Do you ever just want to weep when you hear Karen Carpenter's voice?

[bertha katzenengel]

:cry:

That she is gone -- 22 years now -- is such a tragedy. What a marvelous voice.

[leftofthedial]

1. she was a great talent

shame she went so early.

I'm not really a Carpenter's fan, but she had a great voice AND was a great pop singer.

[Dan-W]

2. She was, and still is my favorite. n/t

[BikeWriter]

3. No, I want to weep when I hear Bea Arthur's voice!

[ronnykmarshall]

13. Shady Pines Ma!

[BikeWriter]

16. "I'll let you know Ma, I still have Shady Pines on the speed dial!"

[calico1]

4. She had an amazing voice.

I wish she had gotten help sooner. What a waste and what a great loss.

[Imalittleteapot]

5. Yes. I sing-a-long to 2 Carpenter's CDs

when I've had too much to drink. She was wonderful.

[Shell Beau]

6. She had a heavenly voice.

[leftylady]

7. No

I never liked the Carpenters. I always thought that brother and sister thing was wierd.

[progmom]

18. you must really hate the osmonds.

:D

[Misunderestimator]

20. Not to mention the Jackson Five, or the Partridge Family

[progmom]

22. or debarge...

...or the everly brothers! :o

[sundog]

37. or The Jets

:o

[progmom]

38. i was thinking of the jets, but worried that they would be too obscure

:pals:

[leftylady]

21. Never liked the Osmonds or the Jacksons

But I didn't like the Captain and Tenille, either.

[Misunderestimator]

23. Oh... some sort of deep-seated fear of siblings?

:D

[progmom]

25. and husband and wife teams, i guess.

wonder how she feels about Steve and Eydie! :o

[sundog]

40. oh. my. god.

i was just gonna post that :scared: :cry: :scared:

[progmom]

44. i have an unhealthy love of steve and eydie

don't tell anyone, ok?

[sundog]

47. no it's too strange...

i was gonna post it above, next to the jets... then i saw husband & wife & saw your post...

:cry:

i just love their rendition of sleigh ride... farmer gray and all that :D

[progmom]

48. you're serious? we both thought of the jets and steve and eydie?

:scared:

that is too weird. and too wonderful! :)

[leftylady]

35. Probably.

Wouldn't surprise me at all.

[bertha katzenengel]

26. C&T - they're next when the Carpenters CD is over.

I was a young teen groupie of the Captain & Tennille. Toni Tennille & her sisters . . . more great voices. Sigh.

[fudge stripe cookays]

8. Yes, because....

I can't stand the Carpenters. They give me hives.

And I say this in all honesty as a complete 70s-aholic. Sorry.
FSC

[bertha katzenengel]

10. No apology necessary, Cookays.

To each her own. :hi: (#7 bugs me more than your reply.)

[Taverner]

9. Yes

Someone put it best here, saying she was the original Suicide Girl/Goth Queen. Everything about her voice evoked sorrow, even her happier songs. "Sitting on Top of the World" almost comes across as sarcastic, if you listen to it just right.

[MN ChimpH8R]

11. That was a one-in-ten million voice

You cannot learn how to sing like that - you either can or you can't.

Ages ago I read an article in the NYT Sunday magazine which said that one day she just sang along with a song her brother's jazz trio was playing (she was the drummer) and everyone was shocked at what came out of her mouth, including her.

Her brother Richard was always their parents' favorite and they apparently put Karen down constantly. Richard was also a paranoid control freak (and a just-plain freak - he married a cousin) and insanely jealous of the fact that Karen was the focal point - he was supposed to be the star, not her. Without her voice, he would have been nothing more than a jingle writer. Maybe the sadness and insecurity in her life is what made her so amazing with a melancholy song.

She was never allowed to be herself except when she went off and did her solo LP, which Richard then sat on for almost 20 years because it didn't fit the "Carpenters image." What a jackass, and a creepy jackass to boot.

[bertha katzenengel]

15. He put up $1M for the Carpenter Center - the Karen & Richard

Carpenter Performing Arts Center is its full name. I always wondered why they did not just name it the Karen Carpenter PAC. I guess now I know.

[Taverner]

33. And (according to the banned flick "Superstar") he was in the closet

At least that's what Todd Haynes suggeested...

[ronnykmarshall]

12. Yeah ....

I could not believe it when she died.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

14. Hey, bertha...

I agree completely...when I first heard her sing, I could NOT believe my ears...

Out of that skinny little body came this rich, full and melodious voice...incredible...

A terrible waste, and loss for all...Starting with her...

:cry: :pals:

[bertha katzenengel]

17. just too sad

I was in hospital for depression about three years after her death. I wasn't on the eating disorders ward but I saw the young women who were. :cry: Just too damned sad.

[progmom]

19. yes.

what a beautiful voice.

[4_Legs_Good]

24. Her voice is simply unbelievable

It really was just astonishing. Every note.

david

[Lindsey]

27. Karen Carpenter and Patsy Cline...

the best female voices EVER! (I can't listen to Super Star and not cry).

[Enraged_Ape]

39. I agree completely: Cline and Carpenter rule above all

Both had such natural, relaxed, clear tone and perfect pitch. Both injected an incredible amount of nuance and subtle feeling into their music. Patsy and Karen weren't just singers; they were phenomena.

It's a crying shame that we don't have singers like that anymore. I can't think of a modern singer that moves me like Patsy Cline or Karen Carpenter did.

[DBoon]

28. Sonic Youth - Tunic

dreaming, dreaming of a girl like me
hey what are you waiting for - feeding, feeding me
I feel like I'm disappearing - getting smaller every day
but I look in the mirror - I'm bigger in every way

she said:
you aren't never going anywhere
you aren't never going anywhere
I ain't never going anywhere
I ain't never going anywhere

I'm in heaven now - I can see you Richard
goodbye Hollywood, goodbye downey - hello Janis
hello Dennis, Elvis - and all my brand new friends
I'm so glad you're all here with me, until the very end

dreaming, dreaming of how it's supposed to be
but now this tunic's spinning - around my arms and knees
I feel like I'm disappearing - getting smaller every day
but when I open my mouth to sing - I'm bigger in every way

[bertha katzenengel]

32. no way

I had no idea. Who is Sonic Youth? (I'm old, I guess)

[DBoon]

36. This is Sonic Youth

They have been around since the early 1980's

http://www.sonicyouth.com/

[bertha katzenengel]

45. That explains it. I went to a Baptist college in 1981-84 and

we were not allowed to listen to secular music. Never caught up obviously. :) Thanks for the link.

[bertha katzenengel]

46. damned dupes

:blush:

[MN ChimpH8R]

29. Now I am going to be ear-worming on

"Solitaire," "Superstar" and "Goodbye to Love" for the rest of the afternoon.

[TK421]

30. I don't weep, but for some reason I have no appetite.....

[WeRQ4U]

31. Nope

In fact, she ruins my christmas spirit every time I hear her "Merry Christmas, Darling".

There is a line in that song that says "Logs on the fire, fill me with desire." So fucking odd.

[Old_Fart]

34. "Someone printed that she was chubby"

I think thats the words that the writer used to describe her. If we could turn back the hands in time it would have been nice to stop the article before it went to press. Karen might be alive today.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

41. Still love her. The best song she did was Superstar.

[northzax]

42. no, but sometimes I feel like getting a sandwich

just in case.

[MrSlayer]

43. Yes because of how bad her songs are.

Just terrible.