retro]

I always wondered if that song title was accurate. The Coleman book is the only place where 'For Once In My Life' has been mentioned. ABC undoubtedly still has the original videotapes stored. The version used in the PBS special and the E! doc were both in amazing quality.

 

[John Tkacik]

My first-edition copy has the same error as well. Fortunately, I found a later edition copy in the public library some years ago, and it was corrected. Here's the missing text:

Though she played drums and sang well, the dichotomy of Karen's positioning blurred their impact, according to some admirers. Even at this stage, Henry Mancini, the respected pianist, arranger, and composer of such movie classics as "Moon River", "Charade", and "Days Of Wine And Roses", was among the early skeptics about her dual role.
As a judge on "Your All American College Show" in September 1969, he had been out numbered when he voted for Karen, as she played drums and sang solo on "For Once In My Life". When Richard had appealed to her to step out from the drums and just sing, she said no.

Thank you for the information. She always said that she considered herself to be a drummer who sang.