Karen Carpenter's calm, often somber voice was the most distinctive element of their music, settling in perfectly amidst the precise, lush arrangements provided by her brother Richard. The duo's sound drew more from pre-rock pop than rock & roll, but that didn't prevent the Carpenters from appealing to a variety of audiences, particularly Top 40, easy listening, and adult contemporary. While their popularity declined during the latter half of the '70s, they remained one of the most distinctive and recognizable acts the decade produced.
The Carpenters formed in the late '60s in Downey, CA, after their family moved from their native New Haven, CT. Richard had played piano with a cocktail jazz trio in a handful of local Connecticut nightclubs. Once the family had moved to California, he began to study piano while he supported Karen in a trio that featured Wes Jacobs (tuba/bass). With Jacobs and Richard forming her backup band, Karen was signed to the local Californian record label Magic Lamp, who released two unsuccessful singles by the singer. The trio won a Battle of the Bands contest at the Hollywood Bowl in 1966, which led to a record contract with RCA. Signing under the name The Richard Carpenter Trio, the group cut four songs that were never released. Jacobs left the band at the beginning of 1968.
Following Jacobs' departure, the siblings formed Spectrum with Richard's college friend John Bettis. Spectrum fell apart by the end of the year, but the Carpenters continued performing as a duo. The pair recorded some demos at the house of Los Angeles session musician Joe Osborn; the tape was directed toward Herb Alpert, the head of A&M Records, who signed the duo to his record label in early 1969.
Offering, the Carpenters' first album, was released in November 1969. Neither Offering or the accompanying single, a cover of the Beatles' "Ticket to Ride," made a big impression. However, the Carpenters' fortunes changed with their second single, a version of Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "(They Long to Be) Close to You." Taken from the album Close to You, the single became the group's first number one, spending four weeks on the top of the U.S. charts. "Close to You" became an international hit, beginning a five-year period where the duo was one of the most popular recording acts in the world. During that period the Carpenters won two Grammy Awards, including Best New Artist of 1970, and had an impressive string of Top Ten hits, including "Rainy Days and Mondays," "Superstar," "Hurting Each Other," "Goodbye to Love," "Yesterday Once More," and "Top of the World."
After 1975's number-four hit "Only Yesterday," the group's popularity began to decline. For the latter half of the '70s, the duo were plagued by personal problems. Richard had become addicted to prescription drugs; in 1978, he entered a recovery clinic, kicking his habit. Karen, meanwhile, became afflicted with anorexia nervosa, a disease she suffered from for the rest of her life. On top of their health problems, the group's singles had stopped reaching the Top Ten and by 1978, they weren't even reaching the Top 40. Consequently, Karen decided to pursue a solo career, recording a solo album in 1979 with Phil Ramone. The record was not completed at that time (though it would be released in 1996), and she returned to the Carpenters later that year. The reunited duo released their last album of new material, Made in America, in 1981. The album marked a commercial comeback, as "Touch Me When We're Dancing" made it to number 16 on the charts. However, Karen's health continued to decline, forcing the duo out of the spotlight. On February 4, 1983, Karen was found unconscious at her parents' home in Downey; she died in the hospital shortly after due to cardiac arrest, which was later due to the strain on her heart caused by years of crash dieting caused by anorexia nervosa.
After Karen's death, Richard Carpenter concentrated on production work and assembling various compilations of the Carpenters' recorded work. In 1987, he released a solo album called Time, which featured guest appearances by Dusty Springfield and Dionne Warwick. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
from http://music.msn.com/artist/?artist=1607403&contenttype=artistsongs
Caravan
Carpenters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The myst'ry of their fading light
That shines upon our caravan
Sleep upon my shoulder as we creep
Across the sand so I may keep
The mem'ry of our caravan
You are so inviting
Resting in my arms
As I thrill to the magic charms
Of you beside me here beneath the blue
My dream of love is coming true
Within our desert caravan
The lyrics to Carpenters' "Caravan" paint a vivid picture of a romantic adventure in the desert. The song begins with the singer describing the night sky above, with stars shining bright and fading away into the mystery of the universe. The beauty of the night sky is contrasted with the harshness of the desert landscape, which is crossed by the couple in their caravan.
As they make their way across the sand, the couple sleeps together, with the singer inviting their lover to rest their head on their shoulder. The song suggests that this journey is both exciting and romantic, with the singer feeling the magic charms of his lover beside him as they travel together. The desert becomes a backdrop for their love story, and the song implies that the couple's dream of love is coming true within their caravan.
Overall, "Caravan" is a celebration of love, adventure, and the beauty of the natural world. It captures the joy and excitement of falling in love, as well as the sense of awe and wonder that comes with being surrounded by nature.
Line by Line Meaning
Night and stars above that shine so bright
The bright stars shining above in the night sky fill us with awe
The myst'ry of their fading light
The mystery of how the stars fade away into the morning light leaves us wondering about the secrets of the universe
That shines upon our caravan
The light of the stars cast a beautiful glow upon our caravan as we journey through the desert
Sleep upon my shoulder as we creep
As we slowly travel through the sand, you can rest peacefully on my shoulder
Across the sand so I may keep
As we cross the desert, I want to keep the memory of this moment forever
The mem'ry of our caravan
The memories we create on this journey will always stay with us
This is so exciting
This adventure is incredibly thrilling
You are so inviting
Being with you is so enticing and wonderful
Resting in my arms
You are comfortable and secure when you are in my arms
As I thrill to the magic charms
I am captivated and mesmerized by your magical charms and love
Of you beside me here beneath the blue
With you by my side, under the blue sky, everything feels perfect and amazing
My dream of love is coming true
My dream of finding true love is finally coming true
Within our desert caravan
Our love is blossoming and growing stronger within the confines of our desert caravan
Lyrics © Royalty Network, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: RACHEL MARY BERKELEY PORTMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Valérie V
Imagine if they returned to this style of music after have their big success... Karen at drums, Richard at piano, play jazz in little place...If producers had let them to make that...Maybe people had understood how so great they were like musicians... It will stay just a dream but it is a beautiful dream...
Gordon Wieland
Three teenage musicians. Impressive.
Eli Ortega,Jr
Awesome drum playing. If she had not, passed away_ who knows what we could have expected
from her?
dcbandnerd
I really wish producers and other industry types weren't so closed minded and saw what an incredible talent Karen was on the drums, along with her singing voice. Maybe if she were freer to do that - something she really did love to do - she would have had a longer, fuller life and we all could have benefited from it.
sidney
She was born in 1950. So she was 15 or 16? Simply amazing.
ConsumerWarrior
There used to be a video here on YouTube from 1964 of The Carpenters playing at some concert, but I don't know what happened to it. I don't believe that that 1964 concert was televised nationwide, but it was quite interesting. Karen Carpenter was 14 years old and her brother, Richard, was 17 years old back then. Like the song above, they only performed instrumentals back then or at least at that particular concert. I once saw a rerun of "The Ed Sullivan Show" from 1969 in which Ed Sullivan revealed that Karen Carpenter originally started out just playing the drums and later on began singing at music performances. The Carpenters appeared on that one show to perform their song "Close To You."
Bill Kalivas
I learned something new today. The Carpenters playing a jazz set. I knew Karen was a pretty cool drummer but I never expected this! Hats off to Richard on the piano.
dreamyblue44
What talented musicians! Interesting that they had that grounding in jazz :)
MeloLand
Karen on drums.... awsome!!
matt mallecoccio
her drumming on this song rivals Gene Krupa's and even comes close to rivaling buddy rich's. I believe Buddy said she was his favorite drummer probably other than himself lol