Quite possibly the finest Christmas album of all-time. Karen Carpenter was born to sing Christmas music.
Today
is the start of my campaign to get "Christmas Portrait" back on the
charts and to peak even higher than it did in 2011. Way back in 1978
"Christmas Portrait" was on the charts and made it to #150 in the US and
then in 2011 (an entire 33 years after it's release) the album reached a
new peak position at #126. On the Billboard chart for the week ending December 8, 2012 "Christmas Portrait" re-entered the chart at #147. The newest edition of the chart finds the album falling down to #171 (we've got our work cut out for us). This year (2012) the goal is to get the
album into the Top 100. We can do it.
The way to get the album
into the Top 100 is to purchase a brand new copy of the disc. If you're
purchasing it from Amazon.com (which you will find links to amazon in
this post) there are options to purchase it brand new directly from
Amazon.com . You will find that new copy from Amazon in the box listed
Formats. It will be listed in the first row which is listed as Amazon
Price. It's either available as MP3 Music or Audio CD. Click on either
one of those to make your purchase.
Sales of brand new CD or MP3 copies will put the album on the charts. Purchases of used copies will not help.
Please send this link to everyone you know so we can make a difference and get "Christmas Portrait" into the Top 100 this year.
It is now 2012 and we're still talking about Carpenters. Their music was timeless and Karen Carpenter was a singer for all times.
Karen Carpenter was born to sing Christmas music, that
reality first materialized in 1970 with the release of "Merry Christmas Darling" and came full circle in 1978 when "Christmas Portrait" hit the
stores.
This year a very special gift, in the way of a music video, was produced by Lee Arboreen for his significant other Robb Brawn. Robb Brawn is a lifelong Karen Carpenter/Carpenters fan and has even produced his own recordings of Carpenters songs most recently "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas".
The following video is Lee Arboreen's video tribute to the song "Merry Christmas Darling" as dedicated to Robb Brawn...
Thank you Lee and thank you Robb for this fantastic gift of the season!
Many big thanks go to Irene for offering these photos to Karen Carpenter Avenue and Karen Carpenter Magazine. Your generosity is much appreciated.
Released on October 9, 1969, "Offering" is the name of Carpenters' debut
album. The album did not chart and sold only 18,000 copies. However there was one
semi-hit single with the release of a ballad version of the Beatles' "Ticket To Ride" which reached #54
on the Billboard singles chart and remained on the chart for 12 weeks.
Original album cover "Offering" 1969
The following are outtakes from the "Offering" photo shoot in 1969.
(Thank you again Irene for contributing these photos)
This set of photos show Karen and Richard in a rustic atmosphere.
Suburban Southern California, the dusty fallen leaves, the stained
cement. It's down very earthy.
After the success of the mega-hit "Close To You" A&M Records repackaged "Offering" with a new album cover and renamed it "Ticket To Ride". The reissued album has gone on to sell over 400,000 (in the US). Mint copies of the original "Offering" vinyl album are valued at $1,000 +.
Randy Schmidt has had three books published (to date) relating to the music of Carpenters. His first book, "Yesterday Once More: Memories of the Carpenters and their Music" was a compilation of newspaper, magazine and book reviews and articles all put into one book. This collection was publisheded in 2000 and was a huge delight to all Carpenters fans. Eleven years later Schmidt released his prized work "Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter". Schmidt compiled data and interviews from Karen's friends and associates and wrote a compelling story attempting to tell the real story of Karen Carpenter. "Little Girl Blue" was a big success. Because of this success Schmidt decided to expand his first release "Yesterday Once More: Memories of the Carpenters and their Music" by adding several more articles to it. This new expanded issue is titled, "Yesterday Once More: The Carpenters Reader".
This interview gives us a nice insight into the workings of his books as well as an introduction into the person that Randy Schmidt is.
