The Carpenters....what they meant to me...

[cam89]

As many of you know, I was a late fan to the Carpenters, having "discovered" Karen by accident in a Health Textbook and a photo of a woman in her 50's skeleton like....and it said she was a singer who succumbed to a heart attack due to a battle with Anorexia Nervosa (they used a pic I have never seen, the exact pose although I have seen similar poses at that exact same time but the pose was her and Phil and a blonde haired guy....and KC was in the middle wearing her solo AE shirt, and Phil was on one side in a hat and striped shirt and the other guy was wearing a white collared sweater or sweatshirt and he had I think a beard and moustache....maybe a fellow musician from her solo album as it was taken bout 1979....and both her hands held the chin of both guys, but she was NOT smiling but her teeth were showing, and I have seen this same photo except she is smiling....she is not wearing a cap in this photo)....I was age 15 and in Grade 9 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. So I took the health text book home to mom that night, who was peeling potatoes and carrots for supper....and I showed her the picture of this Karen Carpenter...and she gasped in horror and said to take the book away. I asked her what kind of singer she was (this was before Google) and Mom said, oh we have her album in the 8-Track tray by the stereo so I looked but couldn't find it so I brought the tray to Mom and she quickly found it. I saw it as brownish/purplish album that said the log Carpenters and The Singles 1969-1973...and on the back was a picture a tiny one of 2 men standing on a bridge, one with dark hair and one with blond hair....(remember it was a VERY small tiny picture)....and I put the music on and was soooo blown away by the beauty of the music and I was at once entranced with the voice and harmonies and everything that came out....and when the song Yesterday Once More and Top of the World and Sing came on....I began to remember hearing it thru my childhood on the radio or tv, although no visual videos of these people. I thought they were a huge group of like 7 or 8 people, like Three Dog Knight or The Doobie Brothers or The Rolling Stones....( I did not know those groups other than by name but I knew they had a lot of musicians in the group)....and when it came to SUPERSTAR I adored that song....sooooo much...the lament, the feel of it, the way she sang it...same with TICKET TO RIDE...

Then thru research at the Library, I was able to learn she was not married to the other guy in the band but that they were siblings....and I gathered whatever info I could find at that time. I still remember when I would write to Ev Wallace at the fan club and she would send me an order form or brochure of remaining memorabilia...I wish I had gotten it all then. I even once had a check signed by Agnes Carpenter for I think about 8 dollars and I held onto it until one day I really needed that money and cashed it....but EV was so kind to me and would answer as many questions I had sent her. I even had written a comic on The Karen Carpenter Story and sent it to them....

I also remember when the TV movie aired on Jan 1, 1989 and we gathered at my aunt's to watch it and everyone gathered around to watch it and I was really perturbed when people would be talking....

Later on that Christmas, my Mom bought me the twin tape cassette of both their Christmas albums as my Christmas gift and I was enthralled. I loved both albums and listened to them over and over and over again...My fave songs were Ave Maria, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Home for the Holiday, Do You Hear What I hear? and many other great performances. Her voice was so well suited to Christmas music...I could imagine if she were alive today she would be called the QUEEN of Christmas....

She has brought me such joy with her vocals and with Richard's composing, producing, and writing songs, and I can say completely their music is the SOUNDTRACK to my life and each song has a special meaning and or unlocks certain memories....

Cam

 

[David A]

Thanks for your post @cam89, it was a nice read. I'm happy for you that you found their music and that it has meant so much to you. I can imagine that Karen and Richard would be pleased that their music has had such a positive impact for you.

I am certain that many of us here have some very personal memories and experiences with Carpenters and their music, otherwise we wouldn't be on this forum. I certainly do.

