Anyone read this?

It makes you think what Karen thought of KISS :yikes:!
There was an interview with Gene Simmons last year on Australian TV. He spent a minute or two talking about Karen Carpenter. Apparently once in the 70s, Simmons and Karen were staying in the same hotel. Karen phoned to ask Gene Simmons up to her room. He says he dropped everything, which, in this instance, was a groupie, and rushed up to see her. They spent a while having a heart to heart about groupies and life on the road, etc. I don’t know whether they’d met before, but Karen must have had some sort of inkling that she’d like his company.

But this story has been told a million times. (I guess that’s why you were wondering, Carp Diem).

Gene Simmons later requested that Karen sing on his LP.

For me, Kiss’ best song was ‘I Was Made For Loving You’. Full of energy! I bet Kiss purists don’t like it as much because it’s disco-influenced. Even Kiss didn’t hear the advice, ‘Don’t do disco’.
 
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Especially after Gene Simmons hinted in an interview that he had a one night stand with Karen. When asked if he’d been with anyone famous he would hum We’ve Only Just Begun and wouldn’t say it out loud. That really disturbed me at the time, I was about 20, and I wrote the fan club for an explanation or conformation/denial. The response from Ev was a denial, which made me happy. After all, we all had a huge crush on Karen back then.
 
Actually, ‘I Was Made For Loving You’, ‘Rock and Roll All Nite’, ‘Shout It Out Loud’ and ‘Sure Know Something’ were all great singles. I like them all a lot!

I’ve never heard Gene Simmons’ 1979 album that Karen could have sung on but he chose four other vocalists with their own unique sounds - Janis Ian, Cher, Donna Summer and Helen Reddy.
 
Especially after Gene Simmons hinted in an interview that he had a one night stand with Karen. When asked if he’d been with anyone famous he would hum We’ve Only Just Begun and wouldn’t say it out loud. That really disturbed me at the time, I was about 20, and I wrote the fan club for an explanation or conformation/denial. The response from Ev was a denial, which made me happy. After all, we all had a huge crush on Karen back then.
:) In other interviews he’s been quick to qualify that nothing happened and they just chatted. I just read that they’d met in a club in Indianapolis. I guess they could have crossed paths a few times, over the years.
 
If I remember correctly Billboard Magazine had a blurb one week that Gene Simmons and Karen Carpenter were discussing business at a hotel during an Eagles concert. I wish I could remember the exact quote. Or maybe it was after a Kiss concert, I just can’t remember. Hopefully someone can find the quote. I believe there was mutual respect for each other.
 
This would have been somewhere between 1975-1977 when I read that interview. I don’t remember if it was Rolling Stone or People, Billboard? Not sure.
 
Gene Simmons is a bit of a blowhard. And Karen is certainly not around to "defend" herself. This and the Petula Clark story should be taken with a huge grain of salt.
 
the Petula Clark story should be taken with a huge grain of salt.

Petula has always seemed a genuine person to me. I can’t see her making such a story up and even if she did, why fabricate Karen’s name into the tale? Shock value maybe, but again she was never really one to shock anybody, she seems a rather gentle soul.
 
Disturbing ? What's next ?

SONY SEEKS TO CREATE KICK-DRUM TRACKING BY LEVERAGING ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LATEST NEWS WITH AUDIO
by Vivek Kumar August 6, 2019
"Researchers at Sony developed a machine learning model that can create kick-drum tracking. In an effort to train the artificial intelligence system, the researchers collated data from 665 different songs from a broad range of genres, including pop, rock, and electronica.
The songs all feature rhythmic instruments, bass, kick and snares that were available as separate 44.1 kHz audio songs.
According to Sony, the artificial intelligence is capable of building musically plausible drum patterns based on existing instruments being used on the song. By using the contextual signals of those rhythmic tracks, the researchers created drum kicks by setting drum samples at all amplitude peaks.
The artificial intelligence system tentatively creates the kick drum patterns based on the features of the other material that it is placed around, in spite of the song’s tempo and changes in pace or duration.While the technology becomes more sophisticated, the quality of AI-based music is improving in leaps and bounds. Some startups are already traveling around how AI might portray a role here, creating continuous mixes of original music to assist people to drift off, break their treadmill record, or get their presentation finished. For instance, using for Android and iPhone, Mubert, an app, serves up generative channels based on tags like study, meditation, relaxing, creative, and focus, along with genres like dance, dub, techno and, er, ravebient.
Australian AI-based music startup Popgun, in early 2017, could listen to a human playing piano and retort with a melody that could come next. And by July last year, it could compose and play piano, bass, and drums together as a backing track for a human’s vocals.
Sony isn’t alone here in playing around with AI-assisted music. Facebook already leveraged artificial intelligence to change the music of one genre into any other style. Search engine Google also tested with the ability of AI to create art by developing a project, named Magenta, designed to create musical and visual creations. Several others have succeeded in utilizing machine learning to generate endless guitar riffs and complete musicals, despite the results are quite dubious in terms of quality.
Similar to Sony, Google and Facebook, a number of startups including Jukedeck, Amper Music, Aiva, WaveAI, Melodrive, Amadeus Code, Humtap, HumOn, AI Music, Mubert, Endel, and Boomy, are also looking around what artificial intelligence-supported music can do now and what it could do in the future."

