MJ was a fan of Karen and Richard's? Never heard that.
He mentioned them as an influence I believe in an 80s interview.
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
MJ was a fan of Karen and Richard's? Never heard that.
I watched two 80’s mj tv interviews on YouTube around the time he died, no way I can find them now. In one of them, he mentioned that he liked to listen to the carpenters. In another one, he talked about hearing Karen’s passing on the news and calling a friend to let him know.He mentioned them as an influence I believe in an 80s interview.
I watched two 80’s mj tv interviews on YouTube around the time he died, no way I can find them now. In one of them, he mentioned that he liked to listen to the carpenters. In another one, he talked about hearing Karen’s passing on the news and calling a friend to let him know.
Oh yes that is right, they met in 1979. I think anyone with sadness in their heart is likely to be touched by Karen. And Michael definitely had sadness in his heart. His brothers also mentioned carpenters as an influence on the jackson five harmonies.I didn’t see the second one, but it shows that he did feel some kind of connection to Karen and her music if he did that. And I believe they did meet in 1979 in NYC during her recording.
There are two important facts that make the argument:
1. All of the groups you mentioned were still "hot" at the time of the solo ventures. Carpenters were cold and getting colder at the time Karen did her album. When the Beatles were breaking up, they were still top of the charts with every release.
2. She still had that nasty "image" problem, deserved or not, and the style of their music only enhanced it. The artists you mentioned were still "red hot" and didn't have that issue.
If you've never heard Chris May's "The Download" podcast interviews with John Bettis, I highly recommend a listen. In the second part, he goes into great detail about why Karen's album was not released, and it had nothing to do with any gratitude for sales, or about anybody's feelings. It wasn't released because they didn't think it would sell.
It seems to me that the overall viewpoint has boiled down to this:
No matter what Karen Carpenter would have released in 1980,
her solo album would have gotten little, if any, airplay.
Then, the issue of whether or not the material is suitable, and suitable for her vocal range becomes, a moot point.
But, we can say more than that-- given the tenor of radio from the mid-70's onward:
No matter what the Carpenters would have released, the outcome for their career would have been the same.
So, whether songs such as: A Kind of Hush, Goofus, Occupant, or, Beechwood 4-5789
mattered--or not (should have been recorded and released as singles)
becomes a moot point, because NOTHING would have gotten airplay-- regardless of how good or bad it was.
That is a sad commentary, indeed.