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An appropriate song for a Monday morning. "On October 15, 1946, born on this day, American record producer, arranger, pianist and composer Richard Carpenter The Carpenters who had the 1973 UK No.2 single 'Yesterday Once More' and the 1970 US No.1 & UK No.6 single 'Close To You'. The Carpenters 1972 hit 'Goodbye to Love' was one of the first pop ballads to have a fuzz guitar solo and influenced the development of the power ballad."
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Great minds think alike SGT (Join to see) . I just posted the same song , Wow! I don't think this happens too often. Great share brother.
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Thank you my friend SGT (Join to see) for sharing the music video of the brother an sister musical group The Carpenters performing "Rainy Days And Mondays" in honor of the fact that on October 15, 1946 American record producer, arranger, pianist and composer Richard Carpenter was born.
It was incredibly sad that Karen Carpenter died in 1983 from a heart attack as a complication from anorexia as she was never satisfied with her appearance, it seems.
Happy 72nd Birthday Richard Carpenter
Background from radioswissjazz.ch/en/music-database/musician/ [login to see] 57d026fb3380570ecc99c6f2b22/biography
"Richard Carpenter (musician)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Richard Lynn Carpenter (born October 15, 1946) is an American pop musician, best known as one half of the brother/sister duo the Carpenters, along with his sister Karen Carpenter. He was a record producer, arranger, pianist and keyboardist, and occasional lyricist, composer as well as joining with Karen on harmony vocals.
Childhood
Richard Lynn Carpenter was born to parents Agnes Reuwer Tatum and Harold Bertram Carpenter at Grace-New Haven Hospital (now called Yale-New Haven Hospital) in New Haven, Connecticut, the same hospital where Karen was later born.[1] He was named after his father's younger brother, Richard Lynn Carpenter. Carpenter and his uncle both married women named Mary.[2]
He frequently played the piano while his sister, Karen, played baseball outside.[3] He and Karen also liked to listen to the children's records their father bought for them when they were young.[3] Richard was introduced to Perry Como and Ella Fitzgerald, among many others, and by age 12, he knew he wanted to be in the music industry.
The Carpenter family moved from New Haven to Downey, California, in June 1963. They wanted Richard to further his music career, and the family was fed up with the cold New England winters.[4] He studied music at the California State University at Long Beach. There, he met Frank Pooler, a conductor and composer. Pooler wrote the lyrics to the Christmas classic "Merry Christmas Darling" in 1968. He also met good friend John Bettis, who co-wrote songs with Richard.
The Richard Carpenter Trio and Spectrum
Carpenter created the Richard Carpenter Trio in 1965 with sister Karen and friend Wes Jacobs. Richard played the piano; Karen played the drums, and Wes played the tuba and bass.
In 1966, the Richard Carpenter Trio played "Iced Tea" and "The Girl from Ipanema" at the Hollywood Bowl Battle of the Bands. They won the competition, and shortly after recorded three songs at RCA Studios: "Every Little Thing," "Strangers in the Night," and the Carpenter original, "Iced Tea." "Iced Tea" is the only recording that was officially released to the public.
Around 1967, Richard and Karen joined four other student musicians from Long Beach State to form a sextet, Spectrum, consisting of:
John Bettis;
Richard Carpenter;
Karen Carpenter;
Leslie Johnston;
Gary Sims;
Danny Woodhams.
Although Spectrum played frequently at LA-area nightclubs such as Whisky A Go-Go, they met with an unenthusiastic response - their broad harmonies and avoidance of rock 'n' roll limited the band's commercial potential. Yet Spectrum was fruitful in another way, providing the raw material of future success: Bettis went on to become a lyricist for Richard's original compositions, and all the other members except Leslie Johnston went on to become members of the Carpenters.
Career
Richard and Karen finally signed with A&M Records on April 22, 1969. "Let's hope we have some hits," Herb Alpert told the two. According to Richard, Herb Alpert gave them carte blanche in the recording studios, but after Offering, their first album, was released, and wasn't a big seller, it was rumored that some of A&M's people were asking Alpert to release the Carpenters, but he believed in their talent, and insisted on giving them another chance.
