Question regarding Carpenters and Patti Page

Greetings! My name is Alexandru, I'm from Romania and I've been a fan of the Carpenters since the first time I saw the video for 'Please, Mr. Postman' on VH1 back in the mid 90's. I've been a lurker on this forum for the past couple of years and although I usually visit at least once a week or so and trying to keep up on the various ongoing discussions here - I've been putting off actually registering and participating in these threads; but since I now have a question that the knowledgeable Carpenter fans on this forum might be able to answer I decided to finally register.

Anyway, over the past year I've been slowly but surely falling in love with Patti Page's voice (well, with Patti in general not just with her voice but her stage presence, class and beautiful eyes) after watching videos of her on YT. I decided I wanted to explore more of her music than what was available on YT and bought a couple of albums in physical format (CD).

In the liner notes (written by Robert Nickora) for the Patti Page 4CD collection 'Near To You' published by Jasmine Records, one sentence in particular caught my attention : 'The Carpenters spoke of Patti's influence in Karen's own singing, singling out her recording of 'You Belong To Me' as inspiration and a personal favorite.'

I was wondering if any of you could confirm if either Richard or Karen ever spoke about Patti Page (as an influence or otherwise). I know that sometimes publishers, producers, record executives or even artists themselves like to drum up hype for an album/song/artist by name dropping a famous artist as a sort of endorsement or assurance of quality when it turns out the artist mentioned had not made such comments or praise. I would be disappointed to find out this was the case here and that the author of the liner notes simply name dropped the Carpenters (and Karen in particular) simply to validate an artist like Patti Page who in my opinion requires no such thing and has more than earned the right to be remembered as one of the greatest voices in music history.

I recall reading a topic on this forum a couple of years back about what music and artists Karen listened to and admired but the only artists I recall being mentioned were Patsy Cline, Billy Joel (something about her enjoying the energy on his records if I recall correctly) and the obvious huge influence of Buddy Rich. Then again it's been a long time since I've read that thread and I've probably forgotten most of it by now. Maybe it was Richard and not Karen who mentioned Patti? I doubt either of them ever met Patti in person but I could be wrong.

Anyway, it would please me greatly if the liner notes were correct and there was mutual respect between the Carpenters and Patti Page (at least I hope it was mutual, to be honest I have no idea if Patti Page ever spoke about the Carpenters or mentioned them in any way). As far as Karen being influenced by Patti's singing goes, I can say I do find some similarities (they both shared contralto as vocal range and Patti could go pretty low herself when she wanted to, even though I'd still have to give the edge to Karen on this particular contest). Still, if I think my (admittedly limited) knowledge of female voices of the 50's-70's would find Patti Page's voice to have more in common with Ella Fitzgerald's voice than Karen's.

Thanks for 'hearing me out' so to speak and hopefully someone here will be able to shed some light on this question that has bugged me ever since I read those liner notes!

P.S. : I would also like to express my heartfelt thanks to the administrators of this forum which has been a constant source of information regarding the Carpenters for me and I think it is such a wonderful vehicle for fans to come together in celebration of the Carpenters and their music! Thank you!

P.S. no.2 : Sorry if I have used words improperly or failed to make sense occasionally. English is not my native language.
 
Ooh...I love Patti Page !

Glad this was brought up at the forum, Shadowboro !

Here is Richard Carpenter, 2009:
"And even as a little boy, of course, my ears were always attuned to melody and arrangements and music in general and records. Because Patti Page was overdubbing at the time, as well, say with "With My Eyes Open, I'm Dreaming" or "Tennessee Waltz," but her harmonies were one voice per harmony, where Mary Ford's were at least two for the same part, if not more. And see, as a kid, I heard the difference even then because it's the overdubbed sound in addition to what's being overdubbed that got to me."

More of the Interview, Here:
'40/40' Celebrates The Carpenters' 1969 Debut
 
One of my earliest childhood memories is listening to Patti Page singing her number one hit, "(How Much Is That) Doggie In The Window."
 
One of my earliest childhood memories is listening to Patti Page singing her number one hit, "(How Much Is That) Doggie In The Window."

Same here! My mom had one of her albums. I remember liking her Christmas song "I Wanna Go Skating With Willie" too.
 
My late mom had the 45 single "This Is My Song" & the flip side "Butterflies" back in 1952. Matt Clark Sanford, MI
 
Welcome to the Boards!
Thank you! It's nice to finally interact with the community here after being a lurker for quite a few years and admiring the effort and dedication of its members to keep the memory of the Carpenters music and legacy alive and help newer fans discover more about the Carpenters (I consider myself such since I discovered the Carpenters music in the mid 90's while some of the members of this community have been fortunate enough to have through the whole length of the groups career and even attend Carpenters concerts).

Ooh...I love Patti Page !

Glad this was brought up at the forum, Shadowboro !

Here is Richard Carpenter, 2009:
"And even as a little boy, of course, my ears were always attuned to melody and arrangements and music in general and records. Because Patti Page was overdubbing at the time, as well, say with "With My Eyes Open, I'm Dreaming" or "Tennessee Waltz," but her harmonies were one voice per harmony, where Mary Ford's were at least two for the same part, if not more. And see, as a kid, I heard the difference even then because it's the overdubbed sound in addition to what's being overdubbed that got to me."

