"The Carpenters' contribution to popular music will stand forever. Great love songs never go out of style, and Karen and Richard's work surely strikes a chord in all who cherish beautifully honed compositions set amid rich melodies and lush arrangements. And there will always be that stunning voice. Unique and instantly recognizable, the finest female singer in her genre provided the Carpenters with the bedrock of music that will always transcend trends and fads. Its beauty is its simplicity, directness, and melodic power. Richard always made sure that every sonic detail was just to his liking. The combination of Richard's extraordinary abilities to recognize or write a great song, arrange the material, produce the records, and Karen's magical God-given voice, gave the world a sound that will always be remembered."
From: The CARPENTERS, The Untold Story" (c)1994, Ray Coleman, HarperCollins Publishers,Inc., 10 East 53rd. Street, New York, NY 10022
"WHO IS THAT!?", I thought to myself the first time I heard "Close To You" on the radio in the early summer of 1970. I was the drummer, and one of three singers in a club band at the time, and I was early for rehearsal, so I had flipped on the radio while I waited for our keyboard player, Reggie, and our bass player, Jim to arrive. We were really "into" vocal music and harmonies, so I was primed, but NOT ready to hear what I heard that afternoon.
At first, I was VERY taken by the voice of the "girl singer", and the beauty of the arrangement - so simple and elegant! Then, that fat, lush harmony came in for the first time! "Girls in town..." "Follow you..." "All around". But that was just a taste of what was to come! The trumpet!... hmmm... sounds like Herb Alpert playing!... THEN... "Sprinkled moon dust in your hair of gold and starlight in your eyes of blue"! WOW...ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!! I was in a trance now - completely focused on the music coming out of that little radio! When I thought that it couldn't get any better, the music went like electricity into my body when I heard that famous, "Waaaaaaaahh, ah-ah-ah-aaaaaaahh.... C-lose to you"! Oh my God!... I'm listening to total PERFECTION!! I was hooked, still am hooked, and will be forever hooked on "that Carpenters sound"! If I knew back then what a powerful influence that 4 minutes and 33 seconds of music would have on my life, I don't think I would have believed it! Then, the Disc Jockey said that the song was by, "The Carpenters". "The Carpenters???... what a name for a band!", I thought to myself. "Where in the world are Reggie and Jim? I HAVE to tell them about this incredible new band - The Carpenters!!".
- jgk
This is the way I remember Richard & Karen Carpenter appearing the morning I saw Karen face to face in El Paso, Texas, although I know that this photo was taken much later than that. The date Karen and I 'met' was Jan. 19, 1972. The place was the front desk in the lobby of El Paso's "Downtown Holiday Inn", and Karen was checking the Carpenters' entourage into the hotel, all by herself! She walked in with wind-blown hair, and she was beautiful... right down to the fur jacket she's wearing
in this picture! Richard strolled in a few minutes after Karen checked in, and headed straight for the restaurant - he looked tall, focused, & hungry!
The photo of me to the left is a current one, but back in 1972, I was a much younger drummer/singer in a club band at the Downtown Holiday Inn in El Paso, Texas. We were all excited
because THE CARPENTERS were coming to El Paso for a concert! We all loved them and we played a LOT of their songs while we were playing the Holiday Inn circuit throughout Texas.
The morning of the concert,
Jim, our bass guitar player, and I were walking out of the elevator into the hotel lobby, when who should be walking through the front door
all by herself?? - Karen Carpenter!! We were absolutely stunned! I wanted to go up and speak to her as she was checking in the
band, and Carpenters entourage at the front desk (all by herself!), but Jim said, "No, no!... just leave her alone, John... don't hassle her." I looked at Jim. I looked at Karen. I decided
otherwise.
I walked up slowly next to her, not knowing what in the world to say to her, as I listened to her converse with the front desk manager. And then she turned and looked at me square in the
face! Well, that did it!... I don't know where my mind went, but it definitely left my body, because all I could think to do was to
reach across in front of her, grab a book of matches, and still just staring at her while she smiled at me, say, "Excuse me.", and turn and walk away on wobbly legs. Oh, Man!... I blew it!! Ah, well... I have to blame
this dumb behavior on youth, being in awe, and being in total shock... plain ol' star-stuck!!. !),
We DID see them in concert that night, (we started our club job late!), and The Carpenters were great, fantastic, unbelievable, etc.! Their concert started with a darkened stage, and then a small spotlight appeared, aimed
at Richard's right hand playing the intro to "Close To You"! Then, the stage lights came up, and there they all were! Richard looked slim, handsome, and friendly. Karen looked very healthy, happy, and beautiful! They sounded just like their records!! (I know... what a cliche', but it's true!) There were several backup singers doubling harmony parts, and Richard explained that this was how they got that "fat" harmony sound in their concerts - remember, this was 1972. Two singers, each singing one harmony part, in five part harmony, with Karen singing lead, is awsome to hear "live"!!