RH = Rick Henry, RS = Randy Schmidt
RH: In composing,
compiling, editing and authoring these books have you ever felt like you were
in any way entering the life of Karen Carpenter or maybe becoming part of
Karen's soul?
RS: The Yesterday Once
More book (YOM for short) was lots of research and digging and permission
seeking, so it was not nearly the emotional journey of Little Girl Blue (LGB for short). For that project, there was
something really special about the stories shared with me by Karen’s friends.
Getting to know them and to witness the love they have for her nearly thirty
years after she passed just goes to show what a special person Karen was. Karen
was such a private person, though, so I don’t know that I felt I ever got to a
soul level with her story. She didn’t let anyone get that close. Even Karen’s
closest confidants were lied to and deceived, with no ill intent, of course, in
her continued attempts to convince them she was okay. On some level, I feel she
desired attention, but then she also just wanted to be left alone with her
illness. I think she lived much of her life inside her head.
RH: "Little Girl
Blue" was a touching tribute to Karen. A lot of it was very emotional and
somewhat revealing to Karen's inner being. Did you ever become over emotional while working on this book?
RS: I certainly did get emotional from time to time. Imagine
sitting in Frenda’s living room and hearing all this for the first time! I was
numb with emotion that day. Witnessing Mike Curb, Olivia, Terry Ellis, and
others choked up over “what might have been…” Those moments were so touching
and at the same time I couldn’t believe I was on the receiving end of these
deeply personal feelings. There were so many revelations in LGB and luckily for
me they came sporadically. The tidbits of information were released by various
interviewees over time, so I had time to digest the contents little by little.
I was caught off guard by the emotional response of readers, but I guess I
shouldn’t have been. It was the combination of all those tidbits that combined
for an overwhelming amount of information. I realize now that sitting down and
reading the book in a few hours or even over a few days often results in a
truly heart-wrenching experience.
RH: What motivated you to
write "Little Girl Blue"? Why did you see a need for this book?
RS: I’m reminded of a comment Karen would often make regarding
her singing voice: “It just sorta happened!” After Yesterday Once More was published in 2000, I got the idea to do a
children’s book about the Carpenters. I hoped to focus on their early musical
influences, their experimentation with various instruments, attempts to get a
record deal, and so on. The first person I interviewed was Debbie Cuticello,
one of Karen’s childhood friends from New Haven. That children’s book project
never really took shape, but the interview with Debbie proved to be the first
of many I would do over the following years. The project took on many different
shapes—from children’s book to a career retrospective to an oral history of the
Carpenters’ music and recording sessions. But there came a time when I began to
see a pattern in all of the research I’d been doing and especially in the
responses of those I was interviewing. The common thread was Karen. And I am
sure Richard struggles with this on a daily basis, but all I kept hearing was
“Karen, Karen, Karen.” No joke. I don’t remember exactly what made the decision
for me, but the focus shifted from the duo to just Karen, specifically. Of
course you can’t tell her story without his and vice versa, but I began to
realize that, even though she was one-half of a duo, Karen was important enough
as an individual to warrant her own book. When considering a book proposal, one
of the things publishers want to know is “what’s different” about this book.
What sets this book apart from others on the same subject? There had never
really been a KAREN Carpenter biography. I had so many unanswered questions
after reading Ray Coleman’s book and seeing and hearing other accounts, so I
knew other fans probably felt the same way. Richard wasn’t talking, so we
weren’t going to get more of the story there. I had been secretly hoping Paul
Grein would write the Carpenters bio that I wanted to read, but I finally took
matters into my own hands, I guess you could say. I remember having dinner with
Chris Tassin one night in early 2008 and telling him some of my thoughts and
ideas. We went to a bookstore afterward and looked through lots of celebrity
bios. I think it was that night that I knew it was going to happen. I left
there ready to find a publisher for the project.
RH: What was your most
unusual or maybe funny experience during the process of collecting information/
conducting interviews to write "Little Girl Blue"?
