⭐ Official Review [Album] "KAREN CARPENTER" (SP-4804/CD-0588)

[GaryAlan]

Thanks, Song4u,
and, Stephen,
Carpenters Fan Club Newsletters:
#66 January 1980:
"...Plans are in the making for a Carpenters' Special some time in the spring. Taping is scheduled to begin next month."
#67 May 1980:
" After much thought Karen has decided not to release a solo album.
Richard is in great form and "raring to go" with his music again."
#69 February 1981:
" The postponed television Special is tentatively set for sometime in Fall."
#70 June 1981:
"The New Carpenters' album has been released worldwide."
"Many more songs recorded, some will be applied to the next album."
#71 September 1981:
"Olivia celebrates her tenth year as a USA resident, so when plans were made for her to appear on The Merv Griffin Show,
she was given carte blanche to invite a few friends to join her on the show...naturally Richard and Karen were happy to
accept....Show Taped on September First. It is set to air November Fifth."

 

[song4u]

The Olivia special was recorded on September 1, 1981 (since Karen made reference to her first wedding anniversary the day before) and the Carpenters' single '(Want You) Back In My Life Again' was released on August 28, 1981. So whilst it was up to Olivia who she invited as guests, the Carpenters had good reason to perform this song, since it had just been released as their latest single. 'Those Good Old Dreams' (recorded for - but dropped from - the special) wasn't pulled as a single until November 5, 1981.

Here's an interesting link I found about the Merv Griffin special on Olivia: http://www.onlyolivia.com/visual/tv/80/81/merv/index.html

Wow, thank you for sharing that. Olivia is a true beauty, inside and out. Karen looked dreadful health wise, but it seemed the worse she looked the more vivacious she seemed to be.

 

[GaryAlan]

Sadly, nothing I find amongst Newspaper Articles of this Griffin appearance which
promotes--or, mentions, Carpenters 'new' album.
This was Olivia Newton-John's moment. (As it should be, of course!).
And, she probably would have invited Karen Carpenter to appear even if
Made In America was not in the offing.
This, and the ABC-GMA spot,....those were the Two 1981 USA television tie-ins for Carpenters.
(Where was Jerry Weintraub's clout in getting the duo noticed in America?)
Information anyone? The duo should have been headlining American Television to promote their latest.
(Could he have done anything for Karen's solo Album and its promotion?)

12 Nov 1981 :
"She (Olivia) drove from Malibu the other day to make arrangements for appearances on
The Mike Douglas Show and Merv Griffin Show to hype her new album."
"I've changed a bit. Grown up."
Here:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...f4xAAAAIBAJ&sjid=zYYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5585,3152804
And,
http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...pxOAAAAIBAJ&sjid=MfsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3185,1490674

 

[GaryAlan]

An Aside....
About the Merv Griffin Show:
" Before the first of the Year (1982) it took 24 days to get a show on the air."

Source:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?n...amxGAAAAIBAJ&sjid=f-kMAAAAIBAJ&pg=2374,380590

 

[newvillefan]

Sadly, nothing I find amongst Newspaper Articles of this Griffin appearance which
promotes--or, mentions, Carpenters 'new' album.

The newspapers didn't need to...Merv holds up the 'Made In America' album to the camera before announcing the Carpenters, explaining it's their new album and that 'Want You' is their new single, so Merv did the promotion himself

 

[GaryAlan]

Yes, I am aware of the Blurb for the album while Carpenters were on the show.
What I am getting at is this:
For those fans who would like to have 'caught' the Carpenters promoting their new album,
there was no advance warning in any news outlet describing the show previous to the airing.
And, the show was taped 24 days previous to it being offered to outlets and 'aired' (see News Tidbit link I posted).
And, the (September) Fan Club Newsletter says: " Check your local listings."
In other words, if you tuned in to watch Olivia, you were pleasantly surprised by Carpenters guesting .
If you were a Fan Club Newsletter recipient, you may also have been forewarned of the guest spot.
But, in general, who knew? (I did not). This was not specifically a "guest spot" to promote a Carpenters album.
And, I am wondering, were it not for this "syndicated" talk-show and Good Morning America,
where were the promotional spots going to come from in America?

 

[mr J.]

And, wasn't Those Good Old Dreams edited out of the entire
Merv Griffin (syndicated?) program?
Of course, after a lengthy hiatus, brother looked quite fit.
If memory serves, this was an Olivia Newton-John invitation,
as Merv Griffin had her invite any guests she wanted for the episode.
In other words, this performance did not occur simply because
Made In America was being 'plugged'---Olivia Newton-John was being
touted on the program and invited the duo to be there.
Please correct me if I am misinformed on this issue.

