Karen Carpenter: Difference between revisions

Content deleted Content added

Inline

Revision as of 18:20, 30 January 2007

Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950 in New Haven, Connecticut – February 4, 1983 in Downey, California) was a drummer and singer part of the band Carpenters with her brother, Richard.

Early life

Karen Carpenter did not show an interest in music until the Carpenter family moved to Downey, California in the summer of 1963. When Karen went to Downey High School, she did not like the gym class, so she asked Richard to ask the conductor of the band if she could substitute it for gym class. The conductor agreed to take her into the band, and gave her the glockenspiel. She did not like the glockenspiel, and upon admiring the performance of a friend who played the drums, asked the conductor if she could play the drums instead. She loved it. Drumming came naturally to Karen, and she practiced for several hours a day. Karen's drumming can be heard in many of her songs. When she was 17, Karen went on the "Stillman Diet" with a doctor's guidance, and lost between 20 and 25 pounds

Music career

Karen joined a band formed by her brother, Richard called "The Richard Carpenter Trio" (1965-1968). Karen and Richard also had a friend, Wes Jacobs, a bassist and tuba player in the Richard Carpenter Trio. The jazz trio played at numerous nightclubs, a television show called "Your All American".

Karen, Richard, and other band members, including Gary Sims and John Bettis, sang as the Spectrums.

Karen Carpenter signed with A&M Records with her brother in early 1969. She sang most of the tunes on their first album, Ticket To Ride. Their only single released from that album, the title track, "Ticket To Ride", reached only to #54 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts. Their next release, "(They Long to Be) Close to You" was a certified #1 smash record. This began a long and very successful career, ending in 1983 with Karen's death.

On September 4, 1978 the Carpenters gave their last concert at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

Solo Album

In 1980 aged 30, Karen made a solo album with producer Phil Ramone titled "Karen Carpenter," which she dedicated to her brother Richard.

Arguably, her best ever performance is a song on the album by Paul Jabara and Jay Asher, called "Something's Missing (In My Life)." Many who have heard the work-lead feel it truly relates to Karen's personal struggles and depth of her feelings. The song remains unmixed and without strings. However, the whole album was shelved by A&M executive Herb Alpert. 16 years later in 1996, it was finally released.

There are 10 unreleased tracks from the album: eight of them are work-leads, while the remaining two are considered outtakes: "I Love Makin' Love to You," and "Truly You." When A&M Records folded in 2000, six out of the eight demos began surfacing on the Internet.

Personal life

Carpenter lived with her parents until her mid-20's, although ironically after the Carpenters became successful during the early 1970s, she and her brother bought two apartment buildings in Downey. Called "Close To You" and "Only Just Begun," the "Close To You Apartments" can still be located at - 8356 East 5th, Downey, CA.

In 1976 Karen bought two Century City apartments, gutted them, and turned them into one condominium. Located at 2222 Avenue of the Stars, the doorbell chimed the first six notes of "We've Only Just Begun". As a housewarming-gift her mother gave her a collection of leather-bound classic works of literature. Karen collected Disney memorabilia, loved to play softball/baseball, and among her friends were Petula Clark, Olivia Newton-John, and Dionne Warwick.

On 31 August, 1980 she married Thomas James Burris, a property developer. At the time they met, Tom was a 39-year-old divorcee with an 18-year-old son; while Karen was 30 years old. The couple were married at the Beverly Hills Hotel in the Crystal Room and went to Bora Bora for their honeymoon. Karen died a married woman, planning to officially sign divorce papers on the day she died.

Death

The song "Now", recorded in April 1982, was the last song Karen ever recorded. While being treated for anorexia, a relatively unknown mental disease at the time, she befriended recovered anorectic Cherry Boone, and crocheted a sign above her hospital bed that read "You Win, I gain!" After her recovery, she planned to go public about her battle with anorexia.

Karen gained a total of 30 lbs. over a two month stay in a New York Hospital, but the sudden weight gain further strained her heart, which was already damaged from years of dieting and abuse. On February 4, 1983, at the age of 32, Karen suffered cardiac arrest at her parents' home in Downey and was taken to Downey Community Hospital, where she was pronounced dead twenty minutes later. Karen was planning to sign her divorce papers on the day she died.