RS: One that comes to mind is not necessarily funny, but it was
certainly unusual. And frustrating for sure. I started trying to contact the
Carpenters’ manager Sherwin Bash as early as 2002, I’d say. I sent an email
here, left a phone message there, and the answer was always the same: “No!” And
it wasn’t just “no,” at one point it was more of a “Hell, No!” He was not very
kind or personable. At one point I was in contact with his daughter Randy Bash,
but she wouldn’t talk and said her father didn’t want to either. I consider
myself to be very tenacious, but I am not one to keep pushing to the point of
making someone mad. I finally gave up. I’d discovered a nice interview Sherwin
did with UK music writer John Tobler in 1990, so I ended up licensing that from
him for Little Girl Blue. It wasn’t
original to the project, but at least Bash’s thoughts and opinions would be
included in some manner. Fast forward to 2010: A letter arrives at my home from
Sherwin Bash saying, in so many words, “Why would you write a book about Karen
Carpenter and not interview ME!?” I was dumbstruck. I responded, reminding him
that he’d said “no” on numerous occasions, to which he replied saying I should
have asked one MORE time! It was hilarious, in a way, but terribly frustrating.
I responded again saying that I, of course, regret not having gone back to him
again and told him I hoped he would consider granting an interview to help
correct or append future editions of the book. His reply was “Too late!”
RH: What made you decide
to expand upon "Yesterday Once More: Memories of the Carpenters and their
Music" and release "Yesterday Once More; The Carpenters Reader"
?
RS: The original edition was much loved, but never received the
distribution and attention I thought it deserved. After LGB was released and
did so well, people started asking about YOM. I only had a few copies in my collection,
Amazon sellers were pricing it over $100 since it was considered to be “rare,”
but I wanted people to be able to find copies. I considered self-publishing the
second edition, but first decided to send out book proposals to a few
publishers I thought might give it a chance. As a last resort I took it to
Chicago Review Press and basically explained the renewed interest in the book
and that I planned to self-publish, but wanted to know if they’d have any
interest. I’ve been told that LGB is their bestselling title to date, so I
guess they figured that there might be enough residual interest from that book
to carry another Carpenters title. I think they did a beautiful job with the
new cover, layout, and everything else. They are a class act publisher. They
really encouraged me to return to the roots of a lot of these articles, too,
when we discovered a lot of the articles had been heavily edited and even
shortened for the first edition, some with and some without my knowledge. It
makes me really happy to know they’ve all been restored for this edition. I was
also able to get rid of a few pieces that didn’t work well in the first
printing and add a number of new pieces to this edition.
RH: Are there any plans
for anymore books?
RS: There’s only one more Carpenters related book on my horizon,
I guess you could say. That children’s book idea that started it all has
finally developed into something pretty special. I hope to find a publisher
that agrees, because I think it would be well received and something that would
find a home in school libraries around the country. That manuscript is finished
and just waiting for a chance. The success of LGB has opened up many other
opportunities for other books, too. I am mostly into biographies and creative
nonfiction at this point. My current project is tentatively called Through These Portals: Beryl Wallace and
Earl Carroll’s Hollywood, and is the story of a beautiful showgirl, her
impresario boss/lover, and their fascinating lives leading up to the couple’s
tragic demise in a 1948 plane crash. It will be an illustrated history with
175-200 photos. A lot of people know of the legendary Earl Carroll Theatre on
Sunset in Hollywood. It’s since been the Moulin Rouge, the Aquarius Theatre,
and others, and it’s now known as Nickelodeon on Sunset where they tape shows
like iCarly and Victorious. It’s a pretty fascinating and previously untold chapter
of Hollywood history and I am so grateful to be working with members of the
families of both Beryl and Earl.
RH: What was the first
song you that really caught your attention?
