This article is about a musical group. For the skilled trade, see carpenter.
The Carpenters were the biggest selling American artists of the 1970s. A vocal and instrumental duo, the act consisted of siblingsKaren and Richard Carpenter. With their brand of melodic pop, they charted a score of hit recordings on the American Top 40, becoming leading exponents of the soft rock or adult contemporary genre and ranking among the foremost recording artists of the decade.
Early life
Born in New Haven, Connecticut, USA (Richard Lynn on October 15, 1946, and Karen Anne on March 2, 1950), the Carpenter siblings moved with their parents to California in 1963 and settled in the Los Angeles suburb of Downey. Richard had developed his interest in music at an early age, becoming a piano prodigy. The move to southern California was intended in part to foster his budding musical career. Karen, meanwhile, did not manifest her musical talents until high school, when she joined her high school band (Downey High School) and found an interest in the drums. She soon taught herself how to play the drums and mastered them. Around this time she also realized she could sing.
Early career
During the mid to late 1960s, the two attempted to launch a musical career but failed to gain a successful recording deal until the decade's end. In May 1966 Karen joined Richard in attending a late-night session in the garage studio of L.A. bassist Joe Osborn, where Richard was to accompany an auditioning vocalist. Asked to sing, Karen performed and landed a short-lived recording contract as a solo artist with Osborn's fledgling label Magic Lamp. The resulting single included two of Richard's compositions, "Looking for Love" and "I'll Be Yours", but the label soon folded, bringing this promising start to a close.
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Meta Description: [ The Carpenters - Lyrics. Courtesy of the Song Lyrics Archive at DaveMcNally.com ]
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Meta Description: [ Rolling Stone gives you total The Carpenters coverage including free music, videos, photos, music news and exclusive Rolling Stone articles. ]
The Carpenters - Richard Carpenter's site includes biography, discography, news, photos, answers to fan's questions, and a tribute to Karen.
Meta Description: [ Carpenters website, the official, authorized by Richard Carpenter, includes photos of the Carpenters and notes from recordings, news, discography, memorial to Karen Carpenter, FAQs and more ]