 

[Jorge]

As many of you know, I was a late fan to the Carpenters, having "discovered" Karen by accident in a Health Textbook and a photo of a woman in her 50's skeleton like....and it said she was a singer who succumbed to a heart attack due to a battle with Anorexia Nervosa (they used a pic I have never seen, the exact pose although I have seen similar poses at that exact same time but the pose was her and Phil and a blonde haired guy....and KC was in the middle wearing her solo AE shirt, and Phil was on one side in a hat and striped shirt and the other guy was wearing a white collared sweater or sweatshirt and he had I think a beard and moustache....maybe a fellow musician from her solo album as it was taken bout 1979....and both her hands held the chin of both guys, but she was NOT smiling but her teeth were showing, and I have seen this same photo except she is smiling....she is not wearing a cap in this photo)....I was age 15 and in Grade 9 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. So I took the health text book home to mom that night, who was peeling potatoes and carrots for supper....and I showed her the picture of this Karen Carpenter...and she gasped in horror and said to take the book away. I asked her what kind of singer she was (this was before Google) and Mom said, oh we have her album in the 8-Track tray by the stereo so I looked but couldn't find it so I brought the tray to Mom and she quickly found it. I saw it as brownish/purplish album that said the log Carpenters and The Singles 1969-1973...and on the back was a picture a tiny one of 2 men standing on a bridge, one with dark hair and one with blond hair....(remember it was a VERY small tiny picture)....and I put the music on and was soooo blown away by the beauty of the music and I was at once entranced with the voice and harmonies and everything that came out....and when the song Yesterday Once More and Top of the World and Sing came on....I began to remember hearing it thru my childhood on the radio or tv, although no visual videos of these people. I thought they were a huge group of like 7 or 8 people, like Three Dog Knight or The Doobie Brothers or The Rolling Stones....( I did not know those groups other than by name but I knew they had a lot of musicians in the group)....and when it came to SUPERSTAR I adored that song....sooooo much...the lament, the feel of it, the way she sang it...same with TICKET TO RIDE...

Then thru research at the Library, I was able to learn she was not married to the other guy in the band but that they were siblings....and I gathered whatever info I could find at that time. I still remember when I would write to Ev Wallace at the fan club and she would send me an order form or brochure of remaining memorabilia...I wish I had gotten it all then. I even once had a check signed by Agnes Carpenter for I think about 8 dollars and I held onto it until one day I really needed that money and cashed it....but EV was so kind to me and would answer as many questions I had sent her. I even had written a comic on The Karen Carpenter Story and sent it to them....

I also remember when the TV movie aired on Jan 1, 1989 and we gathered at my aunt's to watch it and everyone gathered around to watch it and I was really perturbed when people would be talking....

Later on that Christmas, my Mom bought me the twin tape cassette of both their Christmas albums as my Christmas gift and I was enthralled. I loved both albums and listened to them over and over and over again...My fave songs were Ave Maria, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Home for the Holiday, Do You Hear What I hear? and many other great performances. Her voice was so well suited to Christmas music...I could imagine if she were alive today she would be called the QUEEN of Christmas....

She has brought me such joy with her vocals and with Richard's composing, producing, and writing songs, and I can say completely their music is the SOUNDTRACK to my life and each song has a special meaning and or unlocks certain memories....

Cam

What a lovely story to read!

I also remember discovering the Carpenters when I was a teenager in the early 90's. Mom gave me as a gift the Singles 69-73 tape. I was blown away after listening this tape. Who were they? What happened to them?

I made copies of the tape and gave it to some friends in school. Remember going to the record store to buy more of their albums, and they only had A Song For you and Their Greatest Hits. I went to the Library in Santiago (Chile) to look in the newspaper records section. There was a very tiny note about Karen's passing. I had no computer and I don't even think internet was a thing yet here.

I wrote letters to several newspapers asking for news about the Carpenters. And surprisingly I got several replies with xerox copies from the UK, Brazil and even the US.

