📣 News Carpenters: The Musical Legacy (Discussion)

[newvillefan]

One thing I loved about the book is the song-by-song description at the very back. Don’t skip over it because there are lots of further anecdotes from Richard about the making of the songs and his memories of the time.

 

[Chris May]

I'm ridiculously late to this, but I just got a copy of the book a couple of weeks ago and sat down with it yesterday. Read it in two sittings. Could not put it down. Fantastic work, Chris and Mike!

Thanks, Michael! So glad you're enjoying it.

 

[newvillefan]

I've got a question about the book I've been meaning to ask. When Richard refers to notes such as these on March 2 and March 9-14, what is he referring to? Did he keep a diary over the years or is he maybe reading from Karen's diary?

 

[Chris May]

I've got a question about the book I've been meaning to ask. When Richard refers to notes such as these on March 2 and March 9-14, what is he referring to? Did he keep a diary over the years or is he maybe reading from Karen's diary?

This is Richard’s live commentary as he’s reading from Karen’s date book/diary.

 

[newvillefan]

This is Richard’s live commentary as he’s reading from Karen’s date book/diary.

I thought so Chris - I had no idea she kept a diary for so long. It must run to several volumes if he's reading from her entries in 1971, when we know she was still maintaining a diary in 1979 (the well-known "confrontation about album" entry on January 24, 1979).

Also, on that subject, there was a question in one of the fanclub newsletters as to whether either of them had ever kept a diary and the response was that they hadn't, and both regretted it. Seems that was not true. I wonder if Richard only discovered after Karen's passing that she in fact, had kept some sort of record.

 

[Matthew S]

I thought so Chris - I had no idea she kept a diary for so long. It must run to several volumes if he's reading from her entries in 1971, when we know she was still maintaining a diary in 1979 (the well-known "confrontation about album" entry on January 24, 1979).

Also, on that subject, there was a question in one of the fanclub newsletters as to whether either of them had ever kept a diary and the response was that they hadn't, and both regretted it. Seems that was not true. I wonder if Richard only discovered after Karen's passing that she in fact, had kept some sort of record.

Well, there’s “diary” meaning date book , and “diary” as in “Dear Diary,…….” with someone’s secret hopes and feelings. Maybe they meant the latter when they said they didn’t keep a diary.

 

[Chris May]

Well, there’s “diary” meaning date book , and “diary” as in “Dear Diary,…….” with someone’s secret hopes and feelings. Maybe they meant the latter when they said they didn’t keep a diary.

Yes. Richard often refers to these as Karen’s date books. She would write things down like you would on a calendar, however would also include personal notes about this or that.

 

[newvillefan]

Yes. Richard often refers to these as Karen’s date books. She would write things down like you would on a calendar, however would also include personal notes about this or that.

What a lovely thing for her to leave behind though. I wonder what will happen to all these unseen, unknown treasures when he's gone.

 

[Nemily]

There is a picture of a set list handwritten by Karen with some notes she made for a show that I saw in Randy Schmidt's Illustrated book. Going by the songs on the set list it appears to be for a show around summer of 1970. When I saw it I wondered how many of these precious nuggets are still around. This is fascinating that she left date books that go back to 1971 and who knows maybe even before then!