The Carpenters were the brother and sister duo of Richard and Karen Carpenter. Older brother Richard handled keyboards, organs, pianos, and arrangements. Karen was not only a drummer, but also had a fantastic three-octave contralto voice. That means that, while her voice was on the low end of the female vocal range, she could go pretty damn high too. She really did have a gorgeous voice. Sadly, she battled anorexia for years, and died from related complications in 1983 at only 32 years old.
They were hugely during the 1970s. Of the eight studio albums they released in the '70s, four were Top 5 on the Billboard album charts. They had 19 Top 40 hits in the U.S. in the '70s, including 12 Top 10s and 3 #1s. Singles: 1969-1973 was released in 1974, and it was a massive hit, going to #1 on the Billboard album charts and eventually going 7x platinum in the U.S., and spending 17 weeks atop the UK album charts.
Favorite song from Side 1: "Superstar"
Long one of my all-time favorite guilty pleasure songs, "Superstar" is a just a great fucking song. It was written by Leon Russell and Bonnie Bramlett about groupies' relationships with musicians in the '60s, and originally recorded by Delaney & Bonnie. The Carpenters covered in 1971, taming the lyrics down a little bit to be less sexual and making it into a huge hit (#2 on the Billboard Hot 100). Backed by the famed Wrecking Crew, the song is '70s schmaltzy pop at its finest. The chorus is a killer, and you feel Karen's pain when she belts out, "Don't you remember you told me you love me baby / You said you'd be comin' back this way again, baby." It's awesome. Richard's organ work on the song should also not go unnoticed.
Favorite song from Side 2: "Hurting Each Other"
Karen shows off her vocal range on this song, and this could easily have found a home on any ABBA album. This was another song where The Carpenters were backed by the Wrecking Crew, and like "Superstar," it reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment