Anyone read this?

The others that came after the second silver sparkle set were donated due to space limitations.

Thank you, that answers my question :)

I did keep the jelly bean set, each drum a different color, and quite an eyeful.

6BBF423D-F5BE-44BF-8849-45C1368D42E3_zpskt0ico4g.jpg
 
I would still like to know when exactly her parents bought her that first Ludwig drum kit. I don't recall that info in either of the biographies. Does anyone have that information? I'm thinking it was most likely her 15th birthday (Mar 2, 1965).
While not an exact date, in the liner notes to From The Top and The Essential Collection for the Interview track, Richard notes that Karen did not possess a pair of drums until they were "well west of the Rockies" and were in Downey, California.
 
Are there any videos available of Karen actually playing this set? I wonder if this set is on display in the YOM warehouse?

I’m sure Richard said they were packed away at the warehouse. Who knows what that means; whether it’s the YOM warehouse and if so, whether they’re even on display.
 
Are there any videos available of Karen actually playing this set? I wonder if this set is on display in the YOM warehouse.
Wasn't that the set that Karen played for Strike Up The Band that we saw a clip of in the Close To You: Remembering The Carpenters documentary?
 
Cubby O'Brien is sitting behind a jelly bean set during Karen's appearance with Bruce Forsyth. Doesn't have the same color scheme as the above photo. These sets must have been fairly popular back then:

 
Cubby O'Brien is sitting behind a jelly bean set during Karen's appearance with Bruce Forsyth. Doesn't have the same color scheme as the above photo. These sets must have been fairly popular back then

Karen’s original set was one of only three ever custom made. I doubt she would have taken it on the road for trips abroad. It was probably her pride and joy.
 
^^ "Karen’s original set was one of only three ever custom made." Interesting...You wouldn't happen to know who owns the the other two? I am going to take a wild guess and say one of them has the initials H.B. :laugh:!
 
^^ "Karen’s original set was one of only three ever custom made." Interesting...You wouldn't happen to know who owns the the other two? I am going to take a wild guess and say one of them has the initials H.B. :laugh:!

hal blaine tells the story that karen approached him to have his drum kit duplicated for her. she wanted to be able to duplicate their studio sound while in concert. I believe he called the kit a vistalight. at the time, hal blaine and ringo starr were the only owners of the plexiglass kit.
 
^^ "Karen’s original set was one of only three ever custom made." Interesting...You wouldn't happen to know who owns the the other two? I am going to take a wild guess and say one of them has the initials H.B. :laugh:!

One is Ringo Starr and the other is (correct!) Hal Blaine :)
 
I found this interesting article about Carpenters attorney Werner Wolfen and the Beach Boys which I wasn't previously aware of. It mentions a couple of companies associated with the Carpenters.

CALIFORNIA | LOCAL
Beach Boy Wilson Sues Law Firm Over 1969 Sales
September 18, 1990
Brian Wilson filed a $100-million lawsuit Monday in Los Angeles Superior Court against a law firm he alleges misrepresented him during the 1969 sales of Beach Boys' songs. The suit seeks compensatory and punitive damages against the law firm of Irell and Manella and against Werner Wolfen, an attorney with the firm. The action is a companion lawsuit to another $100-million suit filed last year against Irving Music, the publishing company owned by A&M General Corp.


Articles about Werner Wolfen - latimes
 
At 83, Herb Alpert's Still In Love With The Music Gary G. Vercelli
Friday, September 14, 2018 | Sacramento, CA
Herb Alpert:
"Karen was an extraordinary talent. She didn't really know how great she was, unfortunately," Alpert says.
"She'd always say 'Ah, my strength is as a drummer.' Luckily for them, and us, I gave them 'Close to You.'
That song was their major breakthrough song."

More:
At 83, Herb Alpert's Still In Love With The Music
 
Mediatribe: Dynamic Duo, BY STEFENE RUSSELL

FEBRUARY 3, 2010
---Intro...
"Hearing Richard Carpenter being interviewed by Terry Gross on NPR
(to promote the remastered Carpenters collection 40/40) reminded me of one of the noblest missions of my life:
to defend the music of The Carpenters from unfair, inaccurate and totally misguided accusations of being sappy.
My dictionary defines sappy as “overly sentimental, silly or foolish,” none of which comes close to describing the intelligent AM pop music of this ‘70s-identified duo. In fact, if there were ever an instrument more pure, more honest, more carefully measured than the gorgeous voice of the late Karen Carpenter,
it hasn’t -- at least to my weathered ears -- been invented yet."
----Conclusion...
"There’s a lesson here for snobs, avoiders and elitists:
You can be a fan of the most avant-garde jazz, the most hedonistic punk, the finest country and folk –
but if you don’t appreciate the one-of-a-kind beauty of The Carpenters, you simply don’t get music.
Take that, Terry Gross."

