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Karen Carpenter
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Karen Carpenter
Karen Carpenter in 1972 White House.png
Carpenter at the White House in August 1972
Background information
Birth name Karen Anne Carpenter
Born March 2, 1950[1]
New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
Origin Downey, California, U.S.
Died February 4, 1983 (aged 32)[1]
Downey, California, U.S.
Genres
Popeasy listeningsoft rockjazz
Occupation(s) Musician, singer
Instruments
Vocalsdrums
Years active 1969–1983[2]
Labels A&M
Associated acts
The CarpentersRichard Carpenter
Website richardandkarencarpenter.com
Spouse(s) Thomas Burris
(m. 1980; sep 1981)
Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950 – February 4, 1983) was an American singer and
drummer who, along with her older brother Richard, was part of the duo the Carpenters.
She was praised for her 3-octave contralto vocal range. Her drumming abilities were viewed
positively by other musicians and critics. Her struggles with eating disorders would later
raise awareness of anorexia and body dysmorphia.

Carpenter was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and moved to Downey, California, in 1963
with her family. She began to study the drums in high school and joined the Long Beach
State choir after graduating. After several years of touring and recording, the Carpenters
were signed to A&M Records in 1969, achieving commercial and critical success throughout
the 1970s. Initially, Carpenter was the band's full-time drummer, but gradually took the role
of frontwoman as drumming was reduced to a handful of live showcases or tracks on
albums. While the Carpenters were on hiatus in the late 1970s, she recorded a solo album,
which was released years after her death.

Carpenter suffered from anorexia nervosa, which was little-known at the time, and was
briefly married in the early 1980s. She died at age 32 from heart failure caused by
complications related to her illness. Her death led to increased visibility and awareness of
eating disorders. Her work continues to attract praise, including being listed among Rolling
Stone's 100 greatest singers of all time.

Contents
1 Early life
2 Career
2.1 The Carpenters
2.2 Solo
3 Personal life
4 Illness and death
5 Legacy
6 Biographies
7 Discography
7.1 Studio albums
7.2 Posthumous albums
7.3 Solo albums
8 References
8.1 Notes
8.2 Citations
8.3 Sources
9 External links
Early life
Karen Anne Carpenter was born on March 2, 1950, in New Haven, Connecticut, the
daughter of Agnes Reuwer (née Tatum, March 5, 1915 – November 10, 1996) and Harold
Bertram Carpenter (November 8, 1908 – October 15, 1988).[3] Harold was born in Wuzhou,
China, where his parents were missionaries. He was educated at boarding schools in
England before finding work in the printing business.[4]

Carpenter's only sibling, Richard, the elder by three years, developed an interest in music at
an early age, becoming a piano prodigy. Karen's first words were "bye-bye" and "stop it",
the latter spoken in response to Richard. She enjoyed dancing and by age four was enrolled
in tap dancing and ballet classes.[5]

The family moved in June 1963 to the Los Angeles suburb of Downey after Harold was
offered a job there by a former business associate.[6] Carpenter entered Downey High
School in 1964 at age 14 and was a year younger than her classmates.[7] She joined the
school band, initially to avoid gym classes. Bruce Gifford, the conductor (who had previously
taught her older brother), gave her the glockenspiel, an instrument she disliked, and after
admiring the performance of her friend and classmate, drummer Frankie Chavez (who had
been playing from an early age and idolized jazz drummer Buddy Rich), she asked if she
could play those instead.[8] Carpenter wanted a Ludwig drum set because it was used by
her favorite drummers, Joe Morello and Ringo Starr. Chavez persuaded her family to buy her
a $300 (the equivalent of $2,500 in 2019) Ludwig kit, and he began to teach her how to play.
[9] Her enthusiasm for drumming led to teaching herself how to play complicated lines, and
studying the difference between traditional and matched grip.[10] Within a year, she could
play in complex time signatures, such as the 5
4 in Dave Brubeck's "Take Five".[11]

Carpenter was initially nervous about performing in public, but said she "was too involved in
the music to worry about it".[12] She graduated from Downey High School in the spring of
1967, receiving the John Philip Sousa Band Award, and enrolled as a music major at Long
Beach State where she performed in the college choir with Richard. The choir's director,
Frank Pooler, said that Karen had a good voice that was particularly suited to pop, and gave
her lessons in order for her to develop a three-octave range.[13][14]