Alpert suggested that the Carpenters record a Burt Bacharach and Hal David song called "(They Long to Be) Close to You." Though Richard worked up an arrangement, only after Alpert's insistence, his arranging talents clearly shone in the finished product. His arranging and musical talents, as well as Karen's vocals, helped the song climb to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying there for a month. "(They Long to Be) Close to You" gained public recognition seemingly overnight. According to Richard, even though the song became popular overnight, the Carpenters themselves did not.
Sitting at home one night, Richard was watching TV, and saw (and heard) a commercial for Crocker National Bank. He recognized the voices of Paul Williams and Roger Nichols, two A&M songwriters. It was the song "We've Only Just Begun." Richard made some calls to confirm their involvement, and asked if there was a full version of the song, which Williams affirmed. Carpenter managed to turn a bank commercial jingle into an RIAA certified Gold Record. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and has become a popular wedding song. The song also successfully launched the careers of Nichols and Williams, who went on to write multiple hits for the Carpenters, and many other artists.
Richard composed many of the Carpenters' hits as well, with John Bettis as lyricist, such as:
"Goodbye to Love" (one of the first pop ballads to have a fuzz guitar solo - #7--influenced the development of the power ballad [5])
"Top of the World" (#1. Though the Carpenters originally opted to not release this song as a single, a version recorded by Lynn Anderson reached #2 on the Billboard Country charts; following the success of Anderson's version, the Carpenters decided to release their version as a single, and it reached the Billboard top ten.
"Yesterday Once More" (#2)
"Only Yesterday" (#4)
Quaalude addiction and treatment
While Karen was suffering from the anorexia nervosa that would ultimately claim her life in 1983, Richard suffered from an addiction to quaaludes. They had been prescribed for him by his doctor as sleep aids, but his use got out of hand. He eventually sought treatment for his addiction at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas, checking into the clinic in 1979 for an eight-week treatment program, which proved successful.
Post-Carpenters
On October 12, 1983, eight months after Karen's death, the Carpenter family celebrated the unveiling of the Carpenters' new star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Richard said in his speech, "This is a sad day, but at the same time a very special and beautiful day to my family and I. 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."[3]
He started recording a solo album on June 26, 1985, and finished the album on July 5, 1987.[6] The album was called Time. It featured Dusty Springfield and Dionne Warwick. Springfield sang "Something in Your Eyes", and Warwick sang "In Love Alone". Richard created a song dedicated to Karen called "When Time Was All We Had". It starts off as an a cappella, but then Richard's piano fades in, as well as Herb Alpert's flugelhorn. Lyrics included:
Our hearts were filled with music and laughter,
Your voice will be the sweetest sound I'll ever hear and yet,
We knew somehow the song would never end,
When time was all we had to spend.
In 1996, at the suggestion of music writer Daniel Levitin, Carpenter recorded and released Richard Carpenter: Pianist, Arranger, Composer, Conductor, which included reworkings of many Carpenters favorites, including hits and album tracks, and ends with "Karen's Theme", which Carpenter composed for the 1989 made for TV movie, The Karen Carpenter Story.
In 1984, Carpenter married his first cousin Mary Rudolph (daughter of his mother's sister Bernice). Contrary to popular belief, Rudolph and Carpenter are not biologically related, since Rudolph is adopted. Her brother, Mark Rudolph, was the Carpenters' road manager, as well as the radio call-in "contestant" in the [Oldies] "Medley" on the 1973 album, Now & Then. The couple had been dating since the late 1970s. A young Mary made a cameo appearance in the Carpenters' promotional video for the song "I Need to Be in Love". It should be noted that when Karen learned of the relationship, she was completely mortified and shared her feelings with her brother on a number of occasions, leading to a final argument where Richard told his sister "We have had the tests done, there will be no problem if we have children in the future. So let it drop!" Richard and Mary have five children: Kristi Lynn, Traci Tatum, Mindi Karen (named after his late sister), Colin Paul and Taylor Mary. The children and Richard sometimes perform music together at various Carpenter-related events. The family today resides in Thousand Oaks, California. He also funds an annual scholarship/talent show for people with artistic abilities that is held at the Thousand Oaks Civic Center.
Recently, Richard helped in the productions of the documentaries Close to You: Remembering the Carpenters (1997) and Only Yesterday: The Carpenters Story (2007). He released the DVDs Gold: Greatest Hits and Interpretations. Carpenter is also mastering a new Christmas album.
