B. L. Mitchell, Venus (1978)

The recording sessions for Venus took place on 11/12/77 (alongside Let's Make a Better World and Mad), 11/15/77 and 2/16/78 (alongside Where I Want To Be, Silent Night, Look To Your Dreams and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas).

To say that these guys had their plates full was an understatement! :rolleyes:
 
The recording sessions for Venus took place on 11/12/77 (alongside Let's Make a Better World and Mad), 11/15/77 and 2/16/78 (alongside Where I Want To Be, Silent Night, Look To Your Dreams and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas).

To say that these guys had their plates full was an understatement! :rolleyes:

I was born 2/15/78 !!!! Love this info Chris. Keep it coming.

Let's Make a Better World and Mad. . . are they Mitchell tracks?
 
Fan Club Newsletter (May 1978) mentions that B.L. Mitchell was introduced to Richard by Joe Osborn.
"Richard will be the producer, Karen the associate producer, of a B.L. Mitchell album."

I am surprised Richard Carpenter took on the B.L. Mitchell album-project at that time,
given what Richard Carpenter has since said regarding Christmas Portrait LP:
"By the time Karen and I began recording on the Christmas album, I was not interested in more than production work, and an occasional lead and some minor piano work. Arranging (something I truly enjoy doing, especially with Christmas songs) was turned over, by me, to veterans Peter Knight and Billy May."
(The Christmas Portrait album was being mixed as of May 1978).
 
I think that Richard has said that his lack of interest in his usual musical pursuits around this time was due to his drug dependency. Mind you, for somebody whose interest was waning, he got into a heck of a lot of projects, all in the same period.

When I listened to the ‘A’ side of the B. L. Mitchell single, I thought that it didn’t seem to have a definite hook. Even the chorus didn’t seem to be concise and punchy. The song seemed to meander a little. I didn’t think it would have made a definite impact on the listener. I thought it definitely didn’t sound like a hit of 1977 / 1978, or, dare I say it here, any other year....which is probably one reason why it wasn’t.
 
What was the impetus for Richard and Karen to co-produce this artist at all, because I can’t really thing of a valid reason at that point in their career? Was it something as simple as a favour to A&M or Herb?
 
What was the impetus for Richard and Karen to co-produce this artist at all, because I can’t really thing of a valid reason at that point in their career? Was it something as simple as a favour to A&M or Herb?

I remember Herb telling me some time back that '79 was another rough patch for the label, so perhaps they were having issues leading into that year and trying to leverage the Carpenters' name and success by marrying them with new artists.
 
Does anyone remember a guy who I believe recorded for A&M around this time, who could have been associated with the C's, a heavy set guy I think, who recorded a song with the word "rainbow" in its title? I remember it was on YouTube and sounded pretty good.
 
- nobody seems to know what happened to BL Mitchell - I have a mutual friend with Richard, so will try to find out

Any luck Donn?
This guy is really a mystery in so many ways! Not a picture, not a mention of anything BL related except on Carpenters threads.
Not that we stand a chance of hearing anything else , but I actually enjoy the two sides to this single. Has anyone dug up anything worth mentioning?
 
Any luck Donn?
This guy is really a mystery in so many ways! Not a picture, not a mention of anything BL related except on Carpenters threads.
Not that we stand a chance of hearing anything else , but I actually enjoy the two sides to this single. Has anyone dug up anything worth mentioning?
I will ask my friend again - will keep you posted
 
I remember Herb telling me some time back that '79 was another rough patch for the label, so perhaps they were having issues leading into that year and trying to leverage the Carpenters' name and success by marrying them with new artists.
Chris did you ever get the story from Richard on B.L. and how they knew him, came to work with him, and if he knows what happened to him?
 
I just uploaded this to YouTube. Enjoy!


The version of 'Venus' that I knew in the 70s was by Jamie Redfern, a hit in Australia around 1973.

My beautiful Nana gave me this record for Christmas around that time.

Jamie Redfern had quite an amazing voice for a young lad. Great vibrato! Quite powerful, too.

He spent time touring the USA with Liberace and built up a bit of a following there.

 
Thanks, Donn! The arrangement sounds unmistakably 'Carpenters' - immediately familiar and recognisable. Makes you wish there was a certain other voice on lead vocals......
Well, if you're not averse to listening to AI, satisfy your curiosity.

 
It's a strange listening experience. On the one hand pleasurable, since the sound is very similar, on the other empty, as karen had nothing to do with the interpretation.

To listen to these almost feels like a betrayal to the woman, and to a lesser extent, the original artist whose performance is effectively being hijacked.

I think I'll steer clear. It's fascinating, though.
 
Where's BL today? He still with us?
I really like this record a lot because it is so Carpenters-esque.

I saw a thread (from another group) and someone claiming to be a relative said that B L Mitchell was a stage name for Robert Bowker, and the post referenced a link. I checked it out and Robert Bowker is a composer, conductor, and record producer, specializing in vocal music. He is now in his 70s and as of 9 months ago was still working in the greater Chicago area.

He has a professional bio and it name drops, and the list of artists he has performed with on stage or recorded with is wildly impressive. The Bio does include Carpenters, so he does confirm his association to Carpenters. I also found on Discogs another recording I’ve Got Seattle as Bob Bowker & The Arbors from 1971 and after a listen, this is definitely B L Mitchell.
 
I really like this record a lot because it is so Carpenters-esque.

I saw a thread (from another group) and someone claiming to be a relative said that B L Mitchell was a stage name for Robert Bowker, and the post referenced a link. I checked it out and Robert Bowker is a composer, conductor, and record producer, specializing in vocal music. He is now in his 70s and as of 9 months ago was still working in the greater Chicago area.

He has a professional bio and it name drops, and the list of artists he has performed with on stage or recorded with is wildly impressive. The Bio does include Carpenters, so he does confirm his association to Carpenters. I also found on Discogs another recording I’ve Got Seattle as Bob Bowker & The Arbors from 1971 and after a listen, this is definitely B L Mitchell.
Thanks! Always wondered what happened to him. Would still love to know how Karen and Richard met him and came to work with him, maybe @Chris May will be able to ask Richard sometime and share with us.
 
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