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
Road Ode
Carpenters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Does anybody know where it goes
I remember the last time
The signs pointed home a month ago
Rented cars and empty motel rooms
Lead you everywhere but home
Crowds of people shouting
How they love the show
They don?t know
(*) the endless crowds of faces
Just keep on wearing a smile
The countless times and places lead me back
Please take me back home
(**) I wonder if these feelings ever change
How many times I?ll lift this load
Come tomorrow I?ll be gone again
Roads of sorrows coming to an end for me
Repeat (*)
Repeat (**)
The Carpenters' Road Ode is a melancholic reflection on the isolation that comes with life on the road. The lonely protagonist is searching for a sense of home, a place where he truly belongs. He's been on this road for so long that he's forgotten where it leads. Even when the signs point him in the right direction, he's still lost, because he no longer has a sense of what home is. Instead, he's living out of rented cars and empty motel rooms, roaming from town to town without any direction or purpose.
The endless crowds of faces he meets along the way don't offer him any solace either. Despite their professed love for his show, he knows that they don't know him at all. They're just strangers passing through his life, their faces blending together into an anonymous mass. All he wants is to go back home, to a place where he's known and loved for who he is, not just the persona he presents.
Overall, Road Ode is a poignant meditation on the costs of fame and the human desire for connection and belonging. It's a reminder that no matter how successful we become or how far we travel, we all need a place to call home.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been on this lonely road so long
I have been traveling down this isolated path for a long time
Does anybody know where it goes
Does anyone know where this road ultimately leads?
I remember the last time
I can recall the most recent instance
The signs pointed home a month ago
I saw markers indicating the way back home a month back
Rented cars and empty motel rooms
The cars I have borrowed and the hotels I stayed at are devoid of personal belongings
Lead you everywhere but home
These rentals take you far and away from home
Crowds of people shouting
Multitudes of individuals screaming
How they love the show
Undoubtedly, they relish the performance
They don't know
They are unaware of my true emotions
the endless crowds of faces
Countless visages and expressions are present
Just keep on wearing a smile
I continue to put on a pleasant expression
The countless times and places lead me back
Numerous instances and locations cause me to reminisce longingly
Please take me back home
I plead to be taken back to my place of origin
I wonder if these feelings ever change
I ponder if my sentiments will ever transform
How many times Iβll lift this load
I cannot count how frequently I have carried this burden
Come tomorrow Iβll be gone again
For tomorrow, I will embark on a new journey once more
Roads of sorrows coming to an end for me
The depressing highways will no longer be a part of my life
Lyrics Β© Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAN WOODHAMS, GARY SIMS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
J Parker
on Happy
Wrong lyrics shown. Correct ones --- Happy by Carpenters
I've played the game of love before.
Too young to know
How hard the fall could be;
I never thought I'd try again.
Somehow you brought
The gambler out in me.
You can deal me in this time around.
Even though the odds are high,
We'll play them down.
You may be a chance I need to take,
And the hand I'm holdin' says it's no mistake.
Happy is the way I'm feelin',
And I know it comes from being with you.
All at once my life is changin',
And I know it's 'cause I'm fallin' in love with you.
Fallin' in love with you.
Fallin' in love.
Fallin' in love with you.
If this is luck then let it ride.
If it's the starts,
They're surely on my side.
I've never been so safisfied
By love before;
For all the times I've tried.
These beginnings could mean more
Than the brief affair I bargained for.
Little did I know, when we began,
That my time had come to win a hand.
Happy is the way I'm feelin',
And I know it comes from being with you.
All at once my life is changin',
And I know it's 'cause I'm fallin' in love with you.
Fallin' in love with you.
Fallin' in love.
Fallin' in love with you.
Please forgive me if I seem
To be walking through a waking dream.
Laughter never came so easily;
There's a freedom here that's new to me.
Happy is the way I'm feelin',
And I know it comes from being with you.
All at once my life is changin',
And I know it's 'cause I'm fallin' in love with you.
Fallin' in love with you.
Fallin' in love.
Fallin' in love with you.