I did what probably most of us did. Wrote a letter to the fan club. Telling them about my love for the Carpenters, and that it was so hard to find anything about them here in Chile. I had never seen them in a video, I just had this few photos of them from the tapes. I was so intrigued. During History class one day, I remember my best friend from school telling me he had watched a video of them in a low budget local music tv show. I thought he was lying. Soon after I remember clearly one day changing channels and I saw them! It was the "Ticket to Ride" video. "Think I'm gonna be sad, think I'm gonna be saaaaad'. That was all I saw!, the last 10 seconds. Wow. They were real people if you know what I mean. Not just a photo.

I was coming back from school one day and I remember there were two packages from the USPS. And international delivery! What was this? It was from Downey! They were sent by Evelyn Wallace. There was a letter that unfortunately have lost. But do remember she said something about how fantastic it was that the Carpenters had fans in Chile. And she was sending some Carpenters albums for my collection. I got 3 stunning Carpenters posters, a Decade magazine, Voice of the Heart, Made in America, Christmas Portrait cassettes and the Passage LP and an autographed photo of them (by Richard). It was like an early Christmas. I just couldn't believe it. Felt so lucky and thankful. That was in 1992.

After this amazing surprise, and knowing 1993 was around the corner, I decided to show them how grateful I was, and of course wanted to share their music with everybody! Ha ha. So I spoke with my best friend in school, and told him I had to do something and he had to help me (Because by now he was also a Carpenters fan). So I planned to do a "Carpenters Day" on February 4th 1993, to remember Karen's passing and of course look at their legacy.
February is in the middle of summer in Chile, so weather like was . So we worked our asses off for months, and after contacting the US Embassy in Chile, Records Stores, Polygram Chile, the city council, radios, tv shows and newspapers, and the City subway.

So we got a permit to install a stand in the busiest pedestrian boulevard in downtown Santiago, for 3 days, with photos and the bio of the Carpenters, right in front of the largest record store in the city. It was pretty hard, we had to write and meet with so many people. Why two 16 years old teenagers wanted a permit for this? They denied the permit, but we kept asking for it till it was finally conceded.

Feria del Disco was the largest record store in the country, and they committed to offer discounts on the Carpenters records, and make Carpenters displays in all their windows through the country. The Santiago Metro (city subway) agreed to play Carpenters music all day long on February the 4th. There were many radio specials. We got coverage from newspapers and early morning Tv shows making notes on the anniversary of Karen's passing. It was the coolest thing I remember. Hundreds of people checking our stand with photos for 3 days, sharing memories, watching Carpenters videos being played over and over in the Record Store in front of our stand. We made so many friends back then. Going to the subway and listening the Carpenters in every single station was being in heaven. The Record Store owners were very happy cause they sold out! Certainly one of my most treasured memories of my youth. All because of the Carpenters.

New item by Jorge Moraga-Bernier

photos.google.com

 

[goodjeans]

What a lovely story to read!

I also remember discovering the Carpenters when I was a teenager in the early 90's. Mom gave me as a gift the Singles 69-73 tape. I was blown away after listening this tape. Who were they? What happened to them?

I made copies of the tape and gave it to some friends in school. Remember going to the record store to buy more of their albums, and they only had A Song For you and Their Greatest Hits. I went to the Library in Santiago (Chile) to look in the newspaper records section. There was a very tiny note about Karen's passing. I had no computer and I don't even think internet was a thing yet here.

I wrote letters to several newspapers asking for news about the Carpenters. And surprisingly I got several replies with xerox copies from the UK, Brazil and even the US.

I did what probably most of us did. Wrote a letter to the fan club. Telling them about my love for the Carpenters, and that it was so hard to find anything about them here in Chile. I had never seen them in a video, I just had this few photos of them from the tapes. I was so intrigued. During History class one day, I remember my best friend from school telling me he had watched a video of them in a low budget local music tv show. I thought he was lying. Soon after I remember clearly one day changing channels and I saw them! It was the "Ticket to Ride" video. "Think I'm gonna be sad, think I'm gonna be saaaaad'. That was all I saw!, the last 10 seconds. Wow. They were real people if you know what I mean. Not just a photo.

