inspired by http://www.mirai.or.jp/~gpda/cp/
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Richard Carpenter 1946~
Richard Carpenter, a talented pianist and producer, is the older of
the Carpenters. Although we usually identify Karen's amazing voice as the
dominate "sound" of the group, it is Richard's contributions
(in terms of the arrangement) that allowed them to achieve the unique sound
we have come to know. Many songs exhibit this beautiful blend of sounds
and my personal favorite is "Close to You".
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Karen Carpenter 1950~1983
Karen started as a drummer and it wasn't until later that her unique
vocal talent surfaced. A record company producer was the first to realize
that Karen possessed a unique and beautiful voice. The most fascinating
thing about Karen's voice is that it is completely pure and natural even
without formal training. Although Richard's talent was the foundation for
the Carpenters, Karen's wonderful voice quickly became the reason for the
group's success. Karen passed away at the age of 32 on February 4th, 1983.
She died of a heart failure which arose from complications from 8 year
battle with anorexia nervosa. Although she's gone, her rich and fascinating
voice still haunts millions. An excellent example of her rich vocal quality
can be heard in the song "You're the One"
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Carpenters 1969~
After being rejected by other record producers for being too "Soft"
for the market at that time, Jack Daugherty, the A&M record producer
was attracted to Richard and Karen's demo-tape. "The Carpenters"
signed their first recording contract with A&M in April of 1969, and
began a long and relationship with Herb Alpert's (The A in A&M) record
company. They made their debut in November of 1969 and their second release,
"Close to You", reached the top of the American charts. In a
career which saw them win 3 Grammy's, the Carpenters never broke up, though
Karen did work for a time with Phil Ramone on a solo album. A number of
tracks from this album will be released this September, so look out for
it.
