Who arranged the duets that Karen did?
- Thread starter chuckbo
- Start date
Did you ever hear the story Linda Ronstadt tells of hiring him to help with her Songbook albums?
She told this when she was on Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me. She explained that she wanted to record these albums as a present to her future self so when she was too old to be singing Poor Poor Pitiful Me in concerts, she would have this other body of work to draw From. Nelson Riddle was recommended to her, so she calls him to hire him. She says she found out later that he had never heard of her and had to ask his daughter if Ronstadt would be able to afford him. The daughter assured him that she could.
She told this when she was on Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me. She explained that she wanted to record these albums as a present to her future self so when she was too old to be singing Poor Poor Pitiful Me in concerts, she would have this other body of work to draw From. Nelson Riddle was recommended to her, so she calls him to hire him. She says she found out later that he had never heard of her and had to ask his daughter if Ronstadt would be able to afford him. The daughter assured him that she could.
newvillefan
I Know My First Name Is Stephen
This is very poignant now knowing that Ronstadt is no longer able to sing. I wonder if she ever listens to the music she created with him.
Fun fact: Nelson Riddle scored the first 2 seasons of the 60's Batman show including the movie (although the theme was done by Neal Hefti). Another Carpenters connection Billy May ( I Can Dream Can't I? - Horizon) did season 3. So, Carpenters are at least loosely connected with the dynamic duo! 
Rick-An Ordinary Fool
Well-Known Member
Several years ago, I read that that caused friction between the singers. And I can't find that page anymore — maybe someone here wrote it.
What I remember reading is that Ella didn't trust the post-processing and wanted to do it live. And Karen didn't want to do it live because … and that's what doesn't make sense to me, either. When I first read it, I thought the article implied that Karen relied on post-processing for something. But I've read about her concerts, and she didn't seem uncomfortable singing live and didn't lip sync. And I wonder what the full story of that duet is, every time I hear it.
What I remember reading is that Ella didn't trust the post-processing and wanted to do it live. And Karen didn't want to do it live because … and that's what doesn't make sense to me, either. When I first read it, I thought the article implied that Karen relied on post-processing for something. But I've read about her concerts, and she didn't seem uncomfortable singing live and didn't lip sync. And I wonder what the full story of that duet is, every time I hear it.
Karen wanted to give her absolute best performance, which she knew she could achieve by recording ahead of time. Not to mention, this gave them more control over the individual vocal levels (by separating them) when they went to mix the track for broadcast.
masqueraded
Well-Known Member
newvillefan
I Know My First Name Is Stephen
For the Ella and Karen Medley, 'This Masquerade' was the original 1973 recording faded out and segued into the newly recorded 1980 audio of the rest of the medley.
For the Carpenters/Como medley, the piano for 'Yesterday Once More' was newly recorded for that special, along with the rest of the audio backing track for that medley.