RS: I’d have to say “Rainy Days and Mondays,” only because it was the opening
title for the CBS TV movie The Karen
Carpenter Story. I was 13 when I watched it and fell in love with Karen’s
voice at first listen. I know there were some Carpenters songs buried deep
inside somewhere, but that was the first time it really clicked. Instant
connection. The “cry” in her voice appealed to me and there was a sense of
longing that even a teenage kid could detect with ease. I felt from that moment
that she was singing only for me. Little did I know that she had that effect on
nearly every Carpenters fan!
RH: Which five Carpenters songs are your
"desert island" songs?
RS: In no particular order, I’d have to say:
Superstar, Only Yesterday, Road Ode, I Can’t Make Music, Now
RH: If you could choose one Carpenters album
which would you say is the closest to perfect?
RS: A Song for You,
with Lovelines running a close second
(though made up of various outtakes, it’s a really cohesive album).
RH: I ask every fan I
interview about Karen's solo album. I feel it's one of the most important
albums in the entire output of Carpenters/Carpenters related music.
Had the album been released in 1980 do you think it would have changed the way
people viewed Karen Carpenter?
RS: I think it might have given her a bit more edge than she’d
had in the past. I do NOT think it would have done anything to tarnish her
image or reputation.
RH: Do you think her solo album may have
helped or hindered sales of subsequent Carpenters albums?
RS: If anything it would have helped. By 1980, the Carpenters’ albums were not
selling like they did even five years earlier. It would have surely garnered
more attention and sales than Passage
and Made in America. It would have at
least had people talking.
RH: Do you think the album would have
changed Karen's course of life in anyway? If so how?
RS: I have said this before, but I firmly believe that Karen’s
whirlwind romance with Tom Burris was a rebound from the disappointment and
eventual shelving of the solo album. Had she been releasing and promoting an
album in the spring of 1980, she would not have had time to devote to that
relationship. In that manner, I do feel it would have changed the course of her
life in a very big way. Also, I wish she’d stood up to Richard and the folks at
A&M. Herb Alpert never liked their A
Kind of Hush album, but it wasn’t stopped. There wasn’t pressure to go back
and redo everything. It was terribly crushing for Karen to have this album—her
most personal, creative product ever—deemed unworthy of release. Her friends
told me she never fully trusted Richard after that. Their relationship was
damaged and you can sense the tension in the interviews they did together for Made in America. RH: Lastly is there any one of two... maybe
three Carpenters tunes which hold a special memory for you?
RS: “Don’t Be Afraid” was one of my first favorite Carpenters
songs and I remember singing it as a solo at a junior high choir concert. I
sure hope no recordings exist! Other than that, I think “Tryin’ to Get the
Feeling Again” gets to me because I remember hearing that for the first time in
a record store in 1994, I believe. I ran across the Interpretations CD by accident. I didn’t even know it was out. I
took the CD to the listening station and was moved to tears. I am not much of a
crier, but another one that really hit me hard was “And When He Smiles.” It was
another “surprise” song that I didn’t know even existed until I was face to
face with it. The youthful spirit of innocence in Karen’s voice and the looks
of optimism on her face in the BBC footage were chilling.
RS: Dad of two, partner of one, and creative music lover
RH: What makes you happier than anything else in life?
RS: Seeing my daughters happy and smiling and enjoying life. They love
music, too, so I love to see them enjoying music of all genres. They
both have beautiful singing voices, too.
RH: How old are your girls? Do they sing any Carpenters tunes?
RS: The girls
are 13 and 8. They have been surrounded by Carpenters tunes since
birth, of course, and sing along just about any time I play their songs,
but they have their own tastes in music. My eight year old loves "Top
of the World" and "If I Had You."
RH: Outside of your family is there an elder person in your life that you really look up to?
RS: Frank Pooler is one of my idols. He’s become a bit of a mentor. I only
wish we lived in closer proximity to one another so I could really spend
time learning from him and absorb some of that creativity and energy.
