Pre-Carpenters Childhood The Carpenter siblings were both born at
Grace–New Haven Hospital in
New Haven, Connecticut, to Harold Bertram Carpenter (1908–1988) and Agnes Reuwer (née Tatum, 1915–1996). Harold was born in
Wuzhou, China, moving to Britain in 1917, and the US in 1921, while Agnes was born and grew up in
Baltimore, Maryland. They married on April 9, 1935; their first child, Richard Lynn, was born on October 15, 1946, while Karen Anne followed on March 2, 1950. Richard was a quiet child who spent most of his time at home listening to
Rachmaninoff,
Tchaikovsky,
Red Nichols and
Spike Jones, and playing the piano. Karen was friendly and outgoing; she liked to play sports, including softball with the neighborhood kids, but still spent a lot of time listening to music. She enjoyed dancing and began ballet and tap classes at the age of four. Karen and Richard were close, and shared a common interest in music. In particular, they became fans of
Les Paul and Mary Ford, whose music featured multiple
overdubbed voices and instruments. Richard began piano lessons aged eight, but quickly grew frustrated with the formal direction of the lessons and quit after a year. From the age of 11, he had begun to teach himself to play by ear, and resumed studying with a different teacher. He took a greater interest in playing this time, and would frequently practice at home. By 14, he was interested in performing professionally, and started lessons at
Yale School of Music. In June 1963, the Carpenter family moved to the Los Angeles suburb of
Downey hoping that it would mean better musical opportunities for Richard. Bettis and Richard were unhappy about their dismissal and wrote the song "Mr. Guder" about their former superior. Having enjoyed their multi-layer sound experiments at Osborn's studio, Richard and Karen decided to formally become a duo, calling themselves Carpenters. Later in the year, the duo received an offer to be on the television program
Your All-American College Show. Their performance on the program, playing a cover of "
Dancing in the Street", was their first television appearance, with new bassist Bill Sissoyev. The program had a weekly winner with all weekly winners competing in semi-finals and finals at the end of 12 weeks. The finals featuring "The Dick Carpenter Trio" aired on August 31, 1968. Karen also auditioned as a vocalist in
Kenny Rogers and The First Edition, but was unsuccessful. By this time, Sulzer had become their manager, while they continued to record demos with Osborn, one of which was sent to
A&M Records via a friend of Sulzer's. At the same time, the duo were asked to audition for a
Ford Motor Company advertising campaign, which included $50,000 each and a brand new Ford automobile. They accepted the offer, but quickly withdrew it after receiving a formal offer from A&M. Label owner
Herb Alpert was intrigued by Karen's voice, later saying, "It touched me ... I felt like it was time." On meeting the duo, Alpert said, "Let's hope we can have some hits!"
As the Carpenters Offering (Ticket to Ride) Richard and Karen Carpenter signed to A&M Records on April 22, 1969. Since Karen was 19 and underage, her parents had to co-sign. The duo had decided to sign as "Carpenters", without the definite article, which was influenced by names such as
Buffalo Springfield or
Jefferson Airplane, which they considered "hip". When the Carpenters signed to A&M Records, they were given free rein in the studio to create an album in their own style. The label recommended that
Jack Daugherty produce it, though those present have since suggested that Richard was the
de facto producer. Most of the album's material had already been written for and performed with Spectrum; "Your Wonderful Parade" and "All I Can Do" both came from demos recorded with Osborn. Richard rearranged the Beatles' "
Ticket to Ride" in a melancholic
ballad style. Osborn played bass on the album (and remained their regular studio bassist throughout their career). Karen also played bass on "All of My Life" and "Eve", after being taught the relevant parts by Osborn. The album, entitled
Offering, was released on October 9, 1969, to a positive critical reception; one review in
Billboard said "With radio programming support, Carpenters should have a big hit on their hands." "Ticket to Ride" was released as a single on November 5, and became a minor hit for the Carpenters, peaking at No. 54 on the
Billboard Hot 100 and the Top 20 of the
Adult Contemporary chart. The album sold only 18,000 copies on its initial run, at a loss for A&M, but after the Carpenters' subsequent breakthrough the album was repackaged and reissued internationally under the name
Ticket to Ride and sold 250,000 copies.