Career
The Carpenters
Main article: The Carpenters

Karen Carpenter drumming on stage, early 1970s

Carpenter's first band was Two Plus Two, an all-girl trio formed with friends from Downey
High. They split up after she suggested her brother Richard join the group.[15] In 1965,
Karen, Richard, and his college friend Wes Jacobs, a bassist and tuba player, formed the
Richard Carpenter Trio.[16] The band rehearsed daily, played jazz in nightclubs, and also
appeared on the TV talent show Your All-American College Show.[8] Richard was
immediately impressed with his sister's musical talent, saying she would "speedily maneuver
the sticks as if she had been born in a drum factory".[17] She did not sing at this point;
instead, singer Margaret Shanor guested on some numbers.[16] The trio signed a contract
with RCA Records and recorded two instrumentals, but they were not released.[17]

In April 1966, the Carpenters were invited to audition at a session with bassist Joe Osborn,
well known for being part of the studio-musician collective The Wrecking Crew. Though she
was initially expected to just be the drummer, Karen tried singing and impressed everyone
there with her distinctive voice.[18] Osborn signed a recording contract with her for his
label, Magic Lamp Records; he was not particularly interested in Richard's involvement.[19]

In 1967, Jacobs left the trio to study at the Juilliard School, and the Carpenter siblings were
keen to try out other musical styles.[9] Along with other musicians, including Gary Sims and
John Bettis, the siblings formed the group Spectrum, which focused on a harmonious vocal
sound and recorded many demo tapes in Osborn's garage studio, working out how to
overdub voices onto multitrack tape. Many of those tapes were rejected by record
companies.[20][21] The group had difficulty attracting a live following, as their sound was
too dissimilar from the hard rock and psychedelic rock then popular in clubs.[22][a]

A&M Records finally signed the Carpenters to a recording contract in 1969.[2][24] Karen
started out as both the group's drummer and co-lead singer, and she originally sang all her
vocals from behind the drum set.[25] She sang most of the songs on the band's first album,
Offering (later retitled Ticket to Ride); her brother wrote ten out of the album's thirteen
songs and sang on five of them. The opening and concluding tracks were sung by both
siblings in unison. As well as drumming, Karen played bass guitar on two songs, "All of My
Life" and "Eve", under Osborn's guidance.[26][b] On "All I Can Do", she played in 5/4 time,
while "Your Wonderful Parade" featured multiple snare and bass drum overdubs to emulate
the sound of a marching band.[11] The track "Ticket to Ride", which was a cover of a Beatles
song that later became the album's title track, was released as the Carpenters' first single; it
reached No. 54 on the Billboard Hot 100.[28] Their next album, 1970's Close to You,
featured two hit singles: "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and "We've Only Just Begun".
They peaked at No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, on the Hot 100.[29]

Because she was just 5 feet 4 inches (1.63 m) tall, it was difficult for people in the audience
to see Karen behind her kit.[25] After reviews complained that the group had no focal point
in live shows, Richard and manager Sherwin Bash persuaded her to stand at the microphone
to sing the band's hits while another musician played the drums (former Disney
Mouseketeer Cubby O'Brien served as the band's other drummer for many years).[25][30]
She initially struggled in live performances singing solo, as she felt more secure behind the
drum kit.[31] After the release of Now & Then in 1973, the albums tended to have
Carpenter singing more and drumming less, and she did become the focal point of all
records and live performances; Bash said "she was the one that people watched".[32]
Starting with the Carpenters' 1976 concert tour and continuing thereafter, she would
perform a showcase where she moved around the stage playing various configurations of
drums.[33] Her studio performances benefited from close miking that captured the nuances
of her voice well. Though she had a three-octave range, many of the duo's hits prominently
feature her lower contralto singing, leading her to quip, "The money's in the basement".[30]
[33]

