Which of these names is the odd one out:
Jimi Hendrix, Keith Moon, Janis Joplin, Karen Carpenter, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison ?
There are several possible answers, but I suspect that most people would pick Karen Carpenter for obvious reasons. Unlike the other dead musicians she didn't take heroin, wasn't sexually promiscuous and, worst of all, made the sort of music your mum and dad liked. Even dying young didn't improve her credibility.
Confessing to liking the Carpenters is akin to saying you love jigsaws, comfy slippers and fondant fancies. However, it's time to come out of the closet.
Road Ode was my favourite song when I was nine and I still love it. As today would have been Karen Carpenter's 59th birthday, it seems like a good excuse to play it:
Actually - I did notice that The Karen Carpenter story was on telly again this morning.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was young, I followed The Buzzcocks around the country - but LOVED Karen carpenters voice - I still do, it's like nothing else on earth - I can't think of a single contemporary singer who comes close. I also loved Dusty Springfield - but in the circles I moved in, I had to keep it fairly quiet.
I second your confession!
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ReplyDeleteI almost forgot - 'Death Of Grass' s the classic serial on Radio 4 this week - thought you might enjoy it.
ReplyDeleteMy mother took me to see The Carpenters when they played in St. Louis back when I must have been six. It was my first concert. I loved it. Karen played the drums which shocked me then and still does a little now.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to believe she'd be 59 today.
You can count me as someone who thinks she had a fantastic voice sadly wasted on mostly mediocre material and arrangements.
OK, so I have to confess to being in the comfy slipper, fondant fancy and occasionally even jigsaws, brigade any way so it's alright for me to love Karen Carprenter. Wow, she would have been the same age as me; never realised that.
ReplyDeleteLove The Carpenters. When I was growing up my parents owned 3 albums that weren't classical: Perry Como, The Beatles and The Carpenters.
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