They were a definition of "middle-of-the-road" with songs like We've Only Just begun, Rainy Days and Mondays, and more. "She could move from classics to pop without moving an eye." Signed by A&M in 1969 after Herb Alpert heard a tape they had made, the Carpenters went on to record easy-listening hits that were a resounding success with millions of fans around the world, although often scorned by critics. "She had a fantastic voice," said Pooler, who also taught her at Cal State. But by the time she was in college, Karen was a soloist in the choir. "Karen didn't strike me as musically talented at first," said Bruce Gifford, the pair's high school music teacher and band coach. It would have been the next stage in a musical career that had been constantly evolving since its birth at Downey High School and California State University in Long Beach. Friends and associates were looking forward Karen's active return to the musical scene. ![]() The Carpenters were among past winners to be featured."I saw her at the photo session and she was so proud of the way she looked," said Warwick. "She had gained the weight and she was feeling good about herself." "Richard told me she was getting better," said Frank Pooler, once their music director.īack in Los Angeles, Bloch took her to a publicity photo session for the Grammy Awards show, scheduled for Feb. "We had every reason to belive that she was well," said Paul Bloch. By late November, she came home to Downey, the town where she and her brother grew up. There si no reason to do this to yourself.' " Karen seemed to respond. "I gave her some basic girl-talk," Warwick said. Warwick said she and Karen discussed the anorexia. Assistant manager Heinz Weck remembered her as "friendly, cheerful, pleasant.a perfect guest."īut it was there that the 5-foot-4-inch singer was struggling against anorexia nervosa, a disease characterized by compulsive dieting that may lead to health problems, including heart ailments. That made her feel very strong." She stayed at the posh (500-room, suites for $250-$600 a day) Regency hotel on Park Avenue, where Elizabeth Taylor, Clint Eastwood and Omar Sharif are regular guests. "She was particularly proud of trading limousines for taxicabs. "Here was a chance to relax and enjoy, and be independent. "New York was good for her after a life of demanding work," Paul Bloch, the Carpenters' publicist, said. ![]() Warwick says the singer spent her days in New York seeing friends from the recording business - Barry Manilow, and others from A&M Records, the Carpenters' label - and going to the theater. She was going through her divorce at the time and was terribly depressed." She wanted to get away from a lot of memories. "Moving to New York," says Warwick, "was her way of saying I've grown up and I'm going out on my own. "She blamed herself for the breakup of her marriage," said Dionne Warwick, who had been friends with the Carpenters since the early '70s, and who saw Karen frequently after she moved to New York a year an half ago. ![]() Not as good as she did before she got sick, but she looked okay." The Close-To-You apartment building which the Carpenters own in this middle-class south-central Los Angeles community of 92,000, "and she just looked a whole lot better. "I saw her last Thursday," said Carl Mundt, who manages Then she died Friday, at age 32, while visiting her parents' home in Downney. Her friends said she seemed to be bouncing back - her weight had come back up to 108 pounds, she was making new rcording plans, she was happy. There was a move to New York, to try to star a new life on her own. There was a battle against anorexia nervosa, a disease that cut her weight at one point to 85 pounds. After that success story - after 80 million records sold - there was a failed marriage. Singing with her brother Richard, she achived the kind of success gold records are made of. It was supposed to be the comeback story of a lifetime. '70s star had battled anorexia was ready to begin a new lifeĭOWNEY, Calif. * Grammy Awards: Best new artist of the year (1970) best contemporary vocal performance by a group for the single Close to You (1970) best pop vocal performance for the album The Carpenters (1971) ![]() * Number of million-selling singles in USA: 10 * Sales: More than $80 million in albums and singles * Last single: Touch Me When We're Dancing (1981) * First million-seller: Close to You (1970)
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