Discography
The Carpenters
Main article: The Carpenters discography
Main article: List of songs by The Carpenters
Albums
Year Title Notes
1987 Time
Released in October 1987
Richard Carpenter's debut solo album
Included guest singers Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick, and actor Scott Grimes
Out of print
Label: A&M Records
Formats: LP album, cassette tape, compact disc
1998 Pianist, Arranger
Composer, Conductor
Released on January 27, 1998
Richard's second and latest solo album
Includes instrumentals of popular songs of Carpenters
Dedicated to Richard's deceased mother, Agnes Carpenter[7]
Label: A&M Records
References
Schmidt, Randy L., Forward by Dionne Warwick (2010). Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter, Chicago: Chicago Review Press, Inc..
Coleman, Ray. The Carpenters: The Untold Story, 30.
3.0 3.1 3.2 Close to You: Remembering the Carpenters
Coleman, Ray. The Carpenters: The Untold Story, 1994, p. 48
"Popular Musicians" Steve Hochman/Mcrea Adams 1999 page 168 book
Time, Richard Carpenter. "Recording for this album commenced on June 26, 1985, with the final session in mix-down occurring on July 5, 1987.
Carpenter, Richard. Richard and Karen Carpenter - Official website. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for singles by the Carpenters. Retrieved on 2008-07-03.
Carpenters: Richard Carpenter Interview 2014
"n April of 1969, the Carpenters, Richard and Karen signed to A&M Records, marking this year as their 45th anniversary with the label. In this rare and introspective interview, Richard Carpenter joins us to talk about the early days at A&M, as well give us a candid and detailed look at much of what went into the creation of the Carpenters 'sound'. We also discuss the production of "The Singles, 1969-1981 SACD" project and the subsequent destruction of most of the original Carpenters master tapes in the Universal Studios fire. Richard also divulges some of his own personal thoughts on the music business today and what he is currently doing."
https://youtu.be/v8mcK-YPaFU
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Orlando Illi Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price CPT Jack Durish Capt Tom Brown CMSgt (Join to see) MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SGT (Join to see) Sgt Albert Castro SSG David Andrews Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Charles H. Hawes SGT Mark Halmrast PO1 William "Chip" Nagel CPT Gabe SnellLTC Greg Henning
It was incredibly sad that Karen Carpenter died in 1983 from a heart attack as a complication from anorexia as she was never satisfied with her appearance, it seems.
Happy 72nd Birthday Richard Carpenter
Background from radioswissjazz.ch/en/music-database/musician/ [login to see] 57d026fb3380570ecc99c6f2b22/biography
"Richard Carpenter (musician)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Richard Lynn Carpenter (born October 15, 1946) is an American pop musician, best known as one half of the brother/sister duo the Carpenters, along with his sister Karen Carpenter. He was a record producer, arranger, pianist and keyboardist, and occasional lyricist, composer as well as joining with Karen on harmony vocals.
Childhood
Richard Lynn Carpenter was born to parents Agnes Reuwer Tatum and Harold Bertram Carpenter at Grace-New Haven Hospital (now called Yale-New Haven Hospital) in New Haven, Connecticut, the same hospital where Karen was later born.[1] He was named after his father's younger brother, Richard Lynn Carpenter. Carpenter and his uncle both married women named Mary.[2]
He frequently played the piano while his sister, Karen, played baseball outside.[3] He and Karen also liked to listen to the children's records their father bought for them when they were young.[3] Richard was introduced to Perry Como and Ella Fitzgerald, among many others, and by age 12, he knew he wanted to be in the music industry.
The Carpenter family moved from New Haven to Downey, California, in June 1963. They wanted Richard to further his music career, and the family was fed up with the cold New England winters.[4] He studied music at the California State University at Long Beach. There, he met Frank Pooler, a conductor and composer. Pooler wrote the lyrics to the Christmas classic "Merry Christmas Darling" in 1968. He also met good friend John Bettis, who co-wrote songs with Richard.
The Richard Carpenter Trio and Spectrum
Carpenter created the Richard Carpenter Trio in 1965 with sister Karen and friend Wes Jacobs. Richard played the piano; Karen played the drums, and Wes played the tuba and bass.