Source:
Sony Seeks to Create Kick-Drum Tracking by Leveraging Artificial Intelligence | Analytics Insight
 
:) In other interviews he’s been quick to qualify that nothing happened and they just chatted. I just read that they’d met in a club in Indianapolis. I guess they could have crossed paths a few times, over the years.

Apparently quoted from a 1998 goldmine article:

Lastly, Gene, I heard you met Karen Carpenter of The Carpenters back in the '70s. That sounds like an interesting match, fill us in.

That's true. I really got along with her. She was terrific. She was fascinated by Kiss. She went to see the show that night because the next night The Carpenters were playing. She loved the show, was crazy about it. Never saw anything like it in her life. She called me in my room and said, "Come on down." I thought she wanted to play. So I left my guest in my room and I went downstairs and we sat for hours talking about stuff and music and just life. I was fascinated. There was not a sexual bone in her body that I ever got. She was also fascinated by the idea that there was a girl waiting for me upstairs. "Isn't she getting angry?" "No, she'll be fine, I'll make sure she's happy" She said, "and she just loves you because you're in the band?" "Yes." "Amazing!"
 
Apparently quoted from a 1998 goldmine article:

Lastly, Gene, I heard you met Karen Carpenter of The Carpenters back in the '70s. That sounds like an interesting match, fill us in.

That's true. I really got along with her. She was terrific. She was fascinated by Kiss. She went to see the show that night because the next night The Carpenters were playing. She loved the show, was crazy about it. Never saw anything like it in her life. She called me in my room and said, "Come on down." I thought she wanted to play. So I left my guest in my room and I went downstairs and we sat for hours talking about stuff and music and just life. I was fascinated. There was not a sexual bone in her body that I ever got. She was also fascinated by the idea that there was a girl waiting for me upstairs. "Isn't she getting angry?" "No, she'll be fine, I'll make sure she's happy" She said, "and she just loves you because you're in the band?" "Yes." "Amazing!"
 
I can attest to the truth of this article. I was born in Beijing and went to Australia in my early teens. When I fell in love with the carpenters as an 11 year old in China in 1990, every second person that I knew (amongst friends and family of a 11 year old), knew of Karen Carpenter. And most loved her voice and songs, particularly, yesterday once more, superstar and sing. Funny though, in the beginning, Chinese people thought she was the older sister (or should I say lead sister?)



Entirely new subject, since I don't know how to start a new/separate thread. I just posted a new article on my blog (Splashingrocks.blogspot.com) documenting at some length the history of the Carpenters' enormous and sustained popularity in China. For any members interested, the article is here. KAREN CARPENTER'S POSTHUMOUS CONQUEST OF CHINA.
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Here is a 1974 clip of Gene Simmons on "The Mike Douglas Show", getting completely "upstaged" by comedian Totie Fields.
The guy is "a legend in his own mind";

 
Just seen this review on A&M Records Alumni page on LinkedIn...it's from four years ago but an interesting read. Posted by the author Joel Samberg.

Happy holidays, everyone. New review......

Happy holidays, everyone. I wanted to share with you how pleased I was to read Grady Harp's review of my new book about Karen Carpenter, "Some Kind of Lonely Clown," which he posted on Amazon yesterday. Several former A&M staffers are quoted in the book. As you may know, Grady is one of Amazon's top reviewers:


***

Joel Samberg leaped into the arena of successful comedic writers with his excellent novel HOT AIR. The story was/is in many way just a simple memoir of a striving but relentlessly thwarted 'Everyman', but Samberg's fictional anti-hero, Jeffery Wiser, may just be the opening gate for a series of studies of people who seem to be caught in the stream of chronic failure. Given Samberg's keen writing style and facile use of recalling savory moments and phrases to reinforce his story line give evidence of a well-prepared artist whose credentials include journalism, playwriting, and a rich knowledge of American culture.

