📣 News Carpenters: The Musical Legacy (Discussion)

I believe we’re in for a once in a lifetime opportunity to really hear the stories we’ve never heard before and how things actually went down.

What a fantastic cover! Looks classy and timeless....just like Carpenters classy and timeless performances. ❤️💜👍👍

Congrats, Gentlemen!!!!
 
Hello Chris and Mike - many congratulations; the book looks and sounds awesome. Just wondering if you might persuade Richard to overhaul his website!
 
Thanks for posting this info - will be very interesting to read what Richard has to say this time round!

Re their musical career, I do hope there is some coverage of those eras that have never really been addressed by Richard or the previous biographies, like what was going on with the recording of songs in 1978 for the supposed 1979 album that never came to pass - were they just recording songs alongside the Christmas Portrait with a vague aim of producing an album in the future or were these tracks definitely intended to form part of a final tracklist of an album that was definitely being planned for release in 1979?

Would be good to hear the full story of why Jack Daugherty was given the credit as producer for four whole albums when this apparently wasn't what he was doing too!
 
Hello Chris and Mike - many congratulations; the book looks and sounds awesome. Just wondering if you might persuade Richard to overhaul his website!
I reckon he feels his personal social page has essentially replaced it. But the best thing to do, if you really want him to refresh the web portion, is to write him a personal letter. Honestly, we are so crazed with the book and ... that you are best off taking this on yourself. And definitely go with the snail-mail route. My two cents.
 
This is a musical biography that demonstrates the massive success of the Carpenters, in contrast with all of the management and political hurdles they had to overcome along the way.

“The records sold themselves,” as Richard has said countess times.

This book is what Mike and I like to refer to as a hybrid. It serves as a biography, memoir, exhaustive data resource (with many of the types of details you mention), all with some stunning graphical illustrations.

I hope this helps to explain it a little better.
Thanks for this description, Chris. I am SO excited to read this and see what you've put together.
 
Major! When we may tell you without the publisher killing us, you’ll be among the first to know. 😉
Boy oh boy have you all have made me a very, very, very Happy Carpenters fan from 1970 when I was 14 years old! I want to Thank you Mike, Chris, Richard and of course our dear beloved Karen for this!!! What a joy it is going to be with this!

I feel like I am getting my very anticipated Fan Club Newsletter from Evelyn et al. telling me all the latest ..... what memories they are!!!

I still have my original fan club membership card that has Harold's signature on it with the very first Logo of the Carpenters on it before the beautiful one we have known for many a year.

I do know my last 2 statements are probably irrelevant to the subject at hand but I wanted you to know how much the Carpenters to this very day mean to me and I will be 65 years old in October and I will love them to the end!!!
 
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It would be nice to possibly get answers to fan’s questions in the past, like the picture sleeve for We’ve Only Just Begun b/w Maybe It’s You as the flip listed, but no actual single? The original Calling Occupants opening being removed, though it’s pretty obvious why, and will the 3 of you be doing book signings anywhere in the fall? I would certainly try to attend one. The cover art on the Amazon site now. Can’t wait, and Congratulations on everything.
 
Interesting, when I went to Amazon.ca about two days ago to pre-order, there was a different cover for the book and I used that photo in one of my Instagram posts. It looks like Amazon.ca has now either updated or replaced the photo with an accurate cover.

 
This is a musical biography that demonstrates the massive success of the Carpenters, in contrast with all of the management and political hurdles they had to overcome along the way.

“The records sold themselves,” as Richard has said countess times.

This book is what Mike and I like to refer to as a hybrid. It serves as a biography, memoir, exhaustive data resource (with many of the types of details you mention), all with some stunning graphical illustrations.

I hope this helps to explain it a little better.
Sounds like it's going to be an ultimate Carpenters resource. So looking forward to the read.
 
I would love to know more about the slow, gradual development of Karen's singing voice thru her preteen and teenage years - what records/artists she was singing along with; what songs she was singing on her own in these early years; how her voice was changing through this period; when it was first noticeable that her voice was unique and special; etc. But, something tells me there may not be much about this in the book since this has already been covered to a limited extent in the unofficial biographies - and maybe because Richard is simply tired of talking about this after all these years...it's a shame that they don't have video of her at home at various stages, just like they don't have videos of their recording sessions...
 
I would love to know more about the slow, gradual development of Karen's singing voice thru her preteen and teenage years - what records/artists she was singing along with; what songs she was singing on her own in these early years; how her voice was changing through this period; when it was first noticeable that her voice was unique and special; etc. But, something tells me there may not be much about this in the book since this has already been covered to a limited extent in the unofficial biographies - and maybe because Richard is simply tired of talking about this after all these years...it's a shame that they don't have video of her at home at various stages, just like they don't have videos of their recording sessions...
Same! There is a clear trajectory from like "Looking for Love" through "Dancing in the Street" and the Offering album, then the Close to You album... but wondering if there is anything from when Karen was in high school?
 
Interesting, when I went to Amazon.ca about two days ago to pre-order, there was a different cover for the book and I used that photo in one of my Instagram posts. It looks like Amazon.ca has now either updated or replaced the photo with an accurate cover.

Has the tinkering begun already? 🧐

If that is the new cover I much prefer it 🙂
 
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Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble show the cover the first way. I like the version above better myself. Is this a test? B&N has the release date as 10/19/21 The sooner the better.
 
Oh good grief!! Can I just say I skipped to the end of this?? Anyone else?? I wanna read the book and express my appreciation without all the speculation and yearning and longing.

But yeah, I get it’s why we’re here, and yet I still wanna be surprised. Ohkay. Here we go. 😊
 
Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble show the cover the first way. I like the version above better myself. Is this a test? B&N has the release date as 10/19/21 The sooner the better.

The version that is currently up on Amazon and Barnes & Noble is the correct cover. There were earlier renditions of course, one of which was inadvertently sent out.

The issue has since been corrected! :)
 
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