Karen Carpenter: The Greatest Vocalist of All Time
It’s been 28 years since I lost most of my hearing to a virus. After the hearing loss I picked up my violin and played. It sounded like cats howling. I tried listening to some of my favorite vocalists from the 60s and 70s—ABBA, Cat Stevens, The Mama and the Papas, and James Taylor. Since the virus burned the cilia in my cochlear, sound is distorted making my favorite crooners sound worse than my violin. Saving my favorite group for last, I listened to The Carpenters. It was Karen Carpenter’s voice that my mind was able to recapture and hear in all of its elegance.
I still wonder why, but I also wanted to learn more about Karen Carpenter who Neil Sedaka called, “One of the greatest vocalists of all time.”
I read Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter by Randy L. Schmidt that exposes Carpenter family dysfunction, which led to Karen’s mental illness. Their lack of support during her treatment was a deterrent to her recovery. The Schmidt book is cerebral while Joel Samberg’s book, Some Kind of Lonely Clown: The Music, Memory, and Melancholy Lives of Karen Carpenter, speaks to the heart and soul.
Samberg’s biography delves into Karen Carpenter’s life showing readers her natural talent, and we learn that the Carpenter siblings were complimentary. Richard created amazing orchestrations and music geared for his sister’s voice. And Karen had a vocal range and velvety voice that helped the Carpenters sell 100 million records.
Karen threw herself into her music becoming the greatest female vocalist of the 1970s. It was her private life that let her down. It is no wonder Karen’s favorite Carpenter song was 1976’s “I Need to Be in Love.” She was a love-starved romantic, an obedient daughter, wannabe mom, generous friend, and emotional wreck.
Watch a few videos on YouTube and look into Karen’s eyes, the window to the soul. This was a good person. After her death, Samberg writes, “Staffers at A&M Records had a very hard time talking about Karen, and that it wasn’t unusual at all to see tears when they did talk about her. Without exception, Karen had an overwhelming impact on everyone who knew her and worked with her.”
At the end of Some Kind of Lonely Clown, Samberg discusses Karen’s untimely death due to a heart attack caused by anorexia nervosa when the singer was 32 years old. Karen’s disregard of professional medical advice didn’t help. And like I did on February 4, 1983, I cried, because I lost a friend who could sing to my soul, even though my ears failed me.
Samberg wonders what Karen Carpenter would have achieved if she hadn’t died. She was interested in romantic comedy, so it wouldn’t be surprising if she stared in a musical and even performed in a solo act. What she wanted the most was love and a gaggle of children, whom she loved.
About the Author
When Joel Samberg was 15 his English teacher sent a note home to his parents accusing Joel of plagiarizing a book report in her English class because she thought it was too well written for a 15-year-old. That was the catalyst that pushed him to become a writer.
At 17 he became a stringer for his hometown newspaper, and continued on-the-job training as a student journalist at Hofstra University. His first position after college was as an assistant editor on trade magazines. He moved into marketing communications as an account executive, public relations manager and employee communications writer. His work has appeared in Connecticut Magazine, Pittsburgh Magazine, New Jersey Monthly, Hartford Magazine, Dramatics Magazine, the New York Daily News and others.
Samburg is the author of “Blowin’ in the Wind,” as well as four nonfiction books, including “Smack in the Middle: My Turbulent Time Treating Heroin Addicts at Odyssey House (co-authored with Gibbs Williams, Ph.D.), “Grandpa Had a Long One: Personal Notes on the Life, Career & Legacy of Benny Bell,” and “Some Kind of Lonely Clown: The Music, Memory & Melancholy Lives of Karen Carpenter,” which followed a report on Ms. Carpenter that Samburg wrote and narrated for NPR’s “All Things Considered.”
Yes, Karen Carpenter really did have a great voice and I’m glad you can still appreciate it with your hearing disability; however, to me Barbra Streisand is the greatest vocalist of all time.
I used to like Barbra, but now she sounds like a cat fight.
my favorite singer of all time
Karen gives you her voice and projects visual thought from her heart in what she is singing. Almost a maternal vibe to her audience. Running pure warm water into your heart with her voice itself, and soothing you, if you accept her in. That is my best description. I just myself recently view You Tube videos of her singing and stage performances. I heard of this group “Carpenters” in my teens, some pics on TV and possibly seen them on the Andy Williams Show. Just a hand full of songs. I just rediscovered them after all this time, that Karen is truly a beautiful and emotional singer. She puts herself into the song and shows us with her graceful movements. She gives her real self. What have I missed all this time? I have to say, I am astounded by her “God given gift”. She has made me cried, and that does not happen to me when I listen to someone singing. It may be centuries before we ever see someone the likes of her to ever sing like that on this earth. To the audience and others, she shows her love for people and gives us something to share with others. Love and Life.
Michael, I am so sorry about your hearing loss. But I am glad that you can still appreciate the ethereal voice of Karen Carpenter. As unearthly as the quality of her voice was, she was able to understand and express the fragility of the human heart more beautifully and powerfully than perhaps any other popular singer. And those who knew her always commented about her kindness, humility, and work ethic. She was a good person, extraordinarily talented. It is heartening to see a whole new generation of audiences discover and appreciate her and Richard’s magnificent, enduring contributions to music and culture.