Karen Carpenter and Toni Tenille...and more thoughts

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cam89

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I was just wondering. Wasn't their a bit of a disagreement between Karen and Toni Tenille of CAPTAIN AND TENILLE. I think in 1980 at a staff party Karen was said to have said complainingly to Toni that, "They(A&M) seem to have forgotten who made most of its money" or something to that effect. Why would Karen say this. And also, was it a group of A&M artists that tried to get the act SEX PISTOLS kicked off A&M records in the 1970's?
Did Neil Sedaka send Richard flowers or condolances to the family after Karen's passing? I had read that he thought the world of her voice, but that she was so painfully thin.

cameron
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Karen and Toni did not have a disagreement. They were in agreement. Toni has said, "Pop radio was undergoing a revolution in the late '70s. Pop and Rock music were being eclipsed by Disco, and New Wave was a rising force as the cutting edge alternative. A&M Records embraced the New Wave movement with open arms, alienating many of their traditional artists. I had a conversation with Karen Carpenter out on the A&M lot around the time they signed the Sex Pistols. Karen was incensed about the direction the label was going. 'We were the kind of music that made the label,' she said, 'and how could they do this?'". Daryl (The Captain) said, "Then they gave the Sex Pistols a parking space, and we didn't have one". "The writing was on the wall (and pavement)."

I can't say I blame Karen for feeling the way she did. The Carpenters deserved so much more from their label than they were given in terms of promotion, marketing and overall treatment.
 
I think it was an issue of respect. Hollywood record execs not wanting to risk their being "cool" by liking Karen and Richard, their music, and their image.
Shallowness won out over quality, apparently.
I wonder how much this attributed to Karen's lack of self-esteem and the anorexia?
Mark
 
Exactly, Mark. So many people were, and still are, afraid to embrace music like that of the Carpenters. They would rather be caught dead than even risk the chance of someone thinking they were not cool.

It's interesting. I've actually witnessed people have volatile reactions to hearing the Carpenters being played. Like it's painful to their ears. "How can you LISTEN to that?!", I've been asked in the past. I think that kind of reaction has something to do with the beauty and purity that's present in a sound like the Carpenters. Even though their sound has it's dark and sad moments, there is always that honesty, softness, and purity that comes through. Some people cannot allow themselves to go there for whatever reason. It's not at all "angry" music. It is usually quite introspective, or at times just joyful, beautiful music.

Karen's performances had no pretension or attitude in them at all. Not that I could detect, anyway. She was very vulnerable and exposed. Maybe that's why some critics found her an easy target to pick on. To be sure, it did not help Karen's self image. I hope that on some level, she knew how phenomenal she was when she was still here, but someone like Karen could never quite know what she was giving to other people. I think she was able to tap into a place that is rarely felt in this world.
 
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