He’s such a kindhearted man and I really admire the relationships he
maintains with his former students. It says a lot about him as a person
and educator. There’s something, too, about the bond between singers and
their conductor. It’s a very intimate, emotional thing to make music
with others and when you work with someone like Frank, I imagine you
can’t help but fall under his spell.
RH: In which way is Frank Pooler a mentor to you?
RS: It's completely
unofficial, of course, but we've sat down at length and discussed music
education, choral singing, and so on. He recommends various books and
passes along links to songs and recordings he thinks I might enjoy. He's
really like a music educator idol for me and he's willing to share
anything and everything, the greatest being his knowledge. He's such a
fascinating man!
RH: Care to share any embarrassing or humorous happenings in your life?
RS: Where do I begin!? During a trip to Los Angeles I went hunting for the
Brady Bunch house. I finally found it but as I turned the corner I was
so fascinated I wasn’t paying close attention and ran the car up onto
the sidewalk. It blew out a tire on the rental car!
RH: What would you say are the 3 biggest achievements in your life?
RS: 1. Being the father of two beautiful girls 2. Authoring Little Girl Blue and seeing it go above and beyond my wildest dreams 3. Figuring out that I don’t have to be who I thought everybody else wanted me to be.It’s ok being me!
RH: Who or what has/have played the biggest role(s) in the shaping of your achieving of goals?
RS: My grandma Margie was a huge influence on my love for music during my formative years. I miss her so much and wish she could have stuck around long enough to see all this. She would have thrilled.
RH: One thing I really appreciate about you is your sense of outspokenness.
I haven't met you personally, but you seem comfortable at intelligently
speaking up for what you believe, what you like and what you do. What
drives this attribute of your personality?
RS: I came to a point in
my life around the age of 30 where I had to stop living the life I’d
been prescribed and start living the life I was always meant to live.
I’ve always been such a people pleaser, so it used to really upset me to
think I’d hurt or disappointed someone. But as it turns out, most
people appreciate honesty and authenticity more than they do facades.
RH: Randy, I want to thank you for taking the time to do this interview. I
also thank you very much for the three books you have released so far.
All three of them have been valuable additions to my library.
RS: Thank you! It’s such a pleasure to visit with you. What a great discussion!
Another fantastic book release from Randy Schmidt. This is the revised and expanded edition of "Yesterday Once: Memories of the Carpenters and their Music".
Released in 2003. This rare and valuable Japanese issued single includes the classic version of "Top Of The World" as well as karaoke versions of "Top Of The World" and "Sing".
This smart set includes ten premium guitar picks featuring photos of Karen and Richard from various points in their career. Accompanied with a great looking round shaped tin with Carpenters logo.
Ten fantastic premium guitar picks containing much loved photos of Karen and Richard Carpenter. These ten guitar picks are attached to a stunning photo card backing (as seen in the picture above). Nice gift item for the die-hard Carpenters fan.
Outstanding live performance from Carpenters' 1974 tour of Japan. This is a must get for every Carpenters fan. Includes Japanese sung version of "Sing" and a rollicking rendition of "Leader of the Pack".
On December 29, 2011 I premiered my new website called "online with Carpenters". It was designed in a magazine style. After about six months I just was not happy with the site. It just was not very user friendly. I decided to rework the site and update it.
The newly retooled, reworked site debuted on the internet on June 14, 2012 to very positive reviews from fans and friends. CLICK HEREto visit online with Carpenters
Please check out the new site, I really enjoyed putting it together.
Almost
every diehard fan of Carpenters/Karen Carpenter has seen Chris Tassin’s artwork.
You may not have realized that it’s Chris’ work but certainly at one time or
another you’ve seen one of his works floating around the internet.
Chris is
a wonderfully accomplished artist who has been drawing since a very young age. His
portraits are finely detailed and are realistically lifelike. It is with his
portraits of Karen Carpenter that Chris has come to worldwide acclaim.
