Posted on 11/03/2024 5:22:57 PM PST by conservatism_IS_compassion
Karen Carpenter was my favorite female vocalist. Her voice was like no other.
What a tragic waste……
With Karen, I could always hear every word she said. “Said”, as opposed to yelling or stretching out the tones. Her way of singing was quite similar to spoken word. It was the tonality, pace and the melody which made her singing so pleasant. JS Bach was that way using only music. Many of his passeges sound like some kind of spoken word. Very natural.
Can you blame Herb? She had a fantastic voice.
Karen had the voice of an angel. May she rest in peace, still loved by millions.
Indeed on both Karen Carpenter and JS Bach! Nice post.
She had poor self esteem and a mom who doted on her brother….seems if she had been more secure (and I’m not blaming her family) in who she was and what a great, talented woman she was, perhaps anorexia would not have been her fate. But atleast we still have her beautiful music to cherish her by.
She was a one-in-a-billion voice. Great song just btw.
Patsy Cline too.
In the documentary, “The Wrecking Crew”, one of the session musicians, possibly Hal Blaine, convinced her to sing in a lower register. He also put her on a clicker in her ear so that she wouldn’t slow the beat.
Heya CIC, haven’t crossed paths with you for a while-hope all is well!
Enjoyed this thread-I could never confess to liking the Carpenters as a teenage guy, I would have had to surrender my man-card?
Now that I am older and don’t care what people think about my likes and dislikes, I quite enjoy The Carpenters...:)
My favorite is Superstar. And Masquerade.
Yeah, the Carpenters were way too uncool when I was young, but love her voice now. Another one like that is John Denver. I generally dislike both “easy listening” and country, but those two are exceptional because of those voices.
I know a guy who works at Bose, and he said they use her singing to check the fidelity of systems.
So much music I wouldn’t listen to when I was younger, and now I enjoy it. One of the best things about getting older...
**Enjoyed this thread-I could never confess to liking the Carpenters as a teenage guy, I would have had to surrender my man-card?**
My older sister and I both liked the Carpenters (although I liked other bands more). Sis was born with deformed hands, went through some surgeries in the 60s, and in junior high began playing drums. Mom and Dad got her a kit around 67 when she was 16. She went to college, played in the college jazz band, but after graduation just played her kit in a room now and then where she lived.
Working for the FAA in Flight Service, (after proving to be too slow at a keyboard to work ATC), she accepted the callup to cross the picket line after President Reagan fired the striking ATCers. She stayed until full retirement.
Like me, she saw nothing macho about most hard rock band members, as we both viewed them as actors that probably wouldn’t last a day on a working grain farm/cattle ranch like we grew up on.
Hard to find any flaws with those. Solitaire is remarkable, too - possibly the best showcase of Karen's vocal range from the angelic high notes down to the silky sub-contralto lows.
Love Masquerade and Solitaire!
Agree. My faves are (1) Karen Carpenter and (2) Patsy Cline. When I heard Karen died, I cried.
I enjoy Dottie West, too.
Herb said Karen’s voice made you feel like she was sitting next to you, even if you were just listening to her on the radio.
I got to shake Herb’s hand after a concert about 5 years ago. I was thrilled
His version is quite remarkable.
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