I was coming back from school one day and I remember there were two packages from the USPS. And international delivery! What was this? It was from Downey! They were sent by Evelyn Wallace. There was a letter that unfortunately have lost. But do remember she said something about how fantastic it was that the Carpenters had fans in Chile. And she was sending some Carpenters albums for my collection. I got 3 stunning Carpenters posters, a Decade magazine, Voice of the Heart, Made in America, Christmas Portrait cassettes and the Passage LP and an autographed photo of them (by Richard). It was like an early Christmas. I just couldn't believe it. Felt so lucky and thankful. That was in 1992.

After this amazing surprise, and knowing 1993 was around the corner, I decided to show them how grateful I was, and of course wanted to share their music with everybody! Ha ha. So I spoke with my best friend in school, and told him I had to do something and he had to help me (Because by now he was also a Carpenters fan). So I planned to do a "Carpenters Day" on February 4th 1993, to remember Karen's passing and of course look at their legacy.
February is in the middle of summer in Chile, so weather like was . So we worked our asses off for months, and after contacting the US Embassy in Chile, Records Stores, Polygram Chile, the city council, radios, tv shows and newspapers, and the City subway.

So we got a permit to install a stand in the busiest pedestrian boulevard in downtown Santiago, for 3 days, with photos and the bio of the Carpenters, right in front of the largest record store in the city. It was pretty hard, we had to write and meet with so many people. Why two 16 years old teenagers wanted a permit for this? They denied the permit, but we kept asking for it till it was finally conceded.

Feria del Disco was the largest record store in the country, and they committed to offer discounts on the Carpenters records, and make Carpenters displays in all their windows through the country. The Santiago Metro (city subway) agreed to play Carpenters music all day long on February the 4th. There were many radio specials. We got coverage from newspapers and early morning Tv shows making notes on the anniversary of Karen's passing. It was the coolest thing I remember. Hundreds of people checking our stand with photos for 3 days, sharing memories, watching Carpenters videos being played over and over in the Record Store in front of our stand. We made so many friends back then. Going to the subway and listening the Carpenters in every single station was being in heaven. The Record Store owners were very happy cause they sold out! Certainly one of my most treasured memories of my youth. All because of the Carpenters.

New item by Jorge Moraga-Bernier

photos.google.com

What a beautiful post.

 

[cam89]

I can so relate to not having videos of the Carpenters. Like I said earlier, I thought she was some acid rock singer from the 1960s or even from the 1950s as she looked old (and she was only 29 or 30 in the photo)....but so when I discovered her beautiful voice and the large group they had (not knowing it was just hers and her brother's voices)....then that Fall of 1988 they released REMINSCING a greatest hits album and I got to see what they looked like and I was in heaven. It would show up on tv with someone in the family yelling for me to come watch and I would catch a clip of them and I tried to memorize the scenes in my mind....finally sometime in 1989 I ordered the Yesterday Once More videocassette when we were now living in Swift Current, Sk...and I rented a VCR....and watched it and was so mesmerized by it....and the family watched it with me....and it was neat to see all the clothing and hairstyles each passing year....then of course The Karen Carpenter Story on Jan 1, 1989 came on and that was so interesting....

 

[Jorge]

Yeah, for many of us not ever seeing a video of our favorite group was a real thing. Now we have youtube and you can watch every clip with a click.
The first time I got a hold of YOM video I watched it over and over and over. The wonder of seeing them singing the songs!

I found an old photo for the Carpenters day back in Feb 4 1993 I was talking about. We had 3 stands like those showing. I don't remember the names of the people with me but the guy was the owner of this large Record Store chain, and the woman was a cultural attache of the US Embassy. Really nice people. I have videos from the TV news/ morning shows. Someday will upload them to Youtube.