I have the honor of sharing this interview with Chris with you the fans of
Carpenters and Karen Carpenter. This is the first in my interview series of
Carpenters Superfans.
- Rick
Henry
RH = Rick Henry, CT = Chris Tassin
RH: When
did you first start drawing? What were your first ever works of art? How old
were you?
CT: There
were some drawings that my mother showed me recently from when I was 4 years
old. They were mostly nativity scenes, which I suppose was not much of a
surprise, considering how much I loved the Christmas season. I enjoyed drawing
throughout in my childhood and started putting larger amounts of time into art
projects in my early teens.
RH: What
or who inspired you to become an artist?
CT: My
mother used to paint when I was very young. Her vision and love for her
projects was wonderful to be around. She inspired me, particularly when
she used to design and paint elaborate Christmas displays for outside our
house. She and my dad made my early holidays visually memorable.
RH:Who are your favorite artists? Do you favor a certain type of
art/painting/drawing?
CT: There
are so many types of art I love, but portraits have always fascinated me. It's
almost as if there is some type of energy or extra something inside a painting
or drawing of a person. At the very least, it usually makes me reflect. It's a
nice way to pay tribute and honor someone as well. Some of my favorite artists,
particularly known for their portraits, include Richard Amsel and John Singer
Sargent. Modern and abstract art are some of my favorites as well.
Pure, vibrant colors have always appealed to me. The entire spectrum of
colors is one of the most beautiful things in this existence. When one
color is positioned or seen next to another, it makes it stand out all
the more. We can appreciate its uniqueness.
RH: How did you learn to draw/paint? Did you take any art classes?
CT: Enjoying
it and drawing the things I loved, helped me learn. Drawing is like most
things in that the more you do it, the more you develop and progress. I
learned mostly through practice and being inspired by other artists. I
had a couple of art classes in high school and then two years of commercial art
school. Since I saw my mother drawing and painting when I was young, I would
ask her things like, "How do you draw an eye?". She
would give some guidance, but I realized later it was through my own practicing
that I would come closer to what I was trying to achieve.
RH: Your
mother sounds like a wonderful person.
CT: She's
a very warmhearted person and cared about making things beautiful for everyone.
I'm grateful for her always.
RH: How long does a portrait generally take you to complete? When working on a
portrait is it all consuming or do you work on it a little bit at a time with
breaks in between?
CT: The
time spent on a portrait varies, but I usually complete them within a few weeks
to several months for the larger or more involved ones. Most of them were done
in colored pencil which is a medium can take large amounts of time. Once I'm
into the process it can consume me, but I do take breaks that vary in length.
RH: Do you have a particular method of drawing/painting? Such as do you have a
special room or a special set-up.
CT: For a
long time I had no set-up. It's not something I had ever taken the time to
prepare for whatever reason, but I should have. About ten years ago I finally
got a drawing table which is very helpful. Before that it was table tops,
the floor, and walls. When doing a portrait, after getting the general
outline done, I always do the eyes first and work from there.
RH: Tell me a little about your first (or first few) Carpenters/Karen Carpenter
drawings? When did you first draw a portrait of Karen? What inspired you to
draw Karen Carpenter?
CT: Being
a young child in the 70's, hearing all the great sounds on pop radio, the
Carpenters music stood out to me the most. I remember hearing
"Yesterday Once More" often and being so captivated by it. I had no
idea who the lady singing was, but her story about listening to the radio
waiting for her favorite songs and how today seemed "rather sad",
affected me. Hearing the Carpenters sound and her voice saturate the
airwaves over the years, I realized how special they were. Up to the
point of Karen's death, even though I loved their music, I was what you
would consider more of a casual fan. I only owned a Greatest Hits album
set that I treasured, and the Christmas album. I was in my junior year of high
school on February 4, 1983, the day that Karen passed. I'll never forget
hearing the news after classes that day. I realized in that moment what a great
loss it was and I was filled with thoughts of her. I immediately felt
compelled to draw her portrait and began on it the day after. Discovering
more of who Karen was and becoming more in awe of her one-of-a-kind voice, warm
and funny personality, and her genuine quality, touched me deeply. It continued
to inspire me to render her lovely image through the years. I consider
her an angelic friend as I know she continues to be a friend to all who love her
and the gifts she brought with her brother Richard Carpenter.