I wish that I had that morning to live all over again, but at least for one moment in time, Karen Carpenter looked at ME!... and knew that I existed! So, I'll just have to settle for that, and I'll have that memory of our "encounter" with me forever! I can still feel the same feeling in the pit of my stomach, and that same excitement that I had in my heart to this very day... I'll never forget it.
- jgk
Richard Carpenter carried on with a tour of selected cities in 1998 to promote his newest CD, "Richard Carpenter, Pianist/Arranger/Composer/ Conductor". He has also appeared, in late 1997 and early 1998, in three television documentaries about the Carpenters - on the E! Network, the Arts & Entertainment Network, and the Public Broadcasting System, the latter, titled "Close To You - Remembering the Carpenters", being available on MPI Home Video!Richard still appears at least yearly, performing at the Richard & Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center in Long Beach, CA. - the latest being the second annual "Top of the World Cabaret", on March 20, 2004. The popularity and love of Richard's music by fans around the world continues with renewed enthusiasm!
- jgk
"The tracks in this collection span the years 1967-1980 and are culled from a variety of media: demos, outtakes, live performances, and television specials. The recordings encompass most of the Carpenters' recording career and are an eclectic mix, ranging from Dizzy Fingers to My Funny Valentine to Dancing in the Street. I feel my track-by-track notes will be more illuminating to the listener if they are prefaced with a capsule history of the Carpenters.In 1966, Karen and I had occasion to meet pre-eminent west coast studio bassist, Joe Osborn. Osborn had recently had his garage transformed into a recording studio and outfitted it with state-of-the-art recording gear, including a Scully 4-track recorder, 4-track recording console, Neumann U87 microphones and Altec 604 studio monitors. He and a partner were also the founders of a fledgling record label, Magic Lamp. Already on the roster were Johnny Burnette and Vince Edwards, amongst others, but Ostorn was still looking for new acts to sign. As Joe routinely worked in the studios until midnight, Karen and I did not meet him until the wee small hours of an April morning. It was of little concern to us. Karen sang, I provided the accompaniment and on May 9, 1966 Karen signed with Magic Lamp as an artist, with me signing two days later to the publishing arm, Lightup Music. (Actually - neither one of us signed; our parents did, as we were minors, Karen 16 and I, 19.) Karen and I cut a number of sides in Joe's studio, but due to the lack of promotion and distribution, only one single by each of the label's artists was "released" before the venture folded in late 1967.
Joe never lost faith in us, however, and in the early moring hours or on week-ends, he would get behind the console and let us record; even playing bass on a number of tracks. By mid-1968, the "Carpenters sound" had been created, with all of us learning on the job. A demo tape ultimately found its way to Herb Alpert's desk in early 1969, and on April 22 of that year Herb's partner, Jerry Moss, signed Karen and me to A&M Records.
Our first single, a ballad rendition of Lennon/McCartney's Ticket to Ride, released in the fall of 1969, reached #54 on the Billboard Hot 100 in early 1970. It was our second single, however, Bacharach/David's (They Long to Be) Close to You, released on May 15, 1970 that became our first #1 record and established us as a household name pretty much around the world. Where we had had a little time on our hands before the release of Close to You, there now was not enough time in the day. Everything Karen and I had dreamt of was coming true, just at too rapid a pace: worldwide concert tours, gold records (10 gold singles and 11 gold albums in the United States alone), award nominations and awards, guest-shots on the most popular variety shows, stints in Vegas, Tahoe and much, much more. From 1969 to 1981, we delivered, and A&M released, 10 albums - not including compilations or live albums - and from 1976 to 1980, we hosted five prime-time television specials on ABC.
For reasons no one can fully explain, Karen developed the eating disorder, anorexia nervosa. 
Symptoms started to appear in 1974 and she struggled with it for the next nine years. Karen passed away from complications due to the disorder on February 4, 1983, at the age of 32. Since Karen's untimely passing, interest in our music has not diminished. I have overseen the production of four albums of previously unreleased recordings, as well as numerous compilations for various countries. This is bittersweet work, but I owe it to Karen and her legacy. It turns out that the Carpenters were the #1 American-born hit-makers of the 1970s. Worldwide sales of our recordings have topped 100 million units. Karen would have been proud of that, as I am proud of her. While I listen to the wide variety of music that she performs so seemingly effortlessly in this album [As Time Goes By], I am also eternally grateful for the privilege of having been able to work with her." - Richard Carpenter, 2000.
Thanks, and come again!
Yesterday Once More Ring management: Robert Cutchins
, (c)Richard Carpenter.