Heard Carpenters

I know perhaps they don’t have permission because I can’t think of any other reason!


Could have been down the the rights, or lack of, to use the original sung by Karen, but also the version used in the commercial seems slower so maybe it didn’t have the ‘feel’ that the bank were going for.

Shame really, but it may have led some people to look the song up.

 
Could have been down the the rights, or lack of, to use the original sung by Karen, but also the version used in the commercial seems slower so maybe it didn’t have the ‘feel’ that the bank were going for.

Shame really, but it may have led some people to look the song up.




"We've Only Just Begun" had been in the UK Top 100 on ITunes and "Gold" has been in and out of the Top 10 all week since this ad.
 
Could have been down the the rights, or lack of, to use the original sung by Karen, but also the version used in the commercial seems slower so maybe it didn’t have the ‘feel’ that the bank were going for.

Shame really, but it may have led some people to look the song up.



Love that the song is being used again, today, 2020. No way was this a random marketing choice by the bank's marketing team. It was a deliberate choice.

I also think this woman sings this short snippet of the song very nicely, she has a very pleasant voice.
 
This was posted a few days ago. We hear again Carpenters were signed to A&M based upon Richard's vocals on "Your Wonderful Parade." When Herb hears a song with Karen on lead, he says "You sing, too?"


I was wondering when this was going to be brought up! Raises some questions, for sure. It's stated Herb signed them for their "choral" sound and NOT just Karen's voice. Previously, Herb stated he played their demo tape and it was as if Karen was 'sitting on his lap" singing to him. Which was it?
 
This was posted a few days ago. We hear again Carpenters were signed to A&M based upon Richard's vocals on "Your Wonderful Parade." When Herb hears a song with Karen on lead, he says "You sing, too?"


Thanks Rachel for the post! I've never heard this particular interview before. I was surprised it was produced so late in Karen's life (1981). She sounds great, but of course she wasn't doing well at all...
 
Great audio isn’t it?!
I got some cassettes with rare audio from Ans de Vos and i digitized them.
I still have one too post; Live in Miami 1972. And i tried to post the long 2 hour radio special “Then, Now and Always” from 1989 with an interview by Richard, but that one has copyright infringement!:bangwall:

Chris
 
There must be a thread somewhere for our own compilations or something, but I can't find it! Anyway I thought this would be the next best place to share this.

I created a Carpenters complete playlists on Spotify a few months ago and today gave its own photo and bio. So here I am sharing if anyone on Spotify would like to follow it. I've tried to get it somewhat in chronological order.






BTW. I recently found a tool that let's you analyse Spotify streams and the grand total for Carpenters songs streamed on Spotify is 753+ million ! 753,000,000+ yes you read that properly!
 
So the write up said they were singing help but someone else sang it! That was disappointing
 
So the write up said they were singing help but someone else sang it! That was disappointing

Well, that's OK. If you read the posts on "Help!, you'll find it's universally disliked. :laugh:
 
Geographer raises a pertinent question (post 933): " I was wondering when this was going to be brought up! Raises some questions, for sure.
It's stated Herb signed them for their "choral" sound and NOT just Karen's voice. Previously, Herb stated he played their demo tape and it was as if Karen was 'sitting on his lap" singing to him. Which was it ?
"

One reads in the Coleman Biography (1994):
Herb Alpert: "The first note I heard from this tape was Karen's voice." (page 75).
Coleman writes: The Carpenters' tape he heard featured three songs:
Your Wonderful Parade, Don't Be Afraid, Invocation
. (page 76).

Those three songs (on that tape) would reinforce the view that Karen's voice was not the focal point at that juncture.
 
Geographer raises a pertinent question (post 933): " I was wondering when this was going to be brought up! Raises some questions, for sure.
It's stated Herb signed them for their "choral" sound and NOT just Karen's voice. Previously, Herb stated he played their demo tape and it was as if Karen was 'sitting on his lap" singing to him. Which was it ?
"

One reads in the Coleman Biography (1994):
Herb Alpert: "The first note I heard from this tape was Karen's voice." (page 75).
Coleman writes: The Carpenters' tape he heard featured three songs:
Your Wonderful Parade, Don't Be Afraid, Invocation
. (page 76).

Those three songs (on that tape) would reinforce the view that Karen's voice was not the focal point at that juncture.


"For" opens Invocation, which is all Karen (it's the first note).
YWP is all Richard on lead.
DBA opens with "Love" which is a Karen/Richard harmony.

Could it be that Invocation was the 1st tune Herb heard from the demo tape?

But in contrast, Richard is very specific that YWP was the first thing Alpert heard.

Perplexing, because they both have superb memories and recall of specific details...
 
"In the final analysis, really, does it matter? "

YES HARRY, IT DOES!! Some of us in this forum are Carpenter "purists". We've got to know how it went down EXACTLY ; OK?!
 
In the final analysis, really, does it matter? The end result is that Herb liked what he heard and wanted them signed.

It matters because it's actually an extremely important moment in their career. Possibly the biggest moment. They were signed to A&M. After decades of believing the "Herb heard Karen's voice and was smitten" idea, now we hear something completely at odds with that - and from the duo themselves!

That's actually a bit shocking, given the "history" we thought we knew, about their signing.
 
Now really, isn't it just possible that both things are true - to a certain extent.

Suppose that the Richard story is true. Herb heard him sing first on "Your Wonderful Parade" - and then he heard Karen on the other tracks. But it was Karen's voice that really touched Herb, and so that's what he remembers of the incident.

I really dislike these Richard vs. Karen scenarios. It wasn't a contest - and it shouldn't be now.
 
It’s also possible that the first track heard by Herb was ‘Invocation’, so that would explain things. But I’m guessing here. Richard sure got a kick out of telling that story, though.
😂🤣
 
Now really, isn't it just possible that both things are true - to a certain extent.

I really dislike these Richard vs. Karen scenarios. It wasn't a contest - and it shouldn't be now.

Speaking for myself - nor do I look at it that way. I simply want to know which is accurate.

I can see how both might be true, and for Herb I would suggest that it might have been easier to explain to the general public how he was drawn to Karen's voice, as opposed to trying to explain the technical things about what Richard was doing, that also intrigued him.

Alternatively, Herb focused on commenting about Karen's voice after it became clear that her voice was what most "non-musician" fans recognized and were drawn to.
 
Speaking for myself - nor do I look at it that way. I simply want to know which is accurate.

I can see how both might be true, and for Herb I would suggest that it might have been easier to explain to the general public how he was drawn to Karen's voice, as opposed to trying to explain the technical things about what Richard was doing, that also intrigued him.

Alternatively, Herb focused on commenting about Karen's voice after it became clear that her voice was what most "non-musician" fans recognized and were drawn to.

This sounds likely to me. Both certainly can be true. Herb had enormous respect, as he's stated in other interviews, for Richard's vast knowledge of music and the technical prowess that went into that first "hear." He heard something in both of them that many others had not (would not?).
 
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