RH: Do you have a particular favorite drawing of Karen? What makes it your
favorite?
CT: The colored pencil portrait of Karen that I remember
working on the most, was in 1993, when I did one of the solo poses of her
curled up in the big violet chair. While it's not a very original
piece at all, because it's almost exactly as it is in the wonderful original
photograph, it was a favorite and the one that challenged me the most. The
artwork is a large piece, measuring 30" x 30". I went through
so many violet colored pencils. But it was that subtle, gentle smile on
her face that was difficult to render. Since it's a favorite pose of many
fans, most are familiar with that closed mouth, relaxed soft smile she has in
that shot. Even with the control of a pencil, it was much harder to get
it to look natural than I thought it would be. At one point I erased the entire
mouth. The waxy texture of a Prismacolor colored pencil is difficult, if
not impossible to erase. It tore away some of the surface of the
illustration board. This really disappointed me as I thought the piece
was ruined and I'd spent so much time on it. The rest of her face was all
done and her eyes were especially pleasing. I put it away out of
frustration and left it alone in fear I'd make it worse. About a year
later when I was relaxed and ready to attempt the mouth again, I carefully took
the time to gently lay in the colors again and it turned out fairly well.
It was a nice surprise to see that I could salvage it.
Another
favorite of mine would be the more recent black and white pencil drawing I did
in 2009 for the biography, "Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen
Carpenter". It's a piece that I was asked by Randy Schmidt to create
and it's one of my more original drawings of Karen, inspired by her 1975 look.
RH: Before we continue with this video I'd like to share a few other drawings Chris has done, outside of his Karen Carpenter/Carpenters work.
Trumpeter, Al Hirt
RH: You did such an outstanding job on the "If I Had You" video. What
inspired you to create this?
CT: Thank
you. That video was fun to put together. It's a great song and one
of my favorites. I felt it would work well with that sort of quick cut, fast
moving visual treatment. Karen's solo work, particularly on "If I
Had You", had such a sophisticated, modern sound. It's sad that she never
got to make any promo videos for her album. I felt that in putting the video
together, it would be my tribute to her, along with helping expose this great
recording to more people.
RH: It worked. Your video has near
443,000, which is an amazing feat. The HD version has an additional 32,000
views. You must be proud.
CT: I'm
happy it's been well received and enjoyed! It's especially fun to read comments
from those hearing the song for the first time. They are impressed by this
edgier side of Karen and love her performance. It was a thrill and a surprise
when Larry Herbstritt, one of the writers of the song, commented, "As I
sit here fighting back the tears, I feel such appreciation for this lovely
video. I miss Karen and wish we all could have her back again."
RH: I did an interview with Larry. He’s a nice guy and extremely talented.
RH: What type of software or editing tools did you use for the video?
CT: Photoshop
was used for editing the images and then iMovie to put the video together.
RH: aha, you’ll have to teach me how to use iMovie.
RH: How many images of Karen were involved? Did you have to draw multiple
images of the same pose in order to create the somewhat moving image of Karen
toward the end?
CT: I'm
not sure how many images were used. As far as Karen moving toward the
end, I just took frames of her from “Music, Music, Music” and edited the
background.
RH: How long did it take you to create the video?
CT: It
took a month or two to complete, working on it a few hours here and there most
days.
RH: What was your biggest challenge in completing it?
CT: The
biggest challenge was having it timed correctly. I wanted to keep most of the
images changing on the beat during the chorus, and following the words on
screen during certain portions. The program used for building the video
gave a little trouble near completion. It wouldn't export it to a movie file,
but after shifting around some of the images, it worked out.