Close to You Despite the poor showing of
Offering, A&M retained the Carpenters and decided they should record a hit single instead. In December 1969, they met
Burt Bacharach, who was impressed by their work and invited the duo to open for him at a charity concert, which should include them performing a medley of Bacharach /
Hal David songs. Herb Alpert asked Richard to re-work a Bacharach/David song "
(They Long to Be) Close to You", which had first been recorded in 1963 by
Richard Chamberlain, and
Dionne Warwick the following year. Richard Carpenter decided the song would work as a standalone piece, and wrote an arrangement from scratch without being influenced by any earlier recordings. The duo struggled on an early recording attempt, and for the second session, Alpert suggested that seasoned session player
Hal Blaine play drums instead of Karen, although Blaine stated that Karen approved of his involvement.
Larry Knechtel was tried out as a session pianist, but was replaced by Richard for the final take. The Carpenters' version was released as a single in March 1970. It entered the charts at No. 56, the highest debut of the week ending June 20. It reached No. 1 on July 25 and stayed there for the next four weeks. Their next hit was a song Richard had seen in a television commercial for
Crocker National Bank, "
We've Only Just Begun", written by
Paul Williams and
Roger Nichols. Three months after "Close to You" reached No. 1, the Carpenters' version of "We've Only Just Begun" reached No. 2 on the
Billboard Hot 100, becoming the first of their eventual five No. 2 hits (it was unable to get past "
I'll Be There" by
The Jackson 5 and "
I Think I Love You" by
The Partridge Family during its four-week stay). The song became the first hit single for Williams and Nichols, who think the Carpenters' version is definitive. "Close to You" and "We've Only Just Begun" became
RIAA certified gold singles and were featured on the bestselling album
Close to You, which placed No. 175 on
Rolling Stones
500 Greatest Albums of All Time list in 2003. The album also included "Mr. Guder", the song inspired by Disneyland supervisor Victor Guder, who had dismissed the young songwriters for playing popular music when they worked at the park. "I recognized it to be a great logo as soon as I saw it", says Richard. and became the Carpenters' biggest worldwide hit. In 1974, the Carpenters achieved a significant international hit with an up-tempo remake of Hank Williams's "
Jambalaya (On the Bayou)". While the song was not released as a single in the US, it reached the top 30 in Japan, No. 12 in the United Kingdom (as part of a
double A-side with "Mr. Guder" At Christmas that year, the duo released a jazz-influenced rendition of "
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" and appeared on
Perry Como's Christmas show.
The Singles: 1969–1973 The Carpenters did not record a new album in 1974. They had been touring extensively and were exhausted; Richard later said, "there was simply no time to make one. Nor was I in the mood." Tensions had erupted in the family unit; Richard had started dating Karen Carpenter's hairdresser, but neither Agnes nor Karen took kindly to her and she ultimately ended the relationship and quit. Agnes had always praised Richard's musical talents, which Karen resented. The duo ultimately moved out of their parents' house; at first the siblings shared a home. In May, the Carpenters undertook their first tour of Japan, playing to 85,000 fans. They later likened the scenes when they first touched down at
Tokyo Airport to
Beatlemania. During this period, the pair released just one single, "
I Won't Last a Day Without You" from
A Song for You. The Carpenters finally decided to release their original two years after its original album release and some months after
Maureen McGovern's 1973 cover. In March 1974, the single version became the fifth and final selection from the album to chart in the Top 20, reaching No. 11 on the Hot 100 in May. In place of a new album, their first
greatest hits package was released, featuring
remixes of their singles and newly recorded leads and bridges that allowed each side of the album to play through with no breaks. Richard later regretted this decision. This compilation was entitled
The Singles: 1969–1973, and topped the charts in the US for the week of January 5, 1974. It also topped the UK chart for 17 weeks (non-consecutive) and became one of the bestselling albums of the decade, ultimately selling more than seven million copies in the US alone.