New photo by Jorge Moraga-Bernier

 

[Geographer]

What a lovely story to read!

I also remember discovering the Carpenters when I was a teenager in the early 90's. Mom gave me as a gift the Singles 69-73 tape. I was blown away after listening this tape. Who were they? What happened to them?

I made copies of the tape and gave it to some friends in school. Remember going to the record store to buy more of their albums, and they only had A Song For you and Their Greatest Hits. I went to the Library in Santiago (Chile) to look in the newspaper records section. There was a very tiny note about Karen's passing. I had no computer and I don't even think internet was a thing yet here.

I wrote letters to several newspapers asking for news about the Carpenters. And surprisingly I got several replies with xerox copies from the UK, Brazil and even the US.

I did what probably most of us did. Wrote a letter to the fan club. Telling them about my love for the Carpenters, and that it was so hard to find anything about them here in Chile. I had never seen them in a video, I just had this few photos of them from the tapes. I was so intrigued. During History class one day, I remember my best friend from school telling me he had watched a video of them in a low budget local music tv show. I thought he was lying. Soon after I remember clearly one day changing channels and I saw them! It was the "Ticket to Ride" video. "Think I'm gonna be sad, think I'm gonna be saaaaad'. That was all I saw!, the last 10 seconds. Wow. They were real people if you know what I mean. Not just a photo.

I was coming back from school one day and I remember there were two packages from the USPS. And international delivery! What was this? It was from Downey! They were sent by Evelyn Wallace. There was a letter that unfortunately have lost. But do remember she said something about how fantastic it was that the Carpenters had fans in Chile. And she was sending some Carpenters albums for my collection. I got 3 stunning Carpenters posters, a Decade magazine, Voice of the Heart, Made in America, Christmas Portrait cassettes and the Passage LP and an autographed photo of them (by Richard). It was like an early Christmas. I just couldn't believe it. Felt so lucky and thankful. That was in 1992.

After this amazing surprise, and knowing 1993 was around the corner, I decided to show them how grateful I was, and of course wanted to share their music with everybody! Ha ha. So I spoke with my best friend in school, and told him I had to do something and he had to help me (Because by now he was also a Carpenters fan). So I planned to do a "Carpenters Day" on February 4th 1993, to remember Karen's passing and of course look at their legacy.
February is in the middle of summer in Chile, so weather like was . So we worked our asses off for months, and after contacting the US Embassy in Chile, Records Stores, Polygram Chile, the city council, radios, tv shows and newspapers, and the City subway.

So we got a permit to install a stand in the busiest pedestrian boulevard in downtown Santiago, for 3 days, with photos and the bio of the Carpenters, right in front of the largest record store in the city. It was pretty hard, we had to write and meet with so many people. Why two 16 years old teenagers wanted a permit for this? They denied the permit, but we kept asking for it till it was finally conceded.

Feria del Disco was the largest record store in the country, and they committed to offer discounts on the Carpenters records, and make Carpenters displays in all their windows through the country. The Santiago Metro (city subway) agreed to play Carpenters music all day long on February the 4th. There were many radio specials. We got coverage from newspapers and early morning Tv shows making notes on the anniversary of Karen's passing. It was the coolest thing I remember. Hundreds of people checking our stand with photos for 3 days, sharing memories, watching Carpenters videos being played over and over in the Record Store in front of our stand. We made so many friends back then. Going to the subway and listening the Carpenters in every single station was being in heaven. The Record Store owners were very happy cause they sold out! Certainly one of my most treasured memories of my youth. All because of the Carpenters.

New item by Jorge Moraga-Bernier

photos.google.com

That is a fantastic story!

 

[tristanbmusic]

Hi there! New member here and thought this was a good thread to introduce myself. Carpenters have meant the world to me lately. I'm betting that the heart of my experience is fairly common.

