The Carpenters (music)
The Carpenters were an American musical duo composed of siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter, known for their distinctive close harmonies and soft rock sound. They achieved remarkable commercial success in the 1970s, with their first single, "Close to You," reaching number one on the charts in 1970. Over their career, they amassed twenty Top 40 hits, including popular songs like "We've Only Just Begun," "Top of the World," and "Please Mr. Postman." Their music often featured compositions by prominent songwriters of the era, such as Carole King and Paul Williams.
The duo's clean image and mellow style contrasted with the more rebellious rock music of the time, yet they maintained a dedicated fan base. Their influence extended beyond music, with a television variety show, "Make Your Own Kind of Music," contributing to their popularity. Tragically, Karen Carpenter passed away in 1983 due to complications from anorexia, which she had struggled with for years. Despite this, the Carpenters' music continues to resonate, with many of their albums still selling well into the 21st century and a variety of compilation albums celebrating their legacy.
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The Carpenters (music)
Identification A brother-and-sister pop recording group
Date First album released in 1969
The melodic, accessible singles of Karen and Richard Carpenter translated into instant success for the group, and they maintained a wholesome image during the hard-rocking 1970’s.
Key Figures
Karen Carpenter (1950-1983), pop music singerRichard Carpenter (1946- ), pop music singer
During their career, the Carpenters amassed twenty Top 40 hits; only one, “Touch Me When We’re Dancing,” charted outside of the 1970’s, in 1981. They started their career with immediate success as their first single, “Close to You,” hit number one in the summer of 1970, holding the top spot for four weeks and staying on the charts for fifteen. Only three months later, “We’ve Only Just Begun” held second place on the charts for four weeks. The group would have two more number-one hits: “Top of the World” in 1973 and “Please Mr. Postman” the following year. The success of the latter single, a 1961 hit for the Marvelettes and later for the Beatles, followed the success of the Carpenters’ 1973 album Now and Then, the second side of which consisted of a medley of sound-alike covers of early rock-and-roll hits, packaged in the form of an oldies radio show.
Their close harmonies and a sibling chemistry that was palpably effective both in live concerts and in the studio helped propel Richard and Karen Carpenter to stardom. Richard played keyboards and composed a few songs for each of their twelve albums, and Karen played drums. The squeaky-clean image and mellow musical style of the Carpenters did not seem to slow their sales, though they often were the butt of jokes in the world of rock music. However, they took the ridicule in stride and maintained their style, seemingly adhering to the title of their 1971 National Broadcasting Company (NBC) television variety show, Make Your Own Kind of Music. The fact that they had three top songs that year—“For All We Know,” “Rainy Days and Mondays,” and “Superstar”—helped the program’s ratings.
Karen Carpenter died in 1983 at the age of thirty-two from heart failure caused by chronic anorexia nervosa, which she had battled since 1975.
Impact
Some of the best songwriters of the 1970’s scored hits when the Carpenters sang their songs: Carole King with “It’s Going to Take Some Time” (1972), Joe Raposo with “Sing” (1972), Paul Williams with “I Won’t Last a Day Without You” (1974), and Neil Sedaka with “Solitaire” (1975). The staying power of the 1970’s hits of the Carpenters is indicated by the fact that all of their albums continued to sell into the twenty-first century, and a number of compilation albums repackaged (and sometimes remixed) the Carpenters’ best-sellers of the 1970’s.
Bibliography
Coleman, Ray. The Carpenters: The Untold Story—An Authorized Biography. Boston: HarperCollins, 1994.
Garcia, Ronald. Close to You: The Story of Richard and Karen Carpenter. Chicago: The Good Reading Company, 1995.
Schmidt, Randy. Yesterday Once More: Memories of the Carpenters and Their Music. New York: Tiny Ripple Books, 2000.