A promotional photograph of Carpenter from 1973

Carpenter always considered herself a "drummer who sang".[34] She preferred Ludwig
Drums, including the Ludwig SuperSensitive snare, which she favored greatly.[35] However,
she did not drum on every Carpenters' recording. She was the only featured drummer on
Ticket to Ride and on Now & Then, except for "Jambalaya".[11][34] According to Hal Blaine,
Karen played on many of the album cuts[30] and he played on most of the Carpenters'
studio sessions where she did not play drums herself, but it has to be noted that Karen was
informed about Blaine's involvement and she approved on the basis that she and Richard
really wanted a hit single.[36][37] The duo were happy for Blaine to take the role in the
studio as he was a respected session musician and it was easier to record Carpenter's guide
vocal without it spilling onto the drum mics.[30] Blaine complimented Karen's drumming
skills, but believed her greatest strength was as a vocalist and thought himself more adept
at work in a recording studio which required a different approach from her experience
drumming live onstage for an audience.[38] On Made in America, Karen provided
percussion on "Those Good Old Dreams" in tandem with Paulinho da Costa, and played
drums on the song "When it's Gone (It's Just Gone)" in unison with Larrie Londin.[2]

In the mid-1970s Richard Carpenter developed an addiction to Quaaludes. The Carpenters

frequently canceled tour dates, and they stopped touring altogether after their September
4, 1978, concert at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. In 1980, Karen performed a medley of
standards in a duet with Ella Fitzgerald on the Carpenters' television program Music, Music,
Music.[39] In 1981, after release of the Made in America album (which turned out to be
their last), the Carpenters returned to the stage and did some promotional tours, including
an appearance for the BBC programme Nationwide.[40][41]

"Now" was the last song Carpenter recorded, in April 1982. Though Richard was concerned
about her health, he still thought her voice sounded as good as ever.[42][43]

Solo
Carpenter released her first solo record, "Looking for Love" / "I'll Be Yours" in 1967 on
Osborn's Magic Lamp label. Only 500 copies were pressed, and the label folded shortly
afterwards.[44] In 1979, while Richard took a year off to treat his addiction, Karen decided
to make a solo album with producer Phil Ramone.[45] The sessions produced music that
was different from the usual Carpenters material, tending more towards disco and up-
tempo numbers, with more mature lyrics and taking full advantage of Karen's upper vocal
register. The album met with a tepid response from Richard and A&M executives in early
1980. The album was shelved by A&M Records co-owner Herb Alpert, in spite of attempts
by producer Quincy Jones to convince him to release the solo record after a remix.[46] A&M
subsequently charged Carpenter $400,000 to cover the cost of recording her unreleased
album, to be paid out of the duo's future royalties.[47] A portion of the solo album was
commercially released in 1989, when some of its tracks (as remixed by Richard) were
included on the album Lovelines, the final album of previously unreleased material from the
Carpenters. In 1996, the complete solo album, titled Karen Carpenter, was finally released.
[48][49]

Personal life
Carpenter had a complicated relationship with her parents. They had hoped that Richard's
musical talents would be recognized and that he would enter the music business, but were
not prepared for Karen's success.[19] She continued to live with them until 1974.[50] In
1976, Carpenter bought two Century City apartments that she combined into one; the
doorbell chimed the opening notes of "We've Only Just Begun".[51] She collected Disney
memorabilia and liked to play softball and baseball.[52][53] Growing up, she had played
baseball with other children on the street, and was picked before her brother for games.[54]
She studied baseball statistics carefully and became a fan of the New York Yankees.[55] In
the early 1970s she would become the pitcher on a celebrity all-star softball team.[52]

Petula Clark, Olivia Newton-John and Dionne Warwick were her close friends.[53][56][57]
While she was enjoying success as a female drummer in what was primarily an all-male
occupation, Carpenter was not supportive of the Women's liberation movement, saying she
believed a wife should cook for her husband and that when married, this was what she
planned to do.[58]

