Calvin R Murty
Member
Dear Everyone,
I've been lurking long enough!
My name is Calvin and I am a long time Carpenter's Fan from Singapore.
Just wanted to say 'Hi' and share with everyone this article that appeared in the Straits Times (Singapore's main English newspaper) a few months after Karen's passing in 1983.
Do enjoy!
best wishes,
Calvin R Murty
After Karen, Her Other Half Strives
[The Straits Times, Singapore, Tuesday October 25, 1983]
Is there life after Karen?
For The Carpenters, there isn’t.
For Richard, after the numbing agony subsides, and the feel for producing music glows strong again, there will be life.
Richard Carpenter was in town over the weekend to promote The Carpenters’ latest and possibly last (there are still about 18-20 unreleased tracks) album, Voice Of The Heart.
The album, released on Oct. 21, comprises watery tracks, recorded before Karen’s death, which bear little resemblance to the perfect material the duo released during their 10-year reign as chart toppers.
The Carpenters, the ‘70s purveyors of purist pop, found fame early and comfortably settled themselves on top a heap of greenbacks accrued from 5 platinum and 8 gold albums and 10 gold singles.
Living lives almost as clean as their famous Mormon counterparts, the Osmonds, Karen and Richard Carpenter were the toast of Herb Alpert’s A&M label, with their perfect melodies that reached markets the world over.
At their height, from 1969 to 1979, The Carpenters released an album every year, and with predictable regularity they would scale the charts, keeping their bank accounts on an equal path.
In early February this year, The Carpenters’ musical career crashed with Karen’s death.
For eight years she had been battling with anorexia nervosa, and just when she was showing signs of recovery, a heart attack killed her at the age of 32.
“I was shocked”, Richard recalls simply.
Richard, till adhering faithfully to the clean-cut American boy-next-door image looks relaxed, but is noticeably tense as he undergoes the painful process of normalization.
In a simple sky blue tee shirt and blue denim jeans, and hair neatly pruned and combed for good effect, Richard laughs, smiles and performs with all the necessary decorum that a paying public demands.
What lies within the sanctum of his mind are revealed in the simple, unconscious motions - the clenching of his hand, the twitching of an eyelid, the pursing of his lips – whenever Karen’s name is mentioned.
Karen had been more than a sister. She was a business partner and a dear friend.
“I felt anger and grief,” he recounts, on first hearing the news of his sister’s death.
“It was such a shame, for a woman who had so much to give to die at such an early age,” he continues, grief showing in his voice.
To honour the duo’s contribution to the music world, the Mayor of Los Angeles proclaimed Oct.12 Carpenters Day, and their star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame was revealed.
A Karen Carpenter Memorial Foundation has also been set up, with the proceeds going towards musical scholarships or into research on anorexia nervosa.
Singer Barry Manilow will be pouring the receipts from his forthcoming concert tour into this foundation.
But what does the future hold for Richard?
“I’ll be doing some solo recordings and performances, with orchestral backing, and I am thinking of working with other singers."
“But details will only be confirmed after this 6-week promotional tour,” he reveals.
Also on his list of possibilities is writing music for Broadway, as well as scoring for films.
But one thing he is definite about - he will not concentrate on lead singing or cut a solo album trying to sound like the carpenters.
Nor will he try to team up with someone else and emulate the Carpenters of old.
“Karen had an absolutely wonderful voice. I could work with someone and try to sound close to her, but it would never be the same.
“If I did decide to work with another woman singer, it would be a different sound,” he figures.
That has always been Richard’s self-enforced role- be the music man, and let Karen hog the publicity with her silky smooth voice.” Anyway, Karen was definitely the prettier of the two,” he quips and laughs.
Another future possibility may be a romantic tie-up with his stunning touring companion, for this promotional tour, Sherry Pasco.
The two met at a memorial concert for Karen and, though Richard refers to her as his ‘woman friend’, she looks the sort to fit neatly into his “perfectly-happy, all-American, square” image.
To suit his image, Richard has equally predictable hobbies, ranging from bowling (average score: 165) and watching video tapes to swimming. The odd fetish would be his car collection, which numbers a staggering 100.
But all these are mere distractions to keep his mind off a devastating and painful year.
