Karen carpenter greatest voice of all time

Karen's resonant contralto singing voice (which actually spanned more than three octaves) was widely regarded as beatific, flawless, poignant.

Their easy-listening hits instantly bring baby boomers back in time: 'Close to You,' 'We've Only Just Begun,' 'For All We Know,' 'Rainy Days and Mondays,' 'Superstar,' 'Hurting Each Other,' 'It's Going to Take Some Time This Time,' 'Goodbye to Love.' And that's only in the first two-and-a-half years of their stardom. While they were together, the Carpenters released 11 albums and 30 singles, embarked on several tours in the U.S., England, Australia, Belgium, the Netherlands and Japan, appeared on television dozens of times and became fabulously rich. As she sang in a Carpenters hit single from 1974, 'Day after day I must face a world of strangers where I don't belong.' She was just terribly uncomfortable with her own. In fact, by most measures she loved the fact that life exists. Almost all of her closest companions insist that she clowned around constantly, had a penchant for silly wordplay and a marvelous sense of humor, never hesitated to help a friend, and absolutely adored children. It's no secret-at least not to many of her fans-that Karen Carpenter had mother issues, career issues, self-image issues, self-worth issues and perhaps a half-dozen others in between. Maybe it's not a bona fide revival, but you can't ignore it, either. * A passionate fan in Champaign, IL has been holding Karen Carpenter memorial events in his home for years and, through the web, invited people from all over to this year's gathering. * Thousands of Carpenter YouTube videos are updated daily with adoring comments * A few months ago, the self-proclaimed 'pop culture dean' of Southern California, Charles Phoenix, led $79 tours of places where Karen and her brother lived and worked

* Tributes featuring young ladies who attempt to duplicate Karen's translucent singing voice include a show in California called 'Close to You,' a program in Florida called 'The Carpenters Tribute Show,' and a band in England called Carpenters Magic * Last year a satirical musical comedy that played in Los Angeles, called 'Are You There God? It's Me, Karen Carpenter,' was inspired by a Judy Blume book and used two dozen Carpenters songs in the score. * Author Randy Schmidt published an affectionate and comprehensive biography in 2010 called 'Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter.' There's even a new Facebook page called IHeartTheCarpenters devoted to memorializing the 30th anniversary of Karen's death * The number of websites devoted to the Carpenters (some to Karen alone) seems to grow every year, with such current domain names as, the, and. The 30th anniversary of Karen Carpenter's death is a particularly good time to do some exploration into her life and career because, while there might not actually be a certified resurgence of all things Carpenter, a cursory examination shows that something's going on: How can all those changes not be a consequence of the many Karens that existed? This may be more than just a rhetorical exercise between 19 there were hundreds of photographs taken, dozens of promotional videos produced and countless media profiles published about the Carpenters, the hit-making musical group fronted by Karen but steered by her older brother Richard, and if you were to scrutinize just a fraction of them you'd notice that Karen's looks, style, performance techniques, seemingly even her personality and attitudes seem to have changed more times in 12 years than most of us change our resumes in 30. Here's one thing we know for sure: they all died 30 years ago, on February 4, 1983, when she was just 32 years old. Nor must we overlook the ailing anorexic and doomed icon. The awkward performer, unpredictable jester, modest millionaire, optimistic dreamer, wannabe mother, emotional wreck, fleeting liar, giddy clown and generous friend. The obedient daughter and conflicted sister. But let's not forget the love-starved romantic and the trusting prey. Many of us were already familiar with the gifted singer and consummate recording artist. For all we know, there could have been a dozen or more. DOWNEY - There were several Karen Carpenters.

Karen carpenter greatest voice of all time