In early interviews, Carpenter showed no interest in marriage or dating, believing that a

relationship would not survive constant touring, adding "as long as we're on the road most
of the time, I will never marry".[59] In 1976, she said the music business made it hard to
meet people and that she refused to just marry someone for the sake of it.[60] Carpenter
admitted to Olivia Newton-John that she longed for a happy marriage and family.[61] She
later dated several notable men, including Mike Curb, Tony Danza, Terry Ellis, Mark Harmon,
Steve Martin and Alan Osmond.[46] After a whirlwind romance, she married real-estate
developer Thomas James Burris on August 31, 1980, in the Crystal Room of The Beverly Hills
Hotel. Burris, divorced with an 18-year-old son, was nine years her senior. A new song she
performed at the ceremony, "Because We Are in Love", was released in 1981. The couple
settled in Newport Beach.[62]

Carpenter desperately wanted children, but Burris had undergone a vasectomy and refused
to get an operation to reverse it. Their marriage did not survive this disagreement, and
ended after 14 months.[63][64] Burris was living beyond his means, borrowing up to
$50,000 (the equivalent of $141,000 in 2019) at a time from his wife, to the point where
reportedly she had only stocks and bonds left. Carpenter's friends also indicated he was
abusive towards her, often being impatient; they stated she remained fearful when he
would occasionally lose his temper.[63] Karen Kamon, a close friend, recounted an incident
in which she and Carpenter went to their normal hangout, Hamburger Hamlet, and
Carpenter appeared to be distant emotionally, sitting not at their regular table but in the
dark, wearing large dark sunglasses, unable to eat and crying. According to Kamon, the
marriage was "the straw that broke the camel's back. It was absolutely the worst thing that
could have ever happened to her".[65]

In September 1981, Carpenter revised her will and left her marital home and its contents to
Burris, but left everything else to her brother and parents, including her fortune estimated
at 5–10 million dollars (between $14,000,000 and $28,000,000 in 2019).[65] Two months
later, following an argument after a family dinner in a restaurant, Carpenter and Burris
broke up.[66] Carpenter filed for divorce on October 28, 1982, while she was in Lenox Hill
Hospital.[67]

Illness and death

Carpenter began dieting while in high school. Under a doctor's guidance, she began the
Stillman diet, eating lean foods, drinking eight glasses of water a day, and avoiding fatty
foods. She reduced her weight to 120 pounds (54 kg; 8 st 8 lb) and stayed approximately at
that weight until around 1973, when the Carpenters' career reached its peak.[68] That year,
she happened to see a photo of herself taken at a concert in which her outfit made her
appear heavy. Carpenter hired a personal trainer who advised her to change her diet. The
new diet caused her to build muscle, which made her feel heavier instead of slimmer.
Carpenter fired the trainer and began her own weight loss program using exercise
equipment and counting calories. She lost about 20 pounds (9 kg) and intended to lose
another five pounds. Her eating habits also changed around this time, with Carpenter trying
to get food off her plate by offering it to others at the meal as a taste.[69]

By September 1975, her weight was 91 pounds (41 kg; 6 st 7 lb).[70] At live performances,
fans reacted audibly to her gaunt appearance and many wrote to the pair to inquire what
was wrong.[43] She refused to declare publicly that she was in ill health; on her 1981
Nationwide appearance, she simply said she was "pooped".[71] Richard later stated that he
and his parents did not know how to help Karen. In 1981, she told Richard there was a
problem and she needed help with it.[43] Carpenter spoke with Cherry Boone, who had
recovered from anorexia, and contacted Boone's doctor for help. She was hoping to find a
quick solution to her problem, as she had performing and recording obligations, but the
doctor told her treatment could take from one to three years.[72] She then chose to be
treated in New York City by psychotherapist Steven Levenkron.[43][73]

By late 1981, Carpenter was using thyroid replacement medication she obtained as "Karen
Burris", in order to increase her metabolism. This was used by Karen in conjunction with
increased consumption of the laxatives (up to 80–90 tablets per night) she had long relied
upon, which caused food to pass quickly through her digestive tract. Despite Levenkron's
treatment, including confiscation of medications Karen misused, her condition continued to
deteriorate, and she lost more weight. Carpenter told Levenkron she felt dizzy and that her
heart was beating irregularly. Finally, in September 1982, she was admitted to Lenox Hill
Hospital in New York, where she was placed on intravenous parenteral nutrition. The
procedure was successful and she gained some weight in a relatively short time, but this put
a strain on her heart, which was already weak from years of improper diet.[74] She
maintained a relatively stable weight for the rest of her life.[75][76]