Now Joel takes us down a different avenue – memoirville – in this touching book about the life and times of popular singer Karen Carpenter of the famous team The Carpenters. Known for his tribute to her, on the 30th anniversary of her early death, on NPR’s All Things Considered Joel tells it like a close friend and brings that sort of intimacy to his pages.

Most everyone accepted the fact that the very thin Karen had conflicts but few people have addressed them like Joel – ‘the gifted singer, love-starved romantic, conflicted sister, obedient daughter, unpredictable jester, modest millionaire, optimistic dreamer, wannabe mother, emotional wreck, generous friend, and melancholy clown’. It is all here told with warmth but not morbid. It is like hearing that familiar voice that for a dozen years was on the airways everyday with our favorite songs.

Grady Harp, December 15


LinkedIn
 
Retro Top Ten: This week in 1973
"Considering their body of work and the accolades heaped upon them, it's hard to believe that
The Carpenters never had a No. 1 hit in the UK and that their only Irish number one was 'Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft'.
Karen and Richard Carpenter were at their creative peak in the early- to mid-seventies and 'Yesterday Once More' perfectly demonstrates the sound and distinctive Karen vocal that sold millions for the siblings. Though just missing out on the top spot in both the UK and US Billboard charts, the song was The Carpenters' biggest selling record worldwide. Richard has said in interviews that it is his favourite of all the songs he has written. 'Yesterday Once More' was deprived its UK No. 1 by seventies teen idol Donny Osmond."

Source:
Retro Top Ten: This week in 1973 - Independent.ie
 
Retro Top Ten: This week in 1973
"Considering their body of work and the accolades heaped upon them, it's hard to believe that
The Carpenters never had a No. 1 hit in the UK and that their only Irish number one was 'Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft'.
Karen and Richard Carpenter were at their creative peak in the early- to mid-seventies and 'Yesterday Once More' perfectly demonstrates the sound and distinctive Karen vocal that sold millions for the siblings. Though just missing out on the top spot in both the UK and US Billboard charts, the song was The Carpenters' biggest selling record worldwide. Richard has said in interviews that it is his favourite of all the songs he has written. 'Yesterday Once More' was deprived its UK No. 1 by seventies teen idol Donny Osmond."

Source:
Retro Top Ten: This week in 1973 - Independent.ie
It is misleading when people stress that Carpenters apparently did not have No. 1 SINGLES in the UK, because their real strength in UK was in the more important ALBUMS charts. Carpenters had at least three No. 1 UK albums, i.e., "The Singles," "Horizon," and "Only Yesterday." All of these had long runs as No. 1, and "Singles" was the top UK album for the entire year 1974 against the strongest possible competition. Lots of other C's albums also rose to top of UK charts, e.g., Now & Then (#2), Singles II (#2), The Nation's Favorites (#2), Kind of a Hush (#3), Carpenters Gold (#4), and Voice of the Heart (#6). Carpenters were gangbusters popular in UK, both "Then and Now."
 
^^Interestingly enough, the A&M Press kit for
Made In America
stressed the strength of Carpenters' albums outside America and,
conversely, the strength of Carpenters' singles in America. The extensive Liner Notes for the cd compilation- UK edition of Reader's Digest
"Magical Memories of the Carpenters"
is a nice synopsis of their UK chart success to that date (1993).
Unfortunately, Carpenters' album strengths are routinely downplayed in USA.
 
Entirely new subject, since I don't know how to start a new/separate thread. I just posted a new article on my blog (Splashingrocks.blogspot.com) documenting at some length the history of the Carpenters' enormous and sustained popularity in China. For any members interested, the article is here. KAREN CARPENTER'S POSTHUMOUS CONQUEST OF CHINA.

This is such a timely piece. I often wonder if Carpenters could have openly sold records in mainland China back in the 70's just how many records they could have sold - I suspect the numbers would have been insane. I spend alot of time in China with my work and I can confirm they remain a HUGE cultural presence - it's always a fascination to me why they connect with Karen and Richard so deeply.
 
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