RH: Will you do another Karen Carpenter music video? I'd like to see one for
"Guess I Just Lost My Head".
CT: There
have been a few ideas in my mind for videos of other songs. "Guess I Just
Lost My Head" would be a good one. There have been a few things delaying
me in doing so. Finding the time is one. Another is that the ideas I have
envisioned will take more learning on my part and different computer programs.
Finally, there is the fact that I've already used most of the Karen solo
images available to us on the first video. I suppose if they were used in
a different treatment and style, some could be used again and still seem fresh.
RH: Now on to your views about the music...
RH: When did you first hear Karen's voice? What was your response?
CT: My
earliest memory of taking notice of Karen's singing was hearing "Yesterday
Once More" on the radio when I was seven years old. She sang in a
way that I believed every word. I thought she was telling her own personal
story. The song haunted me. No other singer grabbed my attention like she
did.
RH: I
like how you say that you felt as though Karen was telling her own personal
story. I agree, she really had a way of making each song feel like it was her
life story. I feel that most when I hear the song “Road Ode”.
RH: What was the first Carpenters record you purchased?
CT: The
first ones I ever purchased were singles of "Yesterday Once More" and
"Sing". Later on I found the double LP compilation set of
"The Carpenters Collection" in a nearby record store in the late
70's. I was so happy. Not only did it contain the hits, but it was the first
time I heard certain album cuts that were included. The cover had one of those
beautiful photos of Karen and Richard from the 1977 photo sessions. Karen was
so pretty with those big, brown eyes and lovely, bright smile.
RH: Do you have a favorite Carpenters song? Favorite album?
CT: As
anyone who loves the Carpenters knows, it's really hard to pick a favorite
song! I guess my all time favorite classic still has to be, "Yesterday
Once More". I'm still in awe of it in every way.. her performance,
the poignant lyrics, the harmonies, that gorgeous bittersweet melody.
Richard Carpenter, John Bettis, and Karen's talents combined to create a
classic full of longing and memories. It was the perfect recording for
the airwaves. It was about radio, the songs we love, and our reaction to them.
Its style and sound was a tribute to classic pop.
My
favorite album is a tie between "Horizon" and "Christmas
Portrait". I feel the way so many do about "Horizon".
It's the Carpenters at their finest. There are so many incredible
performances on that record. Karen is at her most divine on
"Solitaire", the incredible "Only Yesterday", and the
exquisite "I Can Dream Can't I". The Christmas album is my
other great love. No one can sing a Christmas song like Karen. Her
voice is the very sound of the season and all it brings. It is the voice of an
angel.
RH: Boy,
do I ever agree with you on that Karen is the true “Voice of an Angel”.
RH: Where were you when you heard of Karen's passing? What were your feelings?
CT: My
sister had picked me up from high school that day. Not long after I got
into her car, she started out with, "Chris, Karen Carpenter of the
Carpenters..." Before she was able to complete the sentence, I knew
somehow what she was about to say. I remember immediately acknowledging
to myself that she had died. Then my sister continued, "..she died today.
The news on the radio says she had a heart attack." My heart sank. My
response was, "She was my favorite." My sister said, "I
thought Olivia was your favorite." "No", I said,
"Karen was." I was deeply saddened by the news. I didn't know
much about Karen at that time other than having loved her voice on the radio
since I was a boy, and playing the couple of Carpenters albums I owned. I had
only seen very few photos of her up to that point. For some odd reason, I'd
even managed to miss all of the Carpenters TV appearances while I was growing
up. I just knew that something significant had happened in the loss of Karen. I
remember having thoughts like, "She was too good to be true."
She had such a rare quality, not only in the sound of her voice, but in
the feelings that came through her voice. She was just like a beautiful breeze
that touches you and then it's