Carpenter returned to California in November 1982, determined to reinvigorate her career,

finalize her divorce and begin a new album with Richard.[74] On December 17, 1982, she
gave her last singing performance in the multi-purpose room of the Buckley School in
Sherman Oaks, California, singing Christmas carols for her godchildren, their classmates and
other friends.[77] On January 11, 1983, Karen made her last public appearance at a
gathering of past Grammy Award winners, who were commemorating the show's 25th
anniversary.[78][79] She seemed somewhat frail and worn out, but according to Dionne
Warwick, was vibrant and outgoing, exclaiming, "Look at me! I've got an ass!"[78] She had
also begun to write songs after returning to California and told Warwick she had "a lot of
living left to do".[72]

On February 1, 1983, Carpenter saw her brother for the last time and discussed new plans
for the Carpenters and resuming touring.[c] A few days later, on February 4, Carpenter was
scheduled to sign final papers making her divorce official. Shortly after waking up on that
day, she collapsed in her bedroom at her parents' home in Downey. Paramedics found her
heart beating once every 10 seconds.[80] She was pronounced dead at Downey Community
Hospital at 9:51 am.[81][82]

Carpenter's funeral was held February 8, 1983, at Downey United Methodist Church.
Approximately one thousand mourners attended, including her friends Dorothy Hamill,[83]
Olivia Newton-John, Petula Clark[84] and Dionne Warwick.[85][86] Her estranged husband
Thomas Burris also attended, and tossed his wedding ring into her casket.[46] Carpenter
was buried at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Cypress, California.[85] In 2003 her body
was moved, to be placed with her parents in a mausoleum at the Pierce Brothers Valley
Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village, California.[87]

An autopsy released on March 11, 1983, ruled out drug overdose,[88] attributing death to
"emetine cardiotoxicity due to or as a consequence of anorexia nervosa".[74] She was
discovered to have a blood sugar level of 1,110 milligrams per decilitre, more than ten times
the average.[89] Two years later, the coroner told colleagues that Carpenter's heart failure
was caused by repeated use of ipecac syrup, an over-the-counter emetic often used to
induce vomiting in cases of overdosing or poisoning.[74][d] This was disputed by Levenkron,
who said he had never known her to use ipecac, or seen evidence she had been vomiting.
[91] Carpenter's friends were convinced that she had abused laxatives and thyroid
medication to maintain her low body weight and thought this had started after her marriage
began to crumble.[73]

Legacy
"This is a sad day, but at the same time a very special and beautiful day to my family and
me. My only regret is that Karen is not physically here to share it with us, but I know that
she is very much alive in our minds, and in our hearts".
Richard Carpenter speaking at the Hollywood Walk of Fame, 1983[92]

The Carpenters' star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame

Carpenter's singing has attracted critical praise and influenced several significant musicians
and singers, including Madonna, Sheryl Crow, Pat Metheny, Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon,
Shania Twain, Natalie Imbruglia, and k.d. lang.[30][93] Paul McCartney has said she had "the
best female voice in the world: melodic, tuneful and distinctive".[64] She has been called
"one of the greatest voices of our lifetime" by Elton John.[1] Her drumming has been
praised by fellow musicians Hal Blaine, Cubby O'Brien and Buddy Rich[94] and by Modern
Drummer magazine. In 1975, she was voted the best rock drummer in a poll of Playboy
readers, beating Led Zeppelin's John Bonham.[30]

On October 12, 1983, shortly after her death, the Carpenters received a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame.[92][95] In 1999, VH1 ranked Carpenter at No. 29 on its list of the
100 Greatest Women of Rock and Roll.[96] In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked Carpenter number
94 on its list of the 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, calling her voice "impossibly lush and
almost shockingly intimate", adding "even the sappiest songs sound like she was staring
directly into your eyes."[1]

Carpenter's death brought media attention to conditions such as anorexia nervosa;[97] the
condition had not been widely known beforehand.[98] Her family started the Karen A.
Carpenter Memorial Foundation, which raised money for research on anorexia nervosa and
other eating disorders.[99]

Carpenter is known to fans as "Lead Sister". This originated from a mispronunciation of