More of the Interview, Here:
'40/40' Celebrates The Carpenters' 1969 Debut
Thanks, GaryAlan! I figured you would be one of the first people to comment in this thread (if my lurking on this forum has thought me anything it's that you are a constant wellspring of information and a tireless archivist of all written things Carpenters related). Thanks for the link (I read the whole interview, and while I don't agree with Richard's views on many things I happen to share his dislike for Sonic Youth's cover of 'Superstar').

I can see how any piece of music featuring overdubbing would've been interesting to Richard (given he would become a master of the technique himself), and Patti Page had quite a few tracks which used overdubbing judging from the CD collections I bought. Still, the interview makes no mention of any Patti Page influence on Karen's singing style which probably doesn't bode well for the veracity of the claims in those liner notes I mentioned.

However, while revisiting the 'Anyone read this?' thread on this board I did find this interesting tidbit you posted that seems to suggest that at least one person close to the Carpenters and who was crucial in them finding the success they deserved seems to find some similarities between Patti's voice and Karen's :

From LAMagazine feature profiling Herb Alpert:
Source:
http://www.lamag.com/longform/herb-alpert-always-in-tune-11/

Alpert’s first-floor office, with its fireplace, hooked rugs, and flawless sound system, was a perfect place to immerse oneself in music. “I closed my eyes and played the tape,” he recalls. “It wasn’t the kind of thing I’d have gone out of my way to listen to, but I could immediately tell that these kids were making the music that was real to them. It was an honest reflection of who they were as musicians. It’s the same thing I look for in jazz, and when I find it, it always interests me. On top of that Karen had a remarkable voice. She reminded me of a singer I loved in high school, Patti Page. It felt like she was sitting in my lap and singing just to me.”
In the end, I guess my opinion would be that - while the claim in those liner notes may have been exaggerated - there is at least some truth to it and some nods and appreciation for Patti Page from the Carpenters. I guess that's not that disappointing after all.

Also, nice to see some love for Patti Page and her music from the wonderful people on this board. She is fast becoming one of my favorite singers alongside Karen Carpenter, Connie Francis, Ella Fitzgerald and Ann Wilson (of Heart). Thanks to all of you for your contribution to this thread.
 
^^Ahhhh, Connie Francis...Who's Sorry Now?, one of my all-time favorite female vocal performances. Welcome aboard Shadowboro!
 
Greetings! My name is Alexandru, I'm from Romania and I've been a fan of the Carpenters since the first time I saw the video for 'Please, Mr. Postman' on VH1 back in the mid 90's. I've been a lurker on this forum for the past couple of years and although I usually visit at least once a week or so and trying to keep up on the various ongoing discussions here - I've been putting off actually registering and participating in these threads; but since I now have a question that the knowledgeable Carpenter fans on this forum might be able to answer I decided to finally register.

Anyway, over the past year I've been slowly but surely falling in love with Patti Page's voice (well, with Patti in general not just with her voice but her stage presence, class and beautiful eyes) after watching videos of her on YT. I decided I wanted to explore more of her music than what was available on YT and bought a couple of albums in physical format (CD).

In the liner notes (written by Robert Nickora) for the Patti Page 4CD collection 'Near To You' published by Jasmine Records, one sentence in particular caught my attention : 'The Carpenters spoke of Patti's influence in Karen's own singing, singling out her recording of 'You Belong To Me' as inspiration and a personal favorite.'

I was wondering if any of you could confirm if either Richard or Karen ever spoke about Patti Page (as an influence or otherwise). I know that sometimes publishers, producers, record executives or even artists themselves like to drum up hype for an album/song/artist by name dropping a famous artist as a sort of endorsement or assurance of quality when it turns out the artist mentioned had not made such comments or praise. I would be disappointed to find out this was the case here and that the author of the liner notes simply name dropped the Carpenters (and Karen in particular) simply to validate an artist like Patti Page who in my opinion requires no such thing and has more than earned the right to be remembered as one of the greatest voices in music history.

I recall reading a topic on this forum a couple of years back about what music and artists Karen listened to and admired but the only artists I recall being mentioned were Patsy Cline, Billy Joel (something about her enjoying the energy on his records if I recall correctly) and the obvious huge influence of Buddy Rich. Then again it's been a long time since I've read that thread and I've probably forgotten most of it by now. Maybe it was Richard and not Karen who mentioned Patti? I doubt either of them ever met Patti in person but I could be wrong.

Anyway, it would please me greatly if the liner notes were correct and there was mutual respect between the Carpenters and Patti Page (at least I hope it was mutual, to be honest I have no idea if Patti Page ever spoke about the Carpenters or mentioned them in any way). As far as Karen being influenced by Patti's singing goes, I can say I do find some similarities (they both shared contralto as vocal range and Patti could go pretty low herself when she wanted to, even though I'd still have to give the edge to Karen on this particular contest). Still, if I think my (admittedly limited) knowledge of female voices of the 50's-70's would find Patti Page's voice to have more in common with Ella Fitzgerald's voice than Karen's.

Thanks for 'hearing me out' so to speak and hopefully someone here will be able to shed some light on this question that has bugged me ever since I read those liner notes!

P.S. : I would also like to express my heartfelt thanks to the administrators of this forum which has been a constant source of information regarding the Carpenters for me and I think it is such a wonderful vehicle for fans to come together in celebration of the Carpenters and their music! Thank you!

P.S. no.2 : Sorry if I have used words improperly or failed to make sense occasionally. English is not my native language.

Hello fellow Carpenters fan! Your English and writing skills are impeccable!
 
Patti Page and Old Cape Cod. What's not to like? Similarities vocally to Peggy Lee.....well, I can hear it!

 
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