Even as a kid in the 90's I could recognize the uniqueness of Karen's timbre, though the only exposure I had was during the holiday season. My younger brother and I would laugh at the low notes in "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" -- something about the word "have" in the beginning of the phrase and how it crackles in her throat was humorous to us back then. "Sleigh Ride" was ubiquitous as I'm sure "Merry Christmas Darling" must have been as well. Typing this out, I find it's quite the task relaying the impression this voice made on me back then. Karen doesn't have an easily definable voice, and as I've considered it more, it's a voice steeped in contradiction (precisely the quality that fascinates now). It was so in control, so wise, and delivered with a perpetual wink, but a unshakeable resignation in all of it-- I was baffled, and with only Christmas songs as reference, I never followed up on the curiosity.

Flash-forward many years to the present and I've been around the block, listened to all sorts of albums throughout the history of recorded music in order to really pay tribute to my favorite artistic medium: The Album. All I wanted to do since I was 16 was to make an album of my own, so I started doing so and finally finished last year, twelve years later. During that time, my favorite artists were Talk Talk, Kate Bush, all experimental stuff, but I had a strong affinity for jazz and infinite respect for a well-structured pop/rock song. After finishing it, releasing it, I found myself empty-- I had made something very complicated and "artistic" and I didn't know where to go (I still do not!), but I've recognized in life that opposites can be teachers-- so, what if I indulged in some "easy listening"? I threw James Taylor on, a little John Denver, (my parents *loved* this phase), but was left wanting. On a curated list of 1001 albums online, I scoured for something "light" and found the "Close to You" album and, judging by its cover, I knew I was in the "light" place. I played most of the album on the ride home from work and remember being taken with the harmonies, but overall the sound was too light a thing for my taste... until its last song, "Another Song". All of a sudden I was blown away-- the musicians sound so free on that track and it left me curious to explore more. So I did.

Karen's contribution sure sounded impressive, but until I listened to The Essentials Collection on a walk one day with headphones, I realized I was missing all its nuance. Just as Karen sings closely into the mic, the listener benefits from isolating the listening experience. The run of singles from "Close to You" through "Only Yesterday" were all brand new to me. I could not *believe* her performance of the title track from "A Song For You", and I've listened to a ton of incredible singers (somehow I knew of Matt Munro before Karen Carpenter!) Nothing could touch it and it was delivered so intimately that it felt like a secret. As a (mediocre) producer, I couldn't discount Richard's arrangements and inventiveness. "Goodbye to Love" and "This Masquerade" brought both their talents to their fore, and it was exciting (and sad) to learn more about these strange, yet immediate songs on this forum. But there's nothing I like to analyze more than what makes an album tick, so I mostly now listen to their albums straight through (Horizon is the fav). What do Carpenters mean to me... they certainly taught me to remain open to the mysteries of music. I had all of these stories and preconceptions in my head about why I wouldn't like them, or why I shouldn't bother, and I couldn't have been further from the truth. Humbling!

Oh so many further impressions after that initial excitement, but this serves its purpose for now. Excited to be here!
-Tristan

 

[Mark-T]

Nice write up. Welcome to the Boards, Tristan!

 

[David A]

Welcome Tristan! Glad you found the Carpenters and have added them to your influences musically. They are indeed often under-rated by many, although as time has passed, they have received a fairer reassessment from both fans and professionals in the music biz.

 

[tomswift2002]

Hi there! New member here and thought this was a good thread to introduce myself. Carpenters have meant the world to me lately. I'm betting that the heart of my experience is fairly common.

Even as a kid in the 90's I could recognize the uniqueness of Karen's timbre, though the only exposure I had was during the holiday season. My younger brother and I would laugh at the low notes in "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" -- something about the word "have" in the beginning of the phrase and how it crackles in her throat was humorous to us back then. "Sleigh Ride" was ubiquitous as I'm sure "Merry Christmas Darling" must have been as well. Typing this out, I find it's quite the task relaying the impression this voice made on me back then. Karen doesn't have an easily definable voice, and as I've considered it more, it's a voice steeped in contradiction (precisely the quality that fascinates now). It was so in control, so wise, and delivered with a perpetual wink, but a unshakeable resignation in all of it-- I was baffled, and with only Christmas songs as reference, I never followed up on the curiosity.

