Question and Answer by Richard

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

I was reading the archive question and answer over at Richard's official website. Sorry if this was posted before but any info on this would be cool to hear.

Question:
“At Karen's funeral there was an anthem sung called "Give Me Jesus" arranged by Fleming. Who was the author of the song and is there a score of the arrangement?”

Richard:
“The song ‘Give Me Jesus’ was written by Larry Fleming (now deceased) and published by Augsburg Fortress, Minneapolis, MN. CSULB has a score in their music department library. Frank Pooler at CSULB called two nights before the funeral, and asked if we would like the choir to sing, and suggested this and others. In addition, I got a chart of “Ave Maria” from our Christmas album and transposed it, and our pal Dennis Heath sang. It was quite a moving experience.”

From Richard's answer it sounds like the CSULB choir recorded this song but then Richard says I got a chart of Ave Maria and transposed it. What does that mean? Of course Richard and Karen recorded Ave Maria, does that mean Richard used the intrumental track of their song used on Christmas Portrait (minus Karen's lead) and then transposed the melody of Ave Maria and incorporated it into this "Give me Jesus song using the voice of Dennis Heath? In addition who is Dennis Heath? Of course Frank Pooler wrote MCD.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

I think you're making it way too complicated. "Transposed" likely means he shifted it to a different key, to make it easier for their friend, Dennis, to sing. So it sounds like the choir sang "Give Me Jesus" and Dennis Heath sang "Ave Maria." This is just a guess, of course.

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Well Mike. Since I have no idea what was sung at Karen's funeral and Richard did answer this question from a fan. I just posed my own question. Not my intention to make things "complicated". Sorry for the post.

 

[Rudy]

Yes--transposed would have meant the part was rewritten to a different key.

No idea about who Dennis Heath is (sounds vaguely familiar), but wasn't Pooler someone the Carpenters knew from high school or college?

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Well Mike. Since I have no idea what was sung at Karen's funeral and Richard did answer this question from a fan. I just posed my own question. Not my intention to make things "complicated". Sorry for the post.

I don't know what I said wrong, but I was just saying that what actually happened was likely a simpler scenario than what you suggested. Sorry if you took offense.

Rudy - wasn't Pooler a guy RC worked with or knew when he was working in Disneyland? I could be getting my memories crossed here.

 

[PHIL]

Frank Pooler co-wrote " Merry Christmas Darling" with Richard. He was head of choral studies at Long Beach campus, and encouraged Richard to join the college choir. When Richard wanted to get Karen interested in singing, he took her to Pooler for instruction. He became a mentor and lifelong friend, and was to go on to direct the choir on "Because We Are in Love".

( All this info from Ray Coleman's indispensable book ).

 

[Rick-An Ordinary Fool]

Well I guess I found the answer today to part of this post by digging into the Coleman book, for whatever it is worth to those reading here:

It appears Dennis Heath was a long time friend of both K & R back to the very early days:

"Before leaving high school for the university, Richard went one day to the campus at Long Bch to accompany his new friend Dennis Heath, who was studying voice. They came under the scrutiny of the head of the choral studies, Frank Pooler. "Heath had a nice voice" Pooler recalls."

Jump to Karen in NY for treatment 80's

"Visiting Manhattan from CA, Dennis Heath went with Karen for a long walk near the East River before taking her to see the moviw ET. As he stood in line at the theater, Karen had an urge for some ice tea and was wearing giant sunglasses, walked around the corner. When she returned, she told Dennis Heath that a cop warned her never to take out a huge wad of dollar bills in a public place in NY."

Dennis also appears with K & R when they all went out for dinner in Jan 14, 1983.

"Ave Maria, one of Karen's favorite songs, was sung by the choir of California State Univ featuring her old friend Dennis Heath."

"At a tribute to Karen concert at the First Congregational Church, Long Bch on June 25, 1983, Richard, John Bettis and Dennis Heath, 3 men at the core of her life, were the performers while the choir was under the direction of Frank Pooler."

All taken from the Ray Coleman book. So it appears Dennis was more than just a good friend. There is so much in the Coleman book it's easy to look over the little things. The way the Coleman book reads it almost read like Dennis Heath was featured on Ave Maria. But I can admit that I do not know everything and forums are to learn and promote discussions and most of all get other people involved that may know more than you, who knows when someone may pop in to a forum that was actually there and can give an account first hand.

Edit: I might also add that I went to TowerRecords and searched the key word, "Give me Jesus". I found several artist with 2 min samples to this song, so I now have an idea of what this song sounded like, it's a most fitting song. I had never heard it before.

 

[Chris May]

Frank Pooler co-wrote " Merry Christmas Darling" with Richard.

To get even more technical, Pooler actually wrote the melody and lyric back in the 40's, before Rich and Karen were even born. Frank demoed the song for Richard while he and Karen while still in college. Richard decided that whereas he didn't care at all for the melody, the lyric was perfect. So, Richard (with Frank's) permission re-wrote the melody and chord changes. Frank was also allowed into the studio during the original recording in '70. -Chris

 

[aaflyer98]

Hi everyone. I was actually lucky (?) enough to sit in the choir loft of the chruch at Karen's funeral in Downey, CA (the hall where fans were let in to hear the funeral over a loudspeaker was full by the time I got there, because I was being interviewed by KNX-1070 am radio. I had decided since the hall/room was full, I'd walk near the main church, pay my respects and go...a kind usher saw about 20 fans who didn't get in the hall and rushed us over to a side door of the main church and up the stairs to the choir loft. He (the usher) had tears in his eyes and said "no one should be left standing" and that's how I got inside and saw the entire funeral.) I was living in Pasadena, CA at that time and also attended the event at the First Congregational Church in Long Beach.
Dennis Heath sang at both the funeral and at the Long Beach tribute.
He did sing "Ave Maria" with choir at Karen's funeral. He has a very rich and high tenor voice. Very beautiful voice. The choir also performed a selection, "Give Me Jesus", under the direction of Frank Pooler.
At the tribute in Long Beach, Dennis Heath sang "Look To Your Dreams" and Richard announced that Karen's version would be featured on an upcoming album (Voice Of The Heart). There were also solo performances by Richard (piano solos and songs with John, and Dennis.) Sorry if this goes on and on, I know I may have posted some of this before. But, I was there and remember it well (both the funeral and the tribute.).
I feel strangely lucky to have been at the right place at the right time, although it was for an extremely sad event. I will never forget the funeral, the sadness I felt, the loss. And the tribute was a nice, but also sad event.

 

[Mark-T]

Yes- I found the tribute sad as well.
Many times I welled up with tears throughout the evening, especially during "Look to your Dreams"- as I could hear Karen singing it in my head.

I had waited a few years to be able to take my wife to see the Carpenters perform.
Unfortunately, we met and married in between their last concert in 1978 and the tribute in 1983, so her first shot at seeing "them" was watching Richard perform solo that evening.

 

[newvillefan]

For those of you curious about Dennis Heath's voice, you may not realise you will already have heard it, possibly many times. His voice is the one you hear singing 'People of Argentina, your newly elected President, Juan Peron' on the 'Balcony Of The Casa Rosada' part of the Carpenters version of Don't Cry For Me Argentina.

Stephen