-end of article-
I've been lurking long enough!
My name is Calvin and I am a long time Carpenter's Fan from Singapore.
Just wanted to say 'Hi' and share with everyone this article that appeared in the Straits Times (Singapore's main English newspaper) a few months after Karen's passing in 1983.
Do enjoy!
best wishes,
Calvin R Murty
After Karen, Her Other Half Strives
[The Straits Times, Singapore, Tuesday October 25, 1983]
Is there life after Karen?
For The Carpenters, there isn’t.
For Richard, after the numbing agony subsides, and the feel for producing music glows strong again, there will be life.
Richard Carpenter was in town over the weekend to promote The Carpenters’ latest and possibly last (there are still about 18-20 unreleased tracks) album, Voice Of The Heart.
The album, released on Oct. 21, comprises watery tracks, recorded before Karen’s death, which bear little resemblance to the perfect material the duo released during their 10-year reign as chart toppers.
The Carpenters, the ‘70s purveyors of purist pop, found fame early and comfortably settled themselves on top a heap of greenbacks accrued from 5 platinum and 8 gold albums and 10 gold singles.
Living lives almost as clean as their famous Mormon counterparts, the Osmonds, Karen and Richard Carpenter were the toast of Herb Alpert’s A&M label, with their perfect melodies that reached markets the world over.
At their height, from 1969 to 1979, The Carpenters released an album every year, and with predictable regularity they would scale the charts, keeping their bank accounts on an equal path.
In early February this year, The Carpenters’ musical career crashed with Karen’s death.
For eight years she had been battling with anorexia nervosa, and just when she was showing signs of recovery, a heart attack killed her at the age of 32.
“I was shocked”, Richard recalls simply.
Richard, till adhering faithfully to the clean-cut American boy-next-door image looks relaxed, but is noticeably tense as he undergoes the painful process of normalization.
In a simple sky blue tee shirt and blue denim jeans, and hair neatly pruned and combed for good effect, Richard laughs, smiles and performs with all the necessary decorum that a paying public demands.
What lies within the sanctum of his mind are revealed in the simple, unconscious motions - the clenching of his hand, the twitching of an eyelid, the pursing of his lips – whenever Karen’s name is mentioned.
Karen had been more than a sister. She was a business partner and a dear friend.
“I felt anger and grief,” he recounts, on first hearing the news of his sister’s death.
“It was such a shame, for a woman who had so much to give to die at such an early age,” he continues, grief showing in his voice.
To honour the duo’s contribution to the music world, the Mayor of Los Angeles proclaimed Oct.12 Carpenters Day, and their star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame was revealed.
A Karen Carpenter Memorial Foundation has also been set up, with the proceeds going towards musical scholarships or into research on anorexia nervosa.
Singer Barry Manilow will be pouring the receipts from his forthcoming concert tour into this foundation.
But what does the future hold for Richard?
“I’ll be doing some solo recordings and performances, with orchestral backing, and I am thinking of working with other singers."
“But details will only be confirmed after this 6-week promotional tour,” he reveals.
Also on his list of possibilities is writing music for Broadway, as well as scoring for films.
But one thing he is definite about - he will not concentrate on lead singing or cut a solo album trying to sound like the carpenters.
Nor will he try to team up with someone else and emulate the Carpenters of old.
“Karen had an absolutely wonderful voice. I could work with someone and try to sound close to her, but it would never be the same.
“If I did decide to work with another woman singer, it would be a different sound,” he figures.
That has always been Richard’s self-enforced role- be the music man, and let Karen hog the publicity with her silky smooth voice.” Anyway, Karen was definitely the prettier of the two,” he quips and laughs.
Another future possibility may be a romantic tie-up with his stunning touring companion, for this promotional tour, Sherry Pasco.
The two met at a memorial concert for Karen and, though Richard refers to her as his ‘woman friend’, she looks the sort to fit neatly into his “perfectly-happy, all-American, square” image.
To suit his image, Richard has equally predictable hobbies, ranging from bowling (average score: 165) and watching video tapes to swimming. The odd fetish would be his car collection, which numbers a staggering 100.
But all these are mere distractions to keep his mind off a devastating and painful year.
-end of article-