Horizon In 1975, the Carpenters had a hit with a remake of
the Marvelettes' chart-topping 1961 single, "
Please Mr. Postman". The song topped the
Billboard Hot 100 in January and became the duo's third and final No. 1 pop single. It also earned Karen and Richard their record-setting twelfth million-selling gold single in the US. The sound on the track was intended to emulate
Phil Spector's famous
Wall of Sound production technique. Both singles appeared on their 1975 LP
Horizon, which also included covers of the
Eagles' "
Desperado" and
Neil Sedaka's "
Solitaire", which became a moderate hit later that year.
Horizon was certified gold after two weeks, but missed the top ten in the US, peaking at No. 13. The album still had a positive critical reception. The Carpenters toured with Sedaka during 1975, but critics found the latter's performances to be more professional and entertaining. Richard became particularly cross at how Sedaka was getting more attention, and ultimately fired him from the tour.
Heatwave keyboardist and songwriter (and future
Michael Jackson collaborator)
Rod Temperton was asked by Ramone to help with songwriting and arranging, and
Billy Joel's backing band were used for the album. She decided not to record Temperton's "
Off the Wall" and "
Rock with You", which later became hits for Jackson. The album was finished by early 1980, but drew a negative reception from A&M. Her mother Agnes did not like Karen working without Richard, while Richard felt that Karen was not well enough to have worked on the album. The total cost of recording was $500,000 of which $400,000 came from the Carpenters' own funds. The album was not released and although the press announced it was canceled at Karen's request, its rejection devastated her; she felt she had just wasted months of work. It was finally issued in 1996, 13 years after Karen's death.
Made in America and Karen's final days Following the cancellation of her solo album and her marriage to Tom Burris on August 31, 1980, Karen decided to record a new album with Richard, who had now recovered from his addiction and was ready to continue their career. The Carpenters produced their final television special in 1980, called
Music, Music, Music!, with guest stars
Ella Fitzgerald and
John Davidson. Karen's outfit for the show was designed by
Bill Belew, who was nominated for an
Emmy Award for best costume design. He had also designed her wedding dress. Around the time of
Music, Music, Music, Karen briefly returned to a healthier weight; in spring 1980 she went on a retreat with
Olivia Newton-John to the Golden Door health spa in San Diego and also worked with a Beverly Hills internist to improve her eating and restore some lost previously. On June 16, 1981, the Carpenters released what would become their final LP as a duo,
Made in America. The album sold around 200,000 copies and spawned the hit, "
Touch Me When We're Dancing", which reached No. 16 on the Hot 100. It also became their fifteenth and final number one Adult Contemporary hit. The album also produced three other singles, including "
(Want You) Back in My Life Again", "
Those Good Old Dreams", and a remake of the Motown hit "
Beechwood 4-5789". The singles fared well on the adult contemporary charts. "Beechwood 4-5789" was the last single by the Carpenters to be released in Karen's lifetime, on her 32nd birthday. The album concluded with "Because We Are in Love (The Wedding Song)", referring to Karen's marriage. Promotion for the album included a whistle-stop tour of America, Brazil and Europe, including an appearance on ''America's Top Ten''. They mimed to the studio recordings for most performances, singing live for some European performances. After moving to New York City in January 1982, Karen sought therapy for her eating disorder with psychotherapist
Steven Levenkron. In April, she briefly returned to Los Angeles for recording, including a Carpenter / Bettis tune "You're Enough" and a Roger Nichols / Dean Pitchford song, "Now". Richard noticed that while Karen's interpretation of the songs was as strong as ever, he felt the timbre was weak owing to her poor health. He was unimpressed with Levenkron's treatment of Karen, considering it worthless. In September 1982, Karen called Levenkron to say her heart was "beating funny" and she felt dizzy and confused. Admitting herself into the hospital later that month, she was hooked up to an intravenous drip; she ended up gaining in eight weeks. On November 8, she left the hospital and despite pleas from family and friends, she announced that she was returning home to California and that she was cured. Karen maintained this weight of thereafter, for the rest of her life. Her last public appearance was on January 11, 1983, for a photo session celebrating 25 years of the Grammy Awards.
