photo #1802550

February 4th1983, we lost Karen Anne Carpenter. She had died of heart failure from complications of Anorexia Nervosa. She was only 32 years of age. Born March 2, 1950, she and her brother, Richard, would go on to form the 1970's Pop music duo, The Carpenters. Karen became interested in playing the drums while attending Downey High School in Downey California, and had received the John Philip Sousa Band Award. From High School, she had formed an all girl vocal trio called, Two Plus Two. When Karen had suggested Richard also join the group, the group split. In 1965, Karen, Richard, and his college friend, Wes Jacobs, had formed the Richard Carpenter Jazz Trio. They had played in various nightclubs, and had appeared on the television show, "Your All-American College Show". Now comes the part about Karen's Magic Lamp single. In April of 1966, Karen and Richard were invited to audition with Bassist and record producer, Joe Osborn. Osborne was well known for his involvement with The Wrecking Crew. Karen, while believing she was to be considered for her drumming abilities, tried singing. Well, with her distinctive voice, she had impressed everyone in the studio, including Osborn. So much so, Osborn had signed her to a recording contract with his label, Magic Lamp Records. I guess after hearing Karen, he wasn't particularly interested in Richard.. lol. In 1967, Jacobs had left Karen and Richard to study at the Juilliard School of Music. This had left the Carpenters to explore other musical styles. They had then formed the group, Spectrum. This group included John Bettis and Gary Sims, with a focus on vocal harmonies. They had recorded demo tapes in Osborns garage studio, unfortunately, with the sound of the day being Psychedelic and Rock, the harmonious sound of Spectrum simply wasn't what record companies were looking for. The group even had difficulty attracting a live following. The demos.. were rejected. In 1969, Karen and Richard were signed to a recording contract with A&M Records, a label formed by Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss. In the beginning, Karen was both drummer and singer. She sang from behind her drum kit. In fact, it was Karen who sang most of the songs on their first album, "Ticket To Ride". Richard had written ten of the thirteen songs on the album, singing on five of them. Not only did Karen play drums on the album, she also played the Bass on "All Of My Life" and "Eve". "Ticket To Ride" was, of course, a cover of The Beatles' tune, and was released as their first single, reaching the #54 position on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.