Carpenters/Sedaka Concert Poster

Wow! I've never seen one of these for sale before. If it's the real thing, it is indeed pretty rare, especially considering that it is being sold by someone here in the States and not in Japan.
 
Thanks, Harry. It'll go nicely with my posts on the "Sedaka incident" and the photo of them together on stage.
 
^^As many here might recall, my prized piece of Carpenters' history is a
mint condition 1972 promotional A Song For You heart-shaped Balloon.
On one of the picture-sleeves for a Jp 45- single, Karen is holding one.
I have never seen another one offered, I think I bought mine in 2001 (or, earlier).
I would not even think to offer it for less than three-hundred dollars !
Then again, I would not think of actually selling it at any price.
It is one of a kind, to my knowledge.
Priceless.
 
^^As many here might recall, my prized piece of Carpenters' history is a
mint condition 1972 promotional A Song For You heart-shaped Balloon.
On one of the picture-sleeves for a Jp 45- single, Karen is holding one.
I have never seen another one offered, I think I bought mine in 2001 (or, earlier).
I would not even think to offer it for less than three-hundred dollars !
Then again, I would not think of actually selling it at any price.
It is one of a kind, to my knowledge.
Priceless.
You lucky duck. Priceless indeed. If I had something like that, I'd sooner part with my left testicle.
 
^^As many here might recall, my prized piece of Carpenters' history is a
mint condition 1972 promotional A Song For You heart-shaped Balloon.
On one of the picture-sleeves for a Jp 45- single, Karen is holding one.
I have never seen another one offered, I think I bought mine in 2001 (or, earlier).
I would not even think to offer it for less than three-hundred dollars !
Then again, I would not think of actually selling it at any price.
It is one of a kind, to my knowledge.
Priceless.

"Priceless." - That says it all, Gary! Don't sell!! It's currently in the best of hands...
 
I heard someone say that she did perform SOLITAIRE in concert....that would be a gem to hear. I had asked RC in the FANS ASK if they had performed it live in 1975 and he said no.
 
Is that a spelling error. Isn't it supposed to be NEIL SEDAKA?
Good catch Cam! That makes it an extra-rare misprint, and an insane bargain at the asking price! :laugh:

On the other hand, don't counterfeit items from Asia often have spelling mistakes?... :D
 
Yeah for sure Murray. I wish however that there were more photos of Karen with Neil, and with Richard. It was an interesting time, that's for sure. Neil has always had pleasant sweet things to say about Karen and her voice. It would be interesting to hear bits of stories and reflections of him interacting with her....I've always felt Neil had a beautiful voice and it would have been AMAZING to hear the duets and trios that RC and KC sung with NS....
 
Neil plays a beautiful piano arrangement when singing Solitaire live. I'd love to hear Karen sing it to Neil playing piano, but that would probably not be appreciated by Richard too much I'm sure.
 
More from Billboard Magazine,page 50, December 27,1975:
Excerpted:
"As a result of "Laughter" and the subsequent renewed interest in Sedaka, the Carpenters asked him
to join their domestic concert tour, plus go to Japan. Both acts got great reaction on the road, Sedaka says.
They had been together four weeks when they hit Vegas the first eventful time. Sedaka had 35 minutes as the opening act, he says. Then he returned at the end of the Carpenter's set to work several tunes with them.
They worked together one fleeting week before Sedaka's supporting role status was quashed.
On the road, Sedaka began to overshadow the Carpenters. He says he felt very awkward about reaping the glowing reviews, often seeming to be stronger than the Carpenters, the stars of the show."
---
"I was told by Richard's management, who was my management at the time, that I was being cancelled out
of Japan and the medley we did at the end of the show. There was no notice, no reason, so I politely picked
up the phone and asked Richard why I was being fired from Japan. He said, 'I have no explanation ... it's not going the way I planned.' I called him a genius and said I thought his sister was one of the greatest
singers of the last 20 years
and that was it. "Then one week later on a Wednesday afternoon
I was told on the phone that Wednesday was the last night." Sedaka feels that an incident which occurred
the previous night caused the guillotine to fall on his head. He introduced two friends in the audience:
Dick Clark and Tom Jones. If I hadn't introduced them it would have been a slap in the face," Sedaka says.
"Richard claims I should not have done that." Up until that point what did Sedaka think of the
Carpenters' presentation
. In his short phraseology which he uses regularly, he offers this recollection:
"Very entertaining, very musical, great musicians, great singing, great harmonies, beautiful songs,
a very pleasant show."
---

"He admits the reviews were emphasizing his strength."What am I supposed to do, go out and be lousy ?"
The firing was "a terrible hurt. I was shocked."
----
 
That’s the most descriptive account I’ve read of the whole incident. I had no idea it had been discussed and published in Billboard.
 
I love how gracious Neil was about the whole thing. Things like this happen in show business a lot, and regardless of who was responsible for the jerk move, Neil was already an old pro who knew how things work. Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes he eats you.
 
I remember seeing this in Billboard back in the day. I always figured the reason Sedaka was getting better reviews had to be one of several:

1. Maybe he was more "showy" than Karen and Richard were....since they were self-proclaimed "studio cats" they might not have been as entertaining or as natural to watch onstage.

2. His sound, not being as much of a "product of the studio" as theirs, might have been easier to produce effectively onstage as theirs was.

3. He was more of a "rocker" than they were, hence maybe the audiences were more "pumped up" by his show and that influenced the reviews.

I never saw either act live (and TV show video doesn't show what a concert would look/sound like), so I can't comment from experience but those are just semi-educated guesses.
 
I still say Neil blew it. He "upstaged" them by introducing celebrities in the audience. Even Sherwin Bash says Neil acted "stupidly" as referenced in the Only Yesterday documentary. Neil's "what did I do?" routine, is bull. He was a seasoned showbiz pro at that point; He knew exactly what he was doing. His name was at the bottom of the marquee. I don't blame Richard for being pissed.
 
I saw Neil Sedaka live and he is a showman and a captivating storyteller on stage. More to the point, most of his material doesn’t need the polished overdubbed sound that the Carpenters tried to recreate on stage: his band aside, it was, for the most part, a man and his piano knocking out his catchy oldies and current hits. And he did it very well. For me this was a mismatch: there’s a reason you shouldn’t put two headliners together.
 
More:
Billboard , September 1975 (page 65):
Neil Sedaka's Las Vegas opening act gig for the Carpenters was
"ended prematurely at the request of the Carpenters" Friday (28), says the statement from Riviera Hotel spokesman Tony Zoppi. Insiders interpret this to mean Richard & Karen finally had enough of Sedaka's dynamite performances stealing most of the rave reactions on their tour package which has played eight cities since July 21.
(See Billboard review of the show this week.) The axing comes after seven SRO days at the Riviera.
The Carpenters play through Wednesday (3), supported by their long-time comedy openers Skates & Henderson.
A lengthy written statement from Sedaka saidin part, "Every performer must do what is best for them. I'm sure the Carpenters have done so by choosing to end the tour early. I have the utmost respect for them and their decision."
 
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