The Carpenters on The Bob Hope Special

The TOTW spot has been one of the long lost video recordings not seen up until now...great to see...I have to give props to Karen out front and not even a microphone to hold. Nice performance!!
 
I've never seen the full 73 special, where they also perform Top of the World and Karen is wearing a jacket over the dress. They also have fun banter with Bob prior.
Enjoy!!


You sure that's a dress she's wearing? To me it looks like some very baggy pants. I wonder where the person got the video. The quality looked very good; was it recently rebroadcast?
 
I think they were called culottes, back in the day. I loved the huge promotional replica of the then-new "Singles" album!!
 
Wow, that's something I never thought I'd get to see! Thanks for bringing it to our attention Sheena! :)
This and the Holland show being uploaded to YT, makes me wonder what else is out their the general public hasn't seen since the 70's. I'd love to see Robert Young with the Young where they make an appearance.
 
Ah that was absolutely lovely to watch! It's always a privilege to come across footage I've never seen, especially nowadays when we've pretty much seen everything there is to see. The video of Karen singing Top Of The World was a lovely, unexpected treat. You tend to forget just how big and unstoppable they were in their heyday. Just great. Thanks so much for posting this rare gem.
 
Ah that was absolutely lovely to watch! It's always a privilege to come across footage I've never seen, especially nowadays when we've pretty much seen everything there is to see. The video of Karen singing Top Of The World was a lovely, unexpected treat. You tend to forget just how big and unstoppable they were in their heyday. Just great. Thanks so much for posting this rare gem.
I agree!! I saw saw some phrasing in Top Of the World that I never quite caught before. It made it feel like the first time.
 
^^Given that We've Only Just Begun is on the Yesterday Once More VHS/DVD, later Gold,
it is curious to me that Top Of The World is nowhere to be found...
Heaven knows how many 'rare' items are 'out there' .
Always a treat to see something 'new'....
 
Can someone elaborate on the heron with the nasty disposition, just love Karen and her interpretation of this heron! Karen imatating a heron, just for that moment in time, we get to see the comic side of Karen, it’s magic.
 
It's a "herring with a nasty disposition" living in their alleged moat, rather than an alligator.
 
Richard.....I’ve got one secret, you’ve got to have a sister that plays the drums.
 
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It's a "herring with a nasty disposition" living in their alleged moat, rather than an alligator.
Really going off topic now. Karen looks as though she is flapping her arms as a heron would flap it’s wings, so what did this posture signify, surely not a herring.
 
Wonder why it is not included on any extant dvd ?

On the carefully produced video/DVD, Top Of The World was already covered by their performance on the 1976 special, a few numbers in. Therefore it would have jarred with the opening number of Karen singing We've Only Just Begun, because the effect would have been 'Karen had the jacket off, now she's put it back on', which is what I thought seeing this clip. It's obvious for the Bob Hope special they recorded TOTW first.

Really going off topic now. Karen looks as though she is flapping her arms as a heron would flap it’s wings, so what did this posture signify, surely not a herring.

The scripted in-between jokes and banter are terrible, Richard looks as wooden as ever and Karen even struggles but does her best. Still, a joy to see this clip for the first time.
 
The real Karen surfaced too infrequently, a tomboy rebel that wanted to make the punters see her in a different light.
 
The 69-73 album mural hanging in this video above looks a lot like this one that must have also been used on tour?

singlestourphoto-jpg.937
 
Its a lovely clip, I looked for this after I read in one of the books(can't remember which one) that Karen was "horrified by her paunch" on the Bob Hope special and went on a diet resulting in dramatic weight loss and leading to her anorexia.
I can see on the clip from the front what she was upset about as the outfit isn't very flattering but she looks quite slim in the outfit from the side. Such a shame she wasn't happy with her curves, although I think whoever advised her would have helped by suggesting different wadrobe choices on occasion.
 
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