With fans ranging from Paul McCartney to Sonic Youth, The Carpenters (actually just Carpenters) were a fantastic pop music band, taking over and defining the Easy Listening, Romantic Ballads, Adult Contemporary, and Soft Rock genres.
Karen Carpenter, a lady drummer and one of the best singing voices in music history, died 30 years ago today, February 4, 1983. She had a very sad life, one of the first celebrity anorexics, longed to have children, married a guy who after the wedding, told her he had a vasectomy, etc. Punk bands loved to do covers of her songs because they are so melancholic, introspective, despairing, and sweetly pessimistic.
WIKIPEDIA states: In Playboy magazine's annual opinion poll of 1975, its readers voted Karen Carpenter the Best Rock Drummer of the year. Apparently this greatly displeased John Bonham from Led Zeppelin as he came in second. He was quoted as saying: "I'd like to have it publicised that I came in after Karen Carpenter in the Playboy drummer poll! She couldn't last ten minutes with a Zeppelin number."
Don't get your panties in bunch John Bonham. Just because a girl beat you in banging the drums.
We miss you Karen. You reigned in the pop music realm with an incredible voice -- and your songs are unforgettable gems of poignant poetry and dreamy brilliance.
The Karen Carpenter Story - full movie on YouTube.
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