Karen's death On February 1, 1983, Karen and Richard met for dinner and discussed future plans for the Carpenters, including a return to touring. On February 3, Karen visited her parents and discussed finalizing her divorce from Burris. The following morning, her mother found her lying unresponsive on the floor of a
walk-in closet, and she was rushed to the hospital. After Richard and his parents spent 20 minutes in a waiting room, a doctor entered and told them Karen had died. The autopsy stated that her death was caused by "emetine cardiotoxicity due to or as a consequence of anorexia nervosa." Under the anatomical summary, the first item was heart failure, followed by anorexia. The third finding was
cachexia, which is extremely low weight and weakness and general body decline associated with chronic disease. Emetine cardiotoxicity implied that Karen abused
ipecac syrup, although there was no other evidence to suggest that she did as her brother and family never found ipecac vials in her apartment, even after her death. Karen's funeral was at the Downey United Methodist Church on February 8, 1983. More than a thousand mourners attended, among them were her friends
Dorothy Hamill,
Olivia Newton-John,
Petula Clark,
Dionne Warwick and
Herb Alpert. On October 12, 1983, the Carpenters received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame. Richard, Harold, and Agnes Carpenter attended the inauguration, as did many fans. Karen's death brought media attention to anorexia nervosa and related conditions such as
bulimia nervosa, which were little known about at the time.
Post-Carpenters Following Karen's death, Richard has continued to produce recordings of the duo's music, including several albums of previously unreleased material and numerous compilations. The posthumous
Voice of the Heart was released in late 1983 and included some tracks left off
Made in America and earlier albums. It peaked at No. 46 and was certified gold. Two singles were released, "
Make Believe It's Your First Time", a second version of a song Karen had recorded for her solo album, and "Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore". For the second Christmas season following Karen's death, Richard constructed a new Carpenters' Christmas album entitled
An Old-Fashioned Christmas, using outtakes from
Christmas Portrait and recording new material around it. Richard released his first solo album,
Time, in 1987, sharing vocals between himself, Dionne Warwick, and
Dusty Springfield. The track "When Time Was All We Had" was a tribute to Karen. The same year,
Todd Haynes released the short film
Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, which featured
Barbie dolls playing the main cast. Richard objected to music being used in the film without his consent, and served an injunction in 1990 that prevented it from being shown. On January 1, 1989, the television special
The Karen Carpenter Story premiered on CBS, topping the ratings for that week. It included the previously unreleased "You're the One" and "Where Do I Go from Here" in its soundtrack, which were released on the album
Lovelines later that year. Richard married his first cousin (by adoption), Mary Rudolph, on May 19, 1984. Together, they have four daughters and one son, and live in
Thousand Oaks, California, where the couple are supporters of the arts. In 2004, Richard and his wife pledged a $3 million gift to the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Foundation in memory of Karen. Richard has actively supported the
Carpenter Performing Arts Center at his alma mater, Long Beach State. He continues to make concert appearances, including fundraising efforts for the Carpenter Center. In 2007 and 2009, the current owners of the former Carpenter family home on Newville Avenue, Downey, obtained city permits to tear down the existing buildings to make room for newer and larger structures, despite protests from fans. In February 2008, the campaign was covered in the
Los Angeles Times. At that time an adjacent house that had once served as their headquarters and recording studio had already been demolished and the main house was on the verge of being demolished. The original house was featured on the cover of
Now & Then and was where Karen had died. In the words of one fan, "this was our version of
Graceland." The Carpenters (both as a duo and separately) were among hundreds of artists whose material was destroyed in the
2008 Universal fire. Richard told the
Times he had been informed about the destruction of the master tapes by a
Universal Music Enterprises employee while he was working on a reissue for the label, and only after he had made multiple, persistent inquiries into their whereabouts. == Musical style ==