The “Lead Sister’s” Greatest Hits

Date:2020/2/18 21:24:26 Hits:

Today’s birthday girl turned down the role of Elaine Robinson in the classic 1967 movie, The Graduate. She played the glockenspiel in her high school band. Her condo doorbell chimed the first six notes of the Carpenters’ hit, “We’ve Only Just Begun.” She was a ridiculously talented vocalist and drummer. If you don’t know by now, here are some additional clues: She was Richard Carpenter’s sister; she was a part of the ’70s soft rock sensation, the Carpenters; and her name was Karen.

That’s right. Karen Carpenter was born 68 years ago today. As a performer, “versatility” was Karen’s middle name. And we don’t mean the “she was a little good at a lot of things” kind of versatile. We mean that Karen performed to perfection on almost anything she tried.

Karen’s first public gig as a percussionist was hardly her favorite. As a first-year student, she rocked the glockenspiel for the mighty marching Vikings of Downey High School in sunny Los Angeles. She performed admirably, but it was love at first sight when she watched classmate Frankie Chavez play the drums. Karen knew right then what she wanted to do with her musical talent, but first she had to sell the idea to her parents.

“She was 14 years old, telling my folks she wants to play drums,” Karen’s brother Richard remembered. “We weren’t ‘in the chips’ and were already paying on the Baldwin. [Richard’s parents had purchased a Baldwin piano for him.] Nevertheless, they bought her an entry-level Ludwig set.” She took to it immediately, and just like that, Karen’s glockenspiel career was over.

In 1965, Karen and her brother Richard talked a friend into performing with them, and the Carpenter Trio was born. For the next three years, they would play gigs in jazz clubs and nightclubs. They also appeared on Your All-American College Show.

Karen and Richard were also performing with a band called Spectrum. For several years, Spectrum submitted demo after demo to record companies but were largely ignored. Finally, in 1969, they were signed by A&M Records as “The Carpenters.”

Their first album, Offering, featured a cover of the Beatles’ “Ticket to Ride,” which climbed to #54 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Carpenters’ follow-up album, Close to You, unleashed two monster hit singles: “(They Long to Be) Close to You” and “We’ve Only Just Begun.” They topped out at #1 and #2 respectively on the Hot 100.

As Karen’s career grew, so did her drum set. There was one set of drums Karen had wanted since her earliest performances. It didn’t take her long to get it.

“What she really wanted was the big set in silver sparkle,” Richard said. “It was the full size with two top toms and dual floor toms. She liked, of course, Zildjian cymbals. She also liked the Rogers hi-hat and a Rogers kick-drum pedal; that’s what she always used.”

Even in their success, the Carpenters were conservative in adding to Karen’s arsenal. “The snare she really wanted, but we couldn’t afford, was the Supersensitive top-of-the-line Ludwig with adjustable snares, all chrome,” Richard admitted. “We started with getting the penultimate
L 400, and she had that a little while, but soon we all broke down and got her the Supersensitive.”

The course of the Carpenters’ music career is now the stuff of legends, and together the Carpenter siblings would achieve superstar status in the ’70s music scene. With fame comes influence, and with influence comes opportunity. Ludwig quickly realized that Karen was a Ludwig drummer, and they treated her like royalty. “As soon as we hit it big it was like a dream come true in a number of ways,” said Richard. “Ludwig was sending Karen every drum set she wanted. It was really something.”

While drums were Karen’s headline instrument, she also picked up bass guitar. On the album Offering, Karen dropped the bass line for “All of My Life,” and “Eve.” On a side note, many of the Carpenters’ bass duties were tackled by Joe Osborn, the legendary session bassist who also kept the beat for acts like Ricky Nelson, America, Seals & Crofts, and many others.

Karen could’ve stopped right there and had a perfectly stellar career as a drummer. What’s more, she proved that she was one of those rare performers who could play the drums and sing at the same time. Karen was the main drummer and vocalist on the Carpenters’ first album. So why did she stop? The Carpenters’ hit songs grew to be larger than she was — literally.

Karen’s beauty and charm made her an immediate hit with audiences. Carpenters concerts would sell out, packed with fans who wanted to see her perform. The problem was, Karen was only 5′ 4″ tall. When she played the drums, eager fans could barely see her over the top of the toms and cymbals. Karen reluctantly moved to the front of the stage, where she captivated audiences with her spectacular voice.

Vocalist, drummer, bassist, glockenspieler — Karen Carpenter could do it all. But her true love was drumming. On her birthday, let’s remember Karen in one of her happiest moments — her percussion performance on the Carpenters’ first television special in 1976. Happy birthday, Karen.

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The “Lead Sister’s” Greatest Hits

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