Flash-forward many years to the present and I've been around the block, listened to all sorts of albums throughout the history of recorded music in order to really pay tribute to my favorite artistic medium: The Album. All I wanted to do since I was 16 was to make an album of my own, so I started doing so and finally finished last year, twelve years later. During that time, my favorite artists were Talk Talk, Kate Bush, all experimental stuff, but I had a strong affinity for jazz and infinite respect for a well-structured pop/rock song. After finishing it, releasing it, I found myself empty-- I had made something very complicated and "artistic" and I didn't know where to go (I still do not!), but I've recognized in life that opposites can be teachers-- so, what if I indulged in some "easy listening"? I threw James Taylor on, a little John Denver, (my parents *loved* this phase), but was left wanting. On a curated list of 1001 albums online, I scoured for something "light" and found the "Close to You" album and, judging by its cover, I knew I was in the "light" place. I played most of the album on the ride home from work and remember being taken with the harmonies, but overall the sound was too light a thing for my taste... until its last song, "Another Song". All of a sudden I was blown away-- the musicians sound so free on that track and it left me curious to explore more. So I did.

Karen's contribution sure sounded impressive, but until I listened to The Essentials Collection on a walk one day with headphones, I realized I was missing all its nuance. Just as Karen sings closely into the mic, the listener benefits from isolating the listening experience. The run of singles from "Close to You" through "Only Yesterday" were all brand new to me. I could not *believe* her performance of the title track from "A Song For You", and I've listened to a ton of incredible singers (somehow I knew of Matt Munro before Karen Carpenter!) Nothing could touch it and it was delivered so intimately that it felt like a secret. As a (mediocre) producer, I couldn't discount Richard's arrangements and inventiveness. "Goodbye to Love" and "This Masquerade" brought both their talents to their fore, and it was exciting (and sad) to learn more about these strange, yet immediate songs on this forum. But there's nothing I like to analyze more than what makes an album tick, so I mostly now listen to their albums straight through (Horizon is the fav). What do Carpenters mean to me... they certainly taught me to remain open to the mysteries of music. I had all of these stories and preconceptions in my head about why I wouldn't like them, or why I shouldn't bother, and I couldn't have been further from the truth. Humbling!

Oh so many further impressions after that initial excitement, but this serves its purpose for now. Excited to be here!
-Tristan

Another 90’s kid! So did your parent’s have the “Christmas Portrait Special Edition” CD and that’s what you heard growing up?

 

[tristanbmusic]

Another 90’s kid! So did your parent’s have the “Christmas Portrait Special Edition” CD and that’s what you heard growing up?

Hooray!! But no, not even that! My parents didn’t have their own collections and we didn’t collect any growing up. I only discovered “albums” as a concept by my lonesome!

 

[cam89]

It's funny but Mom had tons of 8-Tracks and Albums that were Christmas....Mitch Miller, Barbra Streisand, Perry Como, Catherine McKinnon, Mahalia Jackson, Boney M, Andy Williams, Julie Andrews were the ones I remember, but surprisingly, NO Carpenters.....so I grew up not even hearing their Christmas songs....until Mom bought me the twin tape of both of their Holiday albums and I was thrilled beyond belief....our family had just fractured and we were heading to another province to spend our Christmas Holidays 1988....and our other Christmas gift was she bought us Walkmans which was so neat....so I remember vividly the long 9 hour drive on our Canadian winter roads from Winnipeg, Mb to Swift Current, Sk....and hearing Karen's silky voice singing Holiday classics.....I was just thrilled....and also because it was around $14 back then which to me was a lot of money to spend on 'frivolity'...so I was glad Mom spoiled me.....since then I am not a huge fan of Holiday albums....but do like Amy Grant, Sandi Patty, Mariah Carey's 1994 Christmas album....and Anne Murray I enjoy her voice as well....but Karen's voice and Richard's arrangements touch me.....