"lead singer" by a Japanese journalist in 1974, and she later wore a T-shirt with the
nickname during live shows.[100]

Biographies
A 43-minute film titled Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story, directed by Todd Haynes, was
released in 1987, and featured Barbie dolls as the characters. It was withdrawn from
circulation in 1990, after Haynes lost a copyright infringement lawsuit filed by Richard.[101]
[102][103] The film's title is derived from The Carpenters' 1971 hit song, "Superstar". Over
the years, it has developed into a cult film and is included in Entertainment Weekly's 2003
list of top 50 cult movies.[104]

On January 1, 1989, the similarly titled made-for-TV movie The Karen Carpenter Story aired
on CBS with Cynthia Gibb in the title role. Gibb lip-synched the songs to Carpenter's
recorded voice, with the exception of "The End of the World." Both films use the song "This
Masquerade" in the background while showing Carpenter's marriage to Burris.[105][106]
The movie helped revive the Carpenters' critical standing and increased their music's
popularity.[107][108]

Richard Carpenter helped in the productions of the documentaries Close to You:

Remembering The Carpenters (1997)[109] and Only Yesterday: The Carpenters Story (2007).
[110] Randy Schmidt wrote a biography about Carpenter entitled Little Girl Blue, published
in 2010, which included a foreword from Warwick.[111] It covered material from a different
viewpoints compared to officially-endorsed biographies, and was based on interviews with
other friends and associates. The New York Times said the book was "one of the saddest
tales in pop."[112]

