Is It "Carpenters" or "THE Carpenters"?

[Kathy]

So often have I wondered, if Karen and Richard wanted to go by their last name without the "the" before it.

Occassionally here, I DO see "The Carpenters"--referring to the group, or at least at the beginning of a sentence, but more often, "the Carpenters", which is still Richard & Karen, but if not for the capital "C", could be the kind that work with wood.

Largely, though I see the group named as just "Carpenters" without "the" or "The" before it. I've always heard the group named (and named it myself) with "The" before it, myself, despite any album cover, probably just saying "Carpenters"; which was probably just reflecting the emerging trend of groups no longer having any "the" before the name.

Just Wondering...

Kat

...visiting The Corner... (tsk, tsk!)

 

[engineer]

Richard actually addresses this in the liner notes to GOLD (the new U.S. version). Officially, there should be no "The" -- it should just be "Carpentes."

Dan

 

[newvillefan]

Kathy

It most definitely is 'Carpenters' - that's the way it was always intended to be, as in 'Jefferson Starship' as opposed to 'THE Jeffferson Starship'.

Richard felt that it sounded cooler without 'the'.

Whenever you see any CD covers or sheet music or anything quoting them as 'THE Carpenters', you can usually be sure it's not directly released by A&M - they never marketed them as The Carpenters. It's usually when the CDs are released via some sort of standalone budget label that the difference appears. Some people just make the assumption that's the way it was supposed to be.

The only exception to this I think is the Ray Coleman bio, whcih did have 'the', even though it had been expressely sanctioned and written in co-operation with Richard's approval. Strange....

 

[W.B.]

Preference notwithstanding, even in their heyday you had some people putting "The" in the group name. Notably, a jukebox title-strip company out in Newark, N.J. -- you may have come across the name over the years, Sterling Title Strip Co., Inc. -- which put a "The" before "Carpenters" on virtually every single of theirs with the possible exception of "Yesterday Once More." It was this jukebox-strip printer that had "Superstar's" B-side mis-listed as "Bless The Beast & The Child." It's things like that which might explain the confusion as to whether or not there was a "{T}he" in the "Carpenters" moniker -- even though the way their logo was designed should've been a hint.

And while we're at it, there were some other zingers that this company came up with, viz A&M:
- B-side of "Wild World" by Cat Stevens shown as "Miles From No Where" (as opposed to Nowhere)
- B-side of Free's "All Right Now" as "Mouth Full of Grass" (instead of Mouthful)
- The title strip for Sergio Mendes & Brasil '66's "Pretty World"/"Festa" showing the group name as Brazil '66 (though they spelled Mr. Mendes's surname correctly)

 

[Harry]

Most official album covers got it right - no "the."

There are some faulty CD spines out there that add a "The", and the worst offenders tend to be the licensed labels like Karussell, Pickwick, and MFSL:

A SONG FOR YOU (MFSL) - "THE" on spine
LIVE AT THE PALLADIUM (Pickwick) - "The" on spine and disc label
TREASURES (UK) (Pickwick) - "The" on spine and disc label
REFLECTIONS (Karussell) - "The" on spine and back of insert
LOVE SONGS(A&M/PolyGram) - "The" on spine

Worst offender:

TWENTY TWO HITS OF THE CARPENTERS (A&M/PolyGram, HK) - "The" in title, cover, spine, and disc label!

One that could be said to use "The" correctly would be the TIME/LIFE compilation: CHRISTMAS WITH THE CARPENTERS, since it could be referring to spending the holiday with the two siblings.

REFLECTIONS, listed above, had notes by Ray Coleman. Given the title of his book, I fear that he just didn't get the concept of Carpenters - no "The".

And I'm sure that many a liner note, article, and even public address announcer in concert halls got it wrong.

A quick glance at my LPs reveals no "The's".

Harry
...always attempting to leave off offending articles, online...

 

[Rudy]

REFLECTIONS, listed above, had notes by Ray Coleman. Given the title of his book, I fear that he just didn't get the concept of Carpenters - no "The".

Although in the book, I believe he does mention it should be just "Carpenters". That's where I got my own heads-up from.

 

[ullalume]

Both Karen and Richard actually referenced the fact to Steve Martin when he hosted the Tonight Show in '76, joking that they were actually just called "THE".

Little did they know that as post-modernism embraced, years later there would be the group "THE THE"


Later,

Neil

 

[Harry]

Little did they know that as post-modernism embraced, years later there would be the group "THE THE"

In the movie The Commitments, just before the band was being formed, two members and their 'manager' discussed what the name of their band was to be. Their initial choice was "AND AND AND", ultimately becoming "THE COMMITMENTS".

Harry
NP: As Time Goes By, Carpenters

 

[Jeff]

My two cents...CarpenterS...that is what is tattoed on my shoulder. If there's a "the" which there is not, I guess I'm sporting the correct name of the group.

inked,

Jeff

 

[Kathy]

Well, thanks, Guys! Nice to know A&M's viewpoint, not to mention Karen & Richard's as opposed to how they're addressed by the press, MC's at their concerts and how I've long heard the "the" mentioned before their name at the record stores vs. the group name on the album cover lacking any "the".

Much Obliged!

Kat

 

[coolvox]

I have always found the groups
title CarpenterS to be a clasic
logo. The logo is very iconic.
When you see it, Karen and Richard
are automaticaly thoought of.
I think because the word is plural
it makes people add "THE"
The Temptations
The Spinners
The Beatels
The Elvis?
The Cher?
Who ever designed the CarpenterS
logo was a genius.
Jim

 

[W.B.]

The Cher?

Er . . . don't forget "The Donald" (a.k.a. Mr. Trump).

 

[coolvox]

O.K. bad example. It was early!
No posting before consuming
at least 5 cups of coffee.
The Jim

 

[Kathy]

Oh, you guys are funny! And sometimes it's "Rolling Stones" as opposed to "The...", too!

Thanks Again!

"The Kat" :cat:

 

[Rick]

I tend to refer to them as The Carpenters although I know Richard prefers the group be called Carpenters. In certain instances The Carpenters sounds better.
http://www.carponline.bravepages.com