The autopsy stated that Karen's death was due to emetine cardiotoxicity due to, or as a result of anorexia nervosa. Under the anatomical summary, the first item was heart failure, with anorexia as second. The third finding was cachexia, which is extremly low weight and weakness and general body decline associated with chronic disease. Emetine cardiotoxicity implies that Karen abused ipecac syrup, an easily obtained, vomit medicine that is intended for people to take who have accidentally swallowed a poisionous substance. However, there is no definite evidence to prove that Karen did abuse ipecac. (Reference Ray Coleman's: The Carpenters, The Untold Story, page 21-24)^[1]

Her funeral service took place on February 8, 1983, at the Downey United Methodist Church in Downey. Karen, dressed in a rose colored suit, lay in an open white casket. Over a thousand mourners passed through to say goodbye, among them her friends Dorothy Hamill, Olivia Newton-John, Petula Clark, Cristina Ferrare and Dionne Warwick. Karen's estranged husband Tom appeared at her funeral, and took off his wedding band and threw it into the casket (according to the Ray Coleman Book The Carpenters: the Untold Story).

After death

Karen's death brought lasting media attention to anorexia nervosa and also to bulimia. Karen's death encouraged celebrities to go public about their eating disorders, among them Tracey Gold and Diana, Princess of Wales. Medical centers and hospitals began receiving increased contacts from people with these disorders. The general public had little knowledge of anorexia nervosa and bulimia prior to her death, making the conditions difficult to identify and treat.

Her family started the "Karen A. Carpenter Memorial Foundation", which raised money for research on anorexia nervosa and eating disorders. Today the title has been changed to "Carpenter Family Foundation," and in addition to eating disorders, the foundation now funds the arts, entertainment and education

On October 12, 1983, the Carpenters received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It is located at 6931 Hollywood Blvd, a few yards from the Kodak Theater^[2] Richard, Harold, and Agnes Carpenter attended the inauguration, as did many fans.

On December 11, 2003 Karen and her parents Agnes and Harold were exhumed from Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Cypress, California and were moved to Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village, California. The Carpenter Private Mausoleum is a 46,000-pound, Partenope-style structure and was constructed in Texas over seven months. It is polished sunset red with beautiful warmth and color and lively crystal patterns, located in the Tranquility Gardens section of the cemetery. Similar structures at the time have a price range of $600,000. At 12:30pm PST Agnes, Karen and Harold, who remained in their original caskets and use up 3 out of 6 spaces in the mausoleum, were all re-interred.

"A Star on Earth - A Star in Heaven" is written on her mausoleum stone.

Albums

Studio albums

Offering (1969)
Close to You (1970)
Carpenters (1971)
A Song for You (1972)
Now & Then (1973)
The Singles: 1969-1973 (1973)
Horizon (1975)
A Kind of Hush (1976)
Passage (1977)
Live at the Palladium (1978)
Christmas Portrait (1978)
The Singles: 1974-1978 (1978)
Made in America (1981)
Voice of the Heart (1983)

Solo albums

Karen Carpenter (1996)

External links

Richard and Karen Carpenter Online (Back online January 24, 2007)
Karen Carpenter on hotshotdigital.com
Karen Carpenter at IMDb
The Karen Carpenter Story at IMDb
Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story at IMDb

^ http://www.pathguy.com/rockstar/rockstar.htm
^ http://web.singnet.com.sg/~tonytay/wof.htm