In 1966, the Richard Carpenter Trio played "Iced Tea" and "The Girl from Ipanema" at the Hollywood Bowl Battle of the Bands. They won the competition, and shortly after recorded three songs at RCA Studios: "Every Little Thing," "Strangers in the Night," and the Carpenter original, "Iced Tea." "Iced Tea" is the only recording that was officially released to the public.
Around 1967, Richard and Karen joined four other student musicians from Long Beach State to form a sextet, Spectrum, consisting of:
John Bettis;
Richard Carpenter;
Karen Carpenter;
Leslie Johnston;
Gary Sims;
Danny Woodhams.
Although Spectrum played frequently at LA-area nightclubs such as Whisky A Go-Go, they met with an unenthusiastic response - their broad harmonies and avoidance of rock 'n' roll limited the band's commercial potential. Yet Spectrum was fruitful in another way, providing the raw material of future success: Bettis went on to become a lyricist for Richard's original compositions, and all the other members except Leslie Johnston went on to become members of the Carpenters.
Career
Richard and Karen finally signed with A&M Records on April 22, 1969. "Let's hope we have some hits," Herb Alpert told the two. According to Richard, Herb Alpert gave them carte blanche in the recording studios, but after Offering, their first album, was released, and wasn't a big seller, it was rumored that some of A&M's people were asking Alpert to release the Carpenters, but he believed in their talent, and insisted on giving them another chance.
Alpert suggested that the Carpenters record a Burt Bacharach and Hal David song called "(They Long to Be) Close to You." Though Richard worked up an arrangement, only after Alpert's insistence, his arranging talents clearly shone in the finished product. His arranging and musical talents, as well as Karen's vocals, helped the song climb to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying there for a month. "(They Long to Be) Close to You" gained public recognition seemingly overnight. According to Richard, even though the song became popular overnight, the Carpenters themselves did not.
Sitting at home one night, Richard was watching TV, and saw (and heard) a commercial for Crocker National Bank. He recognized the voices of Paul Williams and Roger Nichols, two A&M songwriters. It was the song "We've Only Just Begun." Richard made some calls to confirm their involvement, and asked if there was a full version of the song, which Williams affirmed. Carpenter managed to turn a bank commercial jingle into an RIAA certified Gold Record. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and has become a popular wedding song. The song also successfully launched the careers of Nichols and Williams, who went on to write multiple hits for the Carpenters, and many other artists.
Richard composed many of the Carpenters' hits as well, with John Bettis as lyricist, such as:
"Goodbye to Love" (one of the first pop ballads to have a fuzz guitar solo - #7--influenced the development of the power ballad [5])
"Top of the World" (#1. Though the Carpenters originally opted to not release this song as a single, a version recorded by Lynn Anderson reached #2 on the Billboard Country charts; following the success of Anderson's version, the Carpenters decided to release their version as a single, and it reached the Billboard top ten.
"Yesterday Once More" (#2)
"Only Yesterday" (#4)
Quaalude addiction and treatment
While Karen was suffering from the anorexia nervosa that would ultimately claim her life in 1983, Richard suffered from an addiction to quaaludes. They had been prescribed for him by his doctor as sleep aids, but his use got out of hand. He eventually sought treatment for his addiction at the Menninger Clinic in Topeka, Kansas, checking into the clinic in 1979 for an eight-week treatment program, which proved successful.
Post-Carpenters
On October 12, 1983, eight months after Karen's death, the Carpenter family celebrated the unveiling of the Carpenters' new star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Richard said in his speech, "This is a sad day, but at the same time a very special and beautiful day to my family and I. 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."[3]
He started recording a solo album on June 26, 1985, and finished the album on July 5, 1987.[6] The album was called Time. It featured Dusty Springfield and Dionne Warwick. Springfield sang "Something in Your Eyes", and Warwick sang "In Love Alone". Richard created a song dedicated to Karen called "When Time Was All We Had". It starts off as an a cappella, but then Richard's piano fades in, as well as Herb Alpert's flugelhorn. Lyrics included:
Our hearts were filled with music and laughter,
Your voice will be the sweetest sound I'll ever hear and yet,
We knew somehow the song would never end,
When time was all we had to spend.