The main purpose of K&R's appearance was to plug the album and single.But,K&R were definitely out of place on a segment with Olivia,John Travolta & Rick Springfield-three artists that K&R had nothing in common with musically or professionally. Granted,Olivia & Karen were close friends & this was a personal invite.

The one thing about Music,Music,Music that sets it apart from all the other TV specials (and guest appearances):Karen was matched Ella Fitzgerald-her equal and an artist she had much in common with musically.

 

[GaryAlan]

Addenda....
As has been pointed out,
Given that Ella and Karen were "equals",
it is interesting that Ella was singing 'Live' to
Karen's pre-recorded vocal ( of 2 March 2 1980, Studio D).
Such a missed opportunity for a full-fledged live 'duet' between The Greats.
And, as Richard exclaims, "..they might as well have been, as she (Karen) got them all in one take"
"We hired a remote recording service to record Ella at ABC Studios--Taping March 7,8,9."
(Liner Notes: As Time Goes By).

Call me a lunatic, but the entire scenario--as described-- I find rather strange.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Still looking through Billboard mags for hidden treasures.....I can across this in Billboard issue June 28, 1980 Letters to the Editor...how ironic that someone wrote in a letter back in 1980 and felt strong enough about it to express that in a letter to the editor of Billboard.

 

[Chris May]

How funny! Greg is known to this day amongst the Carpenters fan base community.

 

[newvillefan]

how ironic that someone wrote in a letter back in 1980 and felt strong enough about it to express that in a letter to the editor of Billboard.

And that Billboard felt compelled enough to publish it!! Great find Chris

 

[byline]

Still looking through Billboard mags for hidden treasures.....I can across this in Billboard issue June 28, 1980 Letters to the Editor...how ironic that someone wrote in a letter back in 1980 and felt strong enough about it to express that in a letter to the editor of Billboard.

And that Billboard felt compelled enough to publish it!! Great find Chris

Back when Rolling Stone published an item about Daryl Hall's then-shelved solo album, I wrote them a letter lamenting that situation. They published it!

 

[GaryAlan]

Before I continue on to this particular "Thread",
I feel it best to present some Numbers:
By Percentages --my postings--regarding each Album, by titled Thread.
Offering, 22%
Close To You, 19%
A Song For You, 20%
Now and Then, 9%
Horizon, 16%
Kind of Hush, 23%
Passage , 23%
Lovelines, 26%
and,
Karen Carpenter, 13% (me, 129 out of 782 total, at the time).

Well, I surprised myself.
It, being that I was under the distinct impression
that I was dominating all of the discussion(s) with Karen Carpenter's Solo Album.
Taking a sabbatical , I 'ran' the numbers through my Maple-Mathematics Software,
and, behold, a lowly 13%, little more than one in ten distinct messages posted by me.

Can I add One more message ? May I dare indulge?

Thanks Chris for the Billboard postings.
And, whoever Greg Kuritz may be, thanks for
possessing the Courage to write your letter to Billboard in June 1980.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

For what it's worth...I had two letters published in Billboard and one in (the now-defunct) Stereo Review, and yet another one in Boxoffice. I can't remember what any of them were about except the one to Stereo Review, I asked for more information about "syn-drums."

I have a feeling Billboard didn't get all that many letters to the editor so they were glad to publish the ones that were written well or made a good comment.

 

[CraigGA]

Maybe it was opportune that I did not know of Karen's solo project until the mid 1980's. If I had known about it while she was still alive my anticipation for hearing it would have been more than I could stand.

 

[Jamesj75]

I had two letters published in Billboard

Coincidentally, I also had two letters on the Carpenters published at Billboard.com: Fred Bronson's Chart Beat Chat column. Each letter was a tribute to Karen on the 20th and 25th anniversaries of her passing (one in 2003 and one in 2008). So, it's nice to see that some of us have been spreading the good word (here and elsewhere) ...

 

[GaryAlan]

Great letter, James!
Quoting from your (may I?) letter:
"I will always cherish Karen, with her voice and beauty.
And I lament the songs that were never song. And I will always miss her.
And I know I am not alone."

