The Carpenters

The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinctive soft musical style, combining Karen's contralto vocals with Richard's harmonizing, arranging, and composition. During their 14-year career, the Carpenters recorded 10 albums along with many singles and several television specials.

The siblings were born in New Haven, Connecticut, but moved to Downey, California, in 1963. Richard took piano lessons as a child, progressing to California State University, Long Beach, while Karen learned the drums. They first performed together as a duo in 1965 and formed the jazz-oriented Richard Carpenter Trio along with Wesley Jacobs, then formed the middle-of-the-road band Spectrum. Subsequently the two signed as the Carpenters to A&M Records in 1969; they achieved major success the following year with the hit singles "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and "We've Only Just Begun". The duo's brand of melodic pop produced a record-breaking run of hit recordings on the American Top 40 and Adult Contemporary charts, and they became leading sellers in the soft rock, easy listening, and adult contemporary music genres. They had three number-one singles and five number-two singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and 15 number-one hits on the Adult Contemporary chart, in addition to 12 top-10 singles.

The duo toured continually during the 1970s, which put them under increased strain; Richard took a year off in 1979 after he had become addicted to Quaalude, while Karen suffered from anorexia nervosa. The duo ended in 1983 when Karen died from heart failure brought on by complications of anorexia. Her death triggered widespread coverage and research into eating disorders. Their music continues to attract critical acclaim and commercial success. With more than 100 million records sold worldwide, Carpenters are among the best-selling music artists of all time.

The Carpenter siblings were both born at Grace–New Haven Hospital in New Haven, Connecticut, to Harold Bertram Carpenter (1908–1988) and Agnes Reuwer (née Tatum, 1915–1996). Harold was born in Wuzhou, China, moving to Britain in 1917, and the US in 1921, while Agnes was born and grew up in Baltimore, Maryland. They married on April 9, 1935; their first child, Richard Lynn, was born on October 15, 1946, while Karen Anne followed on March 2, 1950. Richard was a quiet child who spent most of his time at home listening to Rachmaninoff, Tchaikovsky, Red Nichols and Spike Jones, and playing the piano. Karen was friendly and outgoing; she liked to play sports, including softball with the neighborhood kids, but still spent a lot of time listening to music. She enjoyed dancing and began ballet and tap classes at the age of four. Karen and Richard were close, and shared a common interest in music. In particular, they became fans of Les Paul and Mary Ford, whose music featured multiple overdubbed voices and instruments. Richard began piano lessons aged eight, but quickly grew frustrated with the formal direction of the lessons and quit after a year. From the age of 11, he had begun to teach himself to play by ear, and resumed studying with a different teacher. He took a greater interest in playing this time, and would frequently practice at home. By 14, he was interested in performing professionally, and started lessons at Yale School of Music.

In June 1963, the Carpenter family moved to the Los Angeles suburb of Downey hoping that it would mean better musical opportunities for Richard. He was asked to be the organist for weddings and services at the local Methodist church; instead of playing traditional hymns, he would sometimes rearrange contemporary Beatles songs in a "church" style. In late 1964, Richard enrolled at California State College at Long Beach where he met future songwriting partner John Bettis; Wesley Jacobs, a friend who played the bass and tuba for the Richard Carpenter Trio; and choral director Frank Pooler, who co-wrote the Christmas standard "Merry Christmas Darling" in 1966.

That same year, Karen enrolled at Downey High School, where she found she had a knack for playing the drums. She had initially tried playing the glockenspiel, but had been inspired by her friend Frankie Chavez, who had been drumming since he was three. She became enthusiastic about the drums, and began to learn complex pieces, such as Dave Brubeck's "Take Five". Chavez persuaded her parents to buy a Ludwig drum kit in late 1964, and she began lessons with local jazz players, including how to read concert music. She quickly replaced the entry-level kit with a large Ludwig set that was a similar set-up to Brubeck's drummer, Joe Morello. Richard and Karen gave their first public performance together in 1965, as part of the pit band for a local production of Guys and Dolls.

By 1965, Karen had been practicing the drums for a year, and Richard was refining his piano techniques under Pooler's instruction. Late that year, Richard teamed up with Jacobs, who played tuba and stand-up bass. With Karen drumming, the three formed the jazz-oriented Richard Carpenter Trio. Richard led the group and wrote all the arrangements, and they began to rehearse daily. He bought a tape recorder, and began to make recordings of the group. Originally, neither Karen nor Richard sang; Richard's friend Dan Friberg occasionally filled in on trumpet, along with guest vocalist Margaret Shanor.

Karen subsequently became more confident in singing, and began to take lessons with Frank Pooler. He taught her a mixture of classical and pop singing, but realized she most enjoyed performing Richard's new material. Pooler later said, "Karen was a born pop singer". In early 1966, Karen tagged along at a late-night session in the garage studio of Los Angeles bassist Joe Osborn, and joined future Carpenters collaborator and lyricist John Bettis at a demo session where Richard was to accompany Friberg. Asked to sing, she performed for Osborn, who was immediately impressed with her vocal abilities. He signed Karen to his label, Magic Lamp Records, and Richard to his publishing arm, Lightup Music. The label put out a single featuring two of Richard's compositions, "Looking for Love" and "I'll Be Yours". As well as Karen's vocals, the track was backed by the Richard Carpenter Trio. The single was not a commercial success due to a lack of promotion, and the label folded the next year.