In 1996, at the suggestion of music writer Daniel Levitin, Carpenter recorded and released Richard Carpenter: Pianist, Arranger, Composer, Conductor, which included reworkings of many Carpenters favorites, including hits and album tracks, and ends with "Karen's Theme", which Carpenter composed for the 1989 made for TV movie, The Karen Carpenter Story.
In 1984, Carpenter married his first cousin Mary Rudolph (daughter of his mother's sister Bernice). Contrary to popular belief, Rudolph and Carpenter are not biologically related, since Rudolph is adopted. Her brother, Mark Rudolph, was the Carpenters' road manager, as well as the radio call-in "contestant" in the [Oldies] "Medley" on the 1973 album, Now & Then. The couple had been dating since the late 1970s. A young Mary made a cameo appearance in the Carpenters' promotional video for the song "I Need to Be in Love". It should be noted that when Karen learned of the relationship, she was completely mortified and shared her feelings with her brother on a number of occasions, leading to a final argument where Richard told his sister "We have had the tests done, there will be no problem if we have children in the future. So let it drop!" Richard and Mary have five children: Kristi Lynn, Traci Tatum, Mindi Karen (named after his late sister), Colin Paul and Taylor Mary. The children and Richard sometimes perform music together at various Carpenter-related events. The family today resides in Thousand Oaks, California. He also funds an annual scholarship/talent show for people with artistic abilities that is held at the Thousand Oaks Civic Center.
Recently, Richard helped in the productions of the documentaries Close to You: Remembering the Carpenters (1997) and Only Yesterday: The Carpenters Story (2007). He released the DVDs Gold: Greatest Hits and Interpretations. Carpenter is also mastering a new Christmas album.
Discography
The Carpenters
Main article: The Carpenters discography
Main article: List of songs by The Carpenters
Albums
Year Title Notes
1987 Time
Released in October 1987
Richard Carpenter's debut solo album
Included guest singers Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick, and actor Scott Grimes
Out of print
Label: A&M Records
Formats: LP album, cassette tape, compact disc
1998 Pianist, Arranger
Composer, Conductor
Released on January 27, 1998
Richard's second and latest solo album
Includes instrumentals of popular songs of Carpenters
Dedicated to Richard's deceased mother, Agnes Carpenter[7]
Label: A&M Records
References
Schmidt, Randy L., Forward by Dionne Warwick (2010). Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter, Chicago: Chicago Review Press, Inc..
Coleman, Ray. The Carpenters: The Untold Story, 30.
3.0 3.1 3.2 Close to You: Remembering the Carpenters
Coleman, Ray. The Carpenters: The Untold Story, 1994, p. 48
"Popular Musicians" Steve Hochman/Mcrea Adams 1999 page 168 book
Time, Richard Carpenter. "Recording for this album commenced on June 26, 1985, with the final session in mix-down occurring on July 5, 1987.
Carpenter, Richard. Richard and Karen Carpenter - Official website. Retrieved on 2008-01-17.
RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for singles by the Carpenters. Retrieved on 2008-07-03.
Carpenters: Richard Carpenter Interview 2014
"n April of 1969, the Carpenters, Richard and Karen signed to A&M Records, marking this year as their 45th anniversary with the label. In this rare and introspective interview, Richard Carpenter joins us to talk about the early days at A&M, as well give us a candid and detailed look at much of what went into the creation of the Carpenters 'sound'. We also discuss the production of "The Singles, 1969-1981 SACD" project and the subsequent destruction of most of the original Carpenters master tapes in the Universal Studios fire. Richard also divulges some of his own personal thoughts on the music business today and what he is currently doing."
https://youtu.be/v8mcK-YPaFU
FYI COL Mikel J. Burroughs LTC Orlando Illi Maj Bill Smith, Ph.D. Maj William W. "Bill" Price CPT Jack Durish Capt Tom Brown CMSgt (Join to see) MSG Andrew White SFC William Farrell SGT (Join to see) Sgt Albert Castro SSG David Andrews Sgt Randy Wilber Sgt John H. SGT Charles H. Hawes SGT Mark Halmrast PO1 William "Chip" Nagel CPT Gabe SnellLTC Greg Henning
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