(Billboard Reply):
Dear James,
Thank you for your eloquent tribute to Karen Carpenter on the 20th anniversary of her death.
I know there are many "Chart Beat" readers who share your sentiments.
I still remember the strange way I found out about Karen's passing. I was living in London at the time. It was late at night on Feb. 4, and I was calling my aunt in Los Angeles to say hello. Without thinking, I didn't dial my aunt's number; I had mistakenly called a friend of mine in L.A. instead. Before he could say anything, he said I was obviously calling because I had heard about Karen's death. My friend was a major Carpenters fan -- the most devoted Carpenters fan I knew. I had to admit that not only did I not know that Karen had just died, but I hadn't even intended to call him. But I guess there are no accidents.

 

[Jamesj75]

Great letter, James!
Quoting from your (may I?) letter:

Thanks, Gary! What I wrote are heartfelt sentiments that I believe we all share. I'm pretty certain you had to do some digging to find this letter, but you're our resident research expert par excellence!

 

[GaryAlan]

Well, James, I really can't take any credit...the letter popped up quite unexpectedly,
as I was searching for an unrelated issue ! (Seven degrees of separation, and all that !).
Had you never mentioned your letters to Billboard Magazine , I would never have made the connection !
But, what a beautiful letter it is !

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

James, it sounds like the reply that you got from Billboard was from the famous Paul Grein, am I right? I remember him on a video documentary of the Carpenters and he spoke about how he phoned a friend who was a huge Carpenters fan and gave him the news. The story sounds very similar. If so, that is really cool that you got your letter published but even better that you got a reply from what sounds to me like Paul Grein.

 

[Jamesj75]

Chris, you are correct! Yet the reply I received was from (the also famous) Fred Bronson in his Billboard Chart Beat Chat column. It was Fred Bronson, living in London, who called Paul Grein, living in Los Angeles. In his reply to my letter, Fred writes:

I still recall how I learned of Karen's passing. I was living in London in 1983, and late on Feb. 4 I was calling a family member at home when I misdialed and called a friend instead. Long-time Chart Beat readers will recognize the name of that friend: Paul Grein, now my predecessor at Billboard though at that time he was still the original author of Chart Beat.

Incidentally, Fred Bronson left Billboard and went on to work for American Idol, among other musical TV specials. Fred Bronson is a talented writer. One invaluable resource book of his that I own is Billboard's Hottest Hot 100 Hits, Updated and Expanded 3rd Edition. Further, he has since been the writer of a weekly column in The Hollywood Reporter, "American Idol on the Charts."

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Chris, you are correct! Yet the reply I received was from (the also famous) Fred Bronson in his Billboard Chart Beat Chat column. It was Fred Bronson, living in London, who called Paul Grein, living in Los Angeles. In his reply to my letter, Fred writes:

I still recall how I learned of Karen's passing. I was living in London in 1983, and late on Feb. 4 I was calling a family member at home when I misdialed and called a friend instead. Long-time Chart Beat readers will recognize the name of that friend: Paul Grein, now my predecessor at Billboard though at that time he was still the original author of Chart Beat.

Incidentally, Fred Bronson left Billboard and went on to work for American Idol, among other musical TV specials. Fred Bronson is a talented writer. One invaluable resource book of his that I own is Billboard's Hottest Hot 100 Hits, Updated and Expanded 3rd Edition. Further, he has since been the writer of a weekly column in The Hollywood Reporter, "American Idol on the Charts."

Ahh, I had it backwards...lol I remember Paul Grein speaking about that in an interview. That's pretty cool you have that reply letter.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Paul Grein wrote an article in Billboard called, "Solo LP's by Group Members Growing" issue Sept 05, 1981, starts on page 3 and continues on page 66 in the last paragraph of the article it says:

"Not that all solo projects meet such glorious fates. Some- horrors aren't even released. Karen Carpenter spent more than a year working with ace producer Phil Ramone on her solo debut, only for the album to be shelved. "It was an interesting experience," said Carpenter after the shelving decision had been made. "It was good to know I have the ability to do things that are a little bit different."

 

[newvillefan]

Some- horrors aren't even released. Karen Carpenter spent more than a year working with ace producer Phil Ramone on her solo debut, only for the album to be shelved.

Paul Grein described her album as a horror? How would he know, he'd never even heard it in 1981

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Paul Grein described her album as a horror? How would he know, he'd never even heard it in 1981

No, he wasn't calling the album a horror. The article says how so many group artist were making it big by going solo artist and releasing a solo LP, I think he was referring to Karen's as an example of the horror in not releasing it or that there are some artist that have not been so lucky in making it solo when Karen's was shelved. That's what I got.