 

[song4u]

I think Karen's melancholy voice reached a lot of adolescents' hearts.

 

[downeypatriot]

I had a very promising baseball career come to an abrupt end due to a severe elbow injury. This was in 1983, and after that, I flunked out of UCLA! By 1984, I was going through clinical depression. Someone at home ordered a Carpenters cassette, I believe it was called "Yesterday Once More". It was sold on a TV commercial. Once I got hold of it and started listening, no one else in the family ever had a chance to get their hands on that cassette. And, I started to feel better! Been better ever since, and, needless to say, Carpenter's music is still with me in a huge way! Karen's voice does have a way of touching one's soul, no doubt about that.

 

[Maggie A]

Yeah, for many of us not ever seeing a video of our favorite group was a real thing. Now we have youtube and you can watch every clip with a click.
The first time I got a hold of YOM video I watched it over and over and over. The wonder of seeing them singing the songs!

I found an old photo for the Carpenters day back in Feb 4 1993 I was talking about. We had 3 stands like those showing. I don't remember the names of the people with me but the guy was the owner of this large Record Store chain, and the woman was a cultural attache of the US Embassy. Really nice people. I have videos from the TV news/ morning shows. Someday will upload them to Youtube.

New photo by Jorge Moraga-Bernier

Hi Jorge, that's a great story and wonder if you'd share it for a radio show I'm making about We've Only Just Begun? Maggie

 

[Cuyler]

I don't usually talk about this with my friends, but I'm not secretive about it either. I first learned of the Carpenters when I watched an airing of Close to You: Remembering the Carpenters on PBS Hawaii in 2003. I really loved the colors in the videos, the music, learning about the overdubbing, and was really into it. Then in that very scene where Richard is talking about how he thought everything was okay and Karen was getting better and the camera pans out from Karen's face to the newspaper title "Karen Carpenter Dead at 32" I just bawled. I remembered being with my mom and being like, "No, she can't be dead." And I cried, and I cried every time I watched that scene for years.

So, at that same time, when Tower Records and Borders were still places that existed, I bought a lot of the big-name compilations at first, then moved toward the albums. I think my first compilation was either "Love Songs" or "Carpenters: Gold (35th Anniversary Edition)" -- probably the former, because the latter came out in 2004/2005 in the US, which was a couple of years after I saw the documentary for the first time. And I think the first album I bought was either "A Song for You," just because of the sheer number of hit singles on that album.

The first record I ever bought was The Singles: 1969-1973, and I bought a few copies of those over the years to collect different A&M labels.

Thankfully, growing up in Hawaii, the used record stores always had Live in Japan. I remember buying a copy with an obi from 1974 for like $6 (which was expensive for middle school me, and certainly a good investment).

When I was going through tough times in middle school and high school, I would definitely listen to the Carpenters' sadder songs ("(I'm Caught Between) Goodbye and I Love You," "Love Me for What I Am," "Only Yesterday," "Goodbye to Love," "I Need to Be in Love"), and those songs helped me to get through some emotionally difficult times. It made me feel validated and understood by someone who experienced these emotions decades before I did.

Needless to say, I was (and continue to be) quite passionate about the Carpenters. The dominant narrative is that their music was "squeaky-clean" or "goody two-shoes," ("vanilla") but as Paul Williams said, "but what an exquisite flavor vanilla is." (I may be paraphrasing, as I don't have the documentary in front of me at the moment.)

 

[Jorge]

Hi Jorge, that's a great story and wonder if you'd share it for a radio show I'm making about We've Only Just Begun? Maggie

Hi Maggie, I would love to!