More:
Mediatribe: Dynamic Duo
 
This is worth re-reading:
Karen Carpenter in the Age of Irony
"THE BLOG 03/14/2013 01:02 pm ET Updated Feb 02, 2016"
---
"I chose Karen Carpenter for March, and my inbox was full. Full."
"Emails upon emails. Requests, memories, and stories; people wanting me to know how much they love Karen Carpenter.
And I don’t blame them. I adore Karen Carpenter myself."
---
"Karen Carpenter’s voice isn’t big, or loud, or gymnastic. I don’t know if she would make it on American Idol today.
It’s simple, real, but painfully alive. It’s filled with hope and promise, yet totally aware of the dark.
It’s that mixture that grabs you, holds you and forces you to connect, to engage."
---
"You could be “ironic” about Karen Carpenter. The music can sound hokey, all those strings, the French horns, and the ‘70s
swirl that lives in so much of the sound. And it’s overly optimistic, and “wholesome” in a world that is increasingly less so.
But as one 19-year-old put to me in her email, “I listen to Karen, and I feel less alone.”
"That’s what great art is all about. It’s hard to see the irony in that."
----
Source:
www.huffingtonpost.com/justin-sayre/karen-carpenter-in-the-ag_b_2870762.html
 
Cubby O'Brien is sitting behind a jelly bean set during Karen's appearance with Bruce Forsyth. Doesn't have the same color scheme as the above photo. These sets must have been fairly popular back then:


If this would have been the single version in 1976 I don’t think I would have ever stopped listening to it. She and Cubby seemed to be in sync together as never before! They always were in the videos posted online. It must have something to do with trust in drummers.
 
This should prove beneficial to Richard Carpenter:
The Music Modernization Act has been signed into law,
Oct 11, 2018
"What does all this mean ?
First, songwriters and artists will receive royalties on songs recorded before 1972.
Second, the MMA will improve how songwriters are paid by streaming services with a single mechanical licensing database overseen by music publishers and songwriters. The cost of creating and maintaining this database will be paid for by digital streaming services.
Third, the act will take unclaimed royalties due to music professionals and provide a consistent legal process to receive them. Previously, these unclaimed royalties were held by digital service providers like Spotify. All of this should also ensure that artists are paid more and have an easier time collecting money they are owed."
More:
www.theverge.com/2018/10/11/17963804/music-modernization-act-mma-copyright-law-bill-labels-congress
 
I did not know that A&M Records took out a full page advert in Billboard when Karen passed away in 1983. Very touching.

Billboard

I am however quite surprised at the scant article Billboard itself included a week earlier.

Billboard
 
I did not know that A&M Records took out a full page advert in Billboard when Karen passed away in 1983. Very touching.

Billboard

I am however quite surprised at the scant article Billboard itself included a week earlier.

Billboard
Thanks for posting. Question for the forum: did any Carpenters albums chart immediately following Karen’s death as often happens with the passing of major artists?
 
^^I am looking into your question (e.g., Billboard 1983).

In the interim, we did get this from July 9th,1983 Paul Grein:
Billboard Magazine, page 54:
Karen Carpenter Remembered
"LOS ANGELES -Richard Carpenter and the University Choir at California State Univ. at Long Beach
mounted a fitting tribute to the late Karen Carpenter Saturday (25) at the First Congregational
Church of Long Beach. The briskly paced two -hour concert stressed the joy in the Carpenters'
music rather than the sadness of Karen's death. Lyricist John Bettis set the tone for the show in a
light- hearted spot in which he performed the Carpenters' "Top Of The World" and the Pointer Sisters'
"Slow Hand," both of which he co- wrote. ( "Can you believe we did that in a church ?" he exclaimed
after singing the latter tune.) Dennis Heath, another choir alumnus, performed several songs,
including "Look To Your Dreams," an eloquent Carpenter/Bettis ballad which is expected to
appear on the Carpenters' studio album "Voice Of The Heart" in September. And, Richard Carpenter offered
instrumental piano versions of such Carpenter/Bettis hits as "Yesterday Once More" and "I Need
To Be In Love
." Carpenter also offered a jazzy version of "The Girl From Ipanema," with which the
Carpenter Trio won the Hollywood Bowl Battle of the Bands in 1966. And Carpenter dueled with
choir director Frank Pooler (coauthor of the Carpenters' "Merry Christmas, Darling ") on a medley
of songs from the '30s and '40s, including such gems as Burton Lane and Ralph Freed's charming
"How About You ?" and Kermit Goel's comical " Huggin' And Chalkin'." The show also featured the University
Choir in a series of brightly arranged songs, including the pop/jazz classic "Cloudburst" and the
gospel -rooted "Just A Little Bit Of Faith." The choir also performed such Carpenters hits as "For All
We Know"
and "We've Only Just Begun." "

March 26,1983 Chart Beat, Billboard:
"The Singles 1969 -1973 (A &M) returns to Billboard's pop album chart
this week at number 134, six weeks after the tragic death of singer Karen
Carpenter."
 
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That's fairly typical that when a musical star dies, their Greatest Hits album will spike in sales.
 
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