"NEVER SAY NO TO A ROCK STAR" Has anyone read this book?

Matty Mattel

Well-Known Member
This book has some information regarding Karen Carpenter's recording sessions in New York. Glenn Berger was working with Phil Ramone as an engineer. I've not had a chance to read the book and was curious if anyone here has read through it and would share their views on what Glenn mentioned about Karen and her recording at A&M New York.
 
I got access to an online copy about a year ago. I only read the section on Karen, which wasn't much more than two pages. In addition to the story about Paul Simon linked above, I recall Berger mentioned three themes:
  • He said it was remarkable that when Karen practiced singing away from the microphone, her voice was very gentle and quiet, but the voice they captured on tape was so rich and powerful. I think he used the word "supernatural" to describe what happened when her voice was recorded. His comments echo what Mike Curb said in the BBC documentary, The Carpenters: Only Yesterday. "The microphone loved Karen Carpenter's voice."
  • He recalled that Karen frequently spoke about need to find a husband. She emphasized that a suitable marriage prospect would have to be as financially well off as she was. Berger remembers thinking to himself: "That rules me out." He was a lowly assistant engineer.
  • Berger recalled how thin she was. He remembers the Mickey Mouse wrist watch on her thin wrist. He mentioned that she was a Disney fanatic, which reminded him of "another crazy" pop star: Michael Jackson.
Yes, Berger used the word "crazy," or something similar. I remember that well, because I thought it was totally inappropriate and unprofessional for a licensed psychotherapist (PhD) to use that term to refer to someone suffering from a mental illness. I guess the charitable interpretation of his comment would be that this is what he thought at the time, when he probably didn't know about her condition.
 
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