Karen’s exquisite voice was Richard’s favorite instrument to arrange, and he adored arranging and orchestrating sounds. On the 1977 album ‘Passage’, he capitalized on her vocals by using a soloist in oboe, flute, and harmonica as counterpoints. She was blessed with three octaves and praiseworthy contralto vocals that were enhanced with a low timbre. Richard’s style was experimental and highly-worked.
He was enthralled with dubbing and overdubbing. “People were coming in during recording and saying, ‘We’ve never heard anything like this,’” Richard said. Karen’s soft and soulful voice defines the Carpenters. As Bash said, “She was the one that people watched.” But, Richard’s perfectionist commitment to musical arrangement and talent accentuated her gifts. He said you fail the singer if your arrangement is weak.
Meeting the King
It was in the early 1970s when Karen Carpenter, beautiful and healthy and at the peak of her fame, attended an Elvis Presley show in Las Vegas with the gorgeous and talented British pop singer, Petula Clark (“Downtown”).
Elvis was taken with the girls and invited them back to his dressing room. According to Petula’s telling, Elvis was hoping the two of them might make three. She politely thanked him for his hospitality and exited the room with Karen. She said the look on his face was one of surprise as if he had never been turned down.
Richard Carpenter Returns to the Work He Loves
The news came as a surprise. In 2008, Richard Carpenter announced he was planning a comeback. The duo had been big in Japan, so he started there with his news. At a luncheon for the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan, he said, “It’s a different business. Music is a different world from when Karen and I were signed by Herb Alpert in 1969, but I feel I have some talent.”
His plan was to produce a Carpenters tribute album, as well as a Christmas album and a collection of his original solo songs.
The Duo’s Logo
The official Carpenters logo didn’t come about until 1971 when they were creating their third album. Richard was inspired to develop a logo when he saw the artwork Craig Braun created for that album.
“I recognized it to be a great logo as soon as I saw it,” Richard said. The iconic image is pictured on every Carpenters album since then.
Karen’s Haunting Voice
Karen Carpenter is one of the greatest female singers of all time. 'Rolling Stone' ranked her 94 out of the “100 Greatest Voices of All Time.” Grammy-winning producer Phil Ramone, with hits by Barbara Streisand, Paul Simon, and Billy Joel, said, “A voice like Karen’s—rich, womanly—comes along once every 20 years.”
Karen teamed up with Ramone in 1979, moving out to New York to work on a solo album with him. He added, “Voices like that should have a chance to do a variety of things.” Sadly, she didn’t live long enough.