Discography
Main article: The Carpenters discography
Studio albums
Offering (later reissued as Ticket to Ride) (1969)[113]
Close to You (1970)[48]
Carpenters (1971)[48]
A Song for You (1972)[48]
Now & Then (1973)[48]
Horizon (1975)[48]
A Kind of Hush (1976)[48]
Passage (1977)[48]
Christmas Portrait (1978)[48]
Made in America (1981)[48]
Posthumous albums
Voice of the Heart (1983)[48]
An Old-Fashioned Christmas (1984)[48]
Lovelines (1989)[48]
As Time Goes By (2001/2004)[48]
Solo albums
Karen Carpenter (1996)[48]
References
Notes
The tapes of the original sessions were lost in a fire at Joe Osborn's house and the surviving
versions of those early songs exist only as fragile acetate reference discs.[23]
Although Karen's bass playing is heard on the original album, Richard remixed both songs
(as he has done with almost every Carpenters song), and Joe Osborn's bass playing was
substituted on later "greatest hits" releases.[26][27]
Richard spoke to his sister the day before her death. Karen called him to ask his opinion
about a new videocassette recorder she planned on buying. He described her as sounding
"absolutely fine".[43]
Ipecac syrup is no longer marketed in the United States for over-the-counter use as an
emetic.[90]
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 Kornblum. "Karen Carpenter Autopsy Report" (PDF). Retrieved January 12, 2019. A well-
developed, thin 32-year-old white female which measures 64 inches in length and weighs
108 pounds.
"Little Girl Blue Quotes by Randy L. Schmidt". Goodreads. Retrieved July 20, 2019. Karen
admitted to Levenkron she was taking an unfathomable number of laxative tablets—eighty
to ninety Dulcolax a night. The ingestion of large quantities of laxatives did not surprise
Levenkron. [...] What did stun Levenkron was Karen’s next casual disclosure. She was also
taking thyroid medication—ten pills a day. He was shocked, especially when she explained
that she had a normal thyroid.
Schmidt 2010, p. 270.
Schmidt 2010, p. 271.
"Industry Mourns Death of Singer Karen Carpenter". Cash Box. 44 (38): 30. February 19,
1983. ISSN 0008-7289. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
Chris Willman (February 4, 2013). "Karen Carpenter's Death, 30 Years On: The Tipping Point
For Eating Disorder Awareness". Yahoo! Music. Retrieved June 3, 2015.
Schmidt 2010, p. 278.
Seiler, Michael (February 4, 1983). "Karen Carpenter, Half of Soft-Rock Duo, Dead at 32".
Los Angeles Times. p. 2. Retrieved September 23, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. open access
Schmidt 2012, p. 245.
Petrucelli 2009, p. 72.
Markel, Michelle (February 9, 1983). "1,000 Attend Rites for Karen Carpenter". Los Angeles
Times. p. 5. Retrieved September 23, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. open access
Markel, Michelle (February 9, 1983). "1,000 Attend Rites for Karen Carpenter". Los Angeles
Times. p. 24. Retrieved September 23, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. open access
Schmidt 2010, p. 425.
"Irregular Heartbeat Killed Singer". The Victoria Advocate. Victoria, Texas. March 12, 1983.
Retrieved June 3, 2015.
Schmidt 2010, p. 279.
Gupta, Piyush (December 2017). "Public Knowledge of Ipecac Syrup in the Management of
Accidental Poisonings". The Journal of Pediatrics. 191: 56. doi:10.1016/j.jpeds.2017.05.068.
Schmidt 2010, pp. 283–284.
Schmidt 2010, p. 292.
"BBC Radio 4 – Inheritance Tracks, Natalie Imbruglia".
Schmidt 2012, pp. 1945–1946.
"The Carpenters". Hollywood Walk of Fame. Retrieved June 13, 2015.
"VH1: 100 Greatest Women of Rock & Roll". Rock on the Net. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
Latson, Jennifer (February 4, 2015). "How Karen Carpenter's Death Changed the Way We
Talk About Anorexia". Time. Retrieved October 5, 2017.
"The real reason Karen Carpenter was driven to anorexia". Irish Independent. February 4,
2009. Retrieved February 3, 2019.
Barrios, Greg (October 23, 1983). "Carpenter:'This Album is Karen's'". Los Angeles Times. p.
5 Calendar. Retrieved September 23, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. open access
Schmidt 2010, p. 158.
Schmidt 2010, pp. 292–293.
Holden, Stephen (November 8, 1998). "Focusing on Glam Rock's Blurring of Identity". The
New York Times. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
Hilderbrand 2004, p. 67.
 Dirks, Tim. "Top 50 Cult Movies". Entertainment Weekly/AMC. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
Schmidt 2010, p. 293.
Miller, Ron (January 1, 1989). "CBS to retell Karen Carpenter's tragic tale". Detroit Free
Press. p. 78. Retrieved September 25, 2017 – via Newspapers.com. open access
Schmidt 2010, p. 295.
Hoerburger, Rob (November 3, 1991). "Revisionist Thinking on the Carpenters". The New
York Times. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
Pennington, Gail (December 4, 1997). "The pitch: Auction, Carpenters start Channel 9's
pledge drive". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. 62 – via Newspapers.com. open access
Schmidt 2010, p. 329.
Schmidt 2010, p. xi.