[1] ttp://www.pathguy.com/rockstar/rockstar.htm

[2] ttp://web.singnet.com.sg/~tonytay/wof.htm

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 47: / Line 47: @@
 ==Death==
-{{POV}}
 The song "Now", recorded in April 1982, was the last song Karen ever recorded. While being treated for [[anorexia nervosa|anorexia]], a relatively unknown mental disease at the time, she befriended recovered anorectic [[Cherry Boone]], and crocheted a sign above her hospital bed that read ''"You Win, I gain!"'' After her recovery, she planned to go public about her battle with anorexia.
+Karen gained a total of 30 lbs. over a two month stay in a New York Hospital, but the sudden weight gain further strained her heart, which was already damaged from years of dieting and abuse. On [[February 4]], [[1983]], at the age of 32, Karen suffered [[cardiac arrest]] at her parents' home in Downey and was taken to [http://www.drmci.org Downey Community Hospital], where she was pronounced dead twenty minutes later. Karen was planning to sign her divorce papers on the day she died.
-Although Karen Carpenter's death was widely touted as being caused by [[anorexia nervosa]], the autopsy report did not definitively conclude this. Her body weight was in a healthy range and she was having regular menstrual cycles as evidenced by her thick [[endometrium]] and left [[corpus luteum]] recent rupture. Anorexia nervosa has a clinical feature of amenorrhea for at least three cycles. More likely, her sudden onset of death and lack of pathology could be attributed to a [[long QT syndrome]] in her [[heart]]<ref>http://www.pathguy.com/rockstar/rockstar.htm</ref>
+The autopsy stated that Karen's death was due to emetine [[cardiotoxicity]] due to, or as a result of anorexia nervosa. Under the anatomical summary, the first item was heart failure, with anorexia as second. The third finding was [[cachexia]], which is extremly low weight and weakness and general body decline associated with chronic disease. Emetine cardiotoxicity implies that Karen abused [[ipecac syrup]], an easily obtained, [[vomit]] medicine that is intended for people to take who have accidentally swallowed a poisionous substance. However, there is no definite evidence to prove that Karen did abuse ipecac. (Reference Ray Coleman's: ''The Carpenters, The Untold Story'', page 21-24)<ref>http://www.pathguy.com/rockstar/rockstar.htm</ref>
-Karen died at the family home at 9828 Newville Avenue, Downey, California. Her funeral took place on [[February 8]], [[1983]] at the United Methodist Church in Downey, California.
+Her funeral service took place on [[February 8]], [[1983]], at the Downey United Methodist Church in Downey. Karen, dressed in a rose colored suit, lay in an open white casket. Over a thousand mourners passed through to say goodbye, among them her friends [[Dorothy Hamill]], [[Olivia Newton-John]], [[Petula Clark]], [[Cristina Ferrare]] and [[Dionne Warwick]]. Karen's estranged husband Tom appeared at her funeral, and took off his wedding band and threw it into the casket (according to the [[Ray Coleman]] Book ''The Carpenters: the Untold Story'').
 ===After death===
+Karen's death brought lasting media attention to [[anorexia nervosa]] and also to [[bulimia]]. Karen's death encouraged celebrities to go public about their eating disorders, among them [[Tracey Gold]] and [[Diana, Princess of Wales]]. Medical centers and hospitals began receiving increased contacts from people with these disorders. The general public had little knowledge of anorexia nervosa and bulimia prior to her death, making the conditions difficult to identify and treat.
 Her family started the "Karen A. Carpenter Memorial Foundation", which raised money for research on anorexia nervosa and eating disorders. Today the title has been changed to "Carpenter Family Foundation," and in addition to eating disorders, the foundation now funds the arts, entertainment and education
-On [[October 12]], [[1983]] Karen posthumously received a Star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]], along with her brother Richard. The star is located at 6931 Hollywood Blvd.
+On [[October 12]], [[1983]], the Carpenters received a star on the [[Hollywood Walk of Fame]]. It is located at 6931 Hollywood Blvd, a few yards from the [[Kodak Theater]]<ref>http://web.singnet.com.sg/~tonytay/wof.htm</ref> Richard, Harold, and Agnes Carpenter attended the inauguration, as did many fans.
 On [[December 11]], [[2003]] Karen and her parents Agnes and Harold were exhumed from Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Cypress, California and were moved to Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park in [[Westlake Village, California]]. The Carpenter Private Mausoleum is a 46,000-pound, Partenope-style structure and was constructed in [[Texas]] over seven months. It is polished sunset red with beautiful warmth and color and lively crystal patterns, located in the Tranquility Gardens section of the cemetery. Similar structures at the time have a price range of $600,000. At 12:30pm PST Agnes, Karen and Harold, who remained in their original caskets and use up 3 out of 6 spaces in the mausoleum, were all re-interred.