Gavin, James (August 8, 2010). "Sorrow in Her Voice". The New York Times. Retrieved
September 22, 2017.
"Carpenters Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved February 2, 2019.
Sources
Coleman, Ray (1994). The Carpenters: The Untold Story. An Authorized Biography.
HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-060-92586-4.
Hilderbrand, Lucas (2004). "Grainy Days and Mondays:Superstar and Bootleg Aesthetics".
Camera Obscura. 19 (3): 57–91. doi:10.1215/02705346-19-3_57-57. ISSN 0270-5346.
McKay, George (2018). 'Skinny blues: Karen Carpenter, anorexia nervosa and popular
music.' Popular Music 37(1): 1-21. doi: 10.1017/S026114301700054X
Petrucelli, Alan W. (2009). Morbid Curiosity: The Disturbing Demises of the Famous and
Infamous. Penguin. ISBN 978-1-1011-4049-9.
Schmidt, Randy (2010). Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter. ISBN 978-1-556-52976-
4.
Schmidt, Randy (2012). Yesterday Once More: The Carpenters Reader. Chicago Review
Press. ISBN 978-1-613-74417-8.
Stanton, Scott (2003). The Tombstone Tourist: Musicians. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0-
743-46330-0.
External links
Richard and Karen Carpenter – Official site
Lead Sister – Tribute site
Karen Carpenter on IMDb
Karen Carpenter at Find a Grave
vte
The Carpenters
Karen CarpenterRichard Carpenter
Studio albums
Offering (Ticket to Ride) (1969)Close to You (1970)Carpenters (1971)A Song for You
(1972)Now & Then (1973)Horizon (1975)A Kind of Hush (1976)Passage (1977)Christmas
Portrait (1978)Made in America (1981)Voice of the Heart (1983)An Old-Fashioned Christmas
(1984)Lovelines (1989)As Time Goes By (2001)
Live albums
Live in Japan (1974)Live at the Palladium (1976)
Compilation albums
The Singles: 1969–1973 (1973)The Singles: 1974–1978 (1978)The Very Best of the
Carpenters (1983)Yesterday Once More (1984)Only Yesterday (1990)From the Top
(1991)Interpretations: A 25th Anniversary Celebration (1995)Love Songs (1997)Reflections
(1998)The Singles: 1969–1981 (2000)The Essential Collection: 1965–1997 (2002)Carpenters
Perform Carpenter (2003)Gold: 35th Anniversary Edition (2004)The Ultimate Collection
(2006)40/40 (2009)Carpenters with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (2018)
Solo albums
Time (1987)Karen Carpenter (1996)Pianist, Arranger, Composer, Conductor (1998)
Singles
"Looking for Love""Ticket to Ride""(They Long to Be) Close to You""We've Only Just
Begun""Merry Christmas, Darling""For All We Know""Rainy Days and
Mondays""Superstar""Bless the Beasts and Children""Hurting Each Other""It's Going to Take
Some Time""Goodbye to Love""Sing""Yesterday Once More""Top of the World""Jambalaya
(On the Bayou)""I Won't Last a Day Without You""Please Mr. Postman""Santa Claus Is
Comin' to Town""Only Yesterday""Solitaire""There's a Kind of Hush (All Over the World)""I
Need to Be in Love""Goofus""Breaking Up Is Hard to Do""All You Get from Love Is a Love
Song""Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft""The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting
on an Open Fire)""Sweet, Sweet Smile""I Believe You""Touch Me When We're
Dancing""(Want You) Back in My Life Again""Those Good Old Dreams""Beechwood 4-
5789""Make Believe It's Your First Time""Your Baby Doesn't Love You
Anymore""Now""Little Altar Boy""Honolulu City Lights""Something in Your Eyes""If I Had
You""Let Me Be the One""Tryin' to Get the Feeling Again""Ave Maria""The Rainbow
Connection"
Television series
and specials
Make Your Own Kind of Music (1971)Live at the BBC (1971)Very First TV Special (1976)Space
Encounters (1978)A Christmas Portrait (1978)Music, Music, Music (1980)
Music video releases
Gold: Greatest Hits (1991 VHS / 2002 DVD)Interpretations (1995 VHS / 2003 DVD)
Documentaries
The Sayonara (1984)Close to You: Remembering The Carpenters (1998)Only Yesterday: The
Carpenters Story (2007)
Related
DiscographySongsJohn BettisJoe OsbornTony PelusoIf I Were a CarpenterSuperstar: The
Karen Carpenter StoryThe Karen Carpenter Story
Wikipedia book BookCategory Category
Authority control Edit this at Wikidata
BIBSYS: 5098084BNF: cb140456232 (data)GND: 119249979ISNI: 0000 0000 3279 8513LCCN:
n89635214LNB: 000050903MusicBrainz: a98c5fe9-9a5c-41ba-b83d-f1c28b49b604NKC:
xx0151830NTA: 07186816XSNAC: w66b4drgVIAF: 19882134WorldCat Identities (via VIAF):
19882134
Categories: The Carpenters members1950 births1983 deathsA&M Records artistsAmerican
contraltosAmerican female drummersAmerican female pop singersAmerican female rock
singersAmerican jazz drummersAmerican pop singersAmerican women record
producersAmerican soft rock musiciansBallad musiciansBurials at Valley Oaks Memorial
ParkDeaths from anorexia nervosaDisease-related deaths in CaliforniaMusicians from
Downey, CaliforniaMusicians from New Haven, ConnecticutNeurological disease deaths in
the United StatesRecord producers from CaliforniaSingers from California20th-century
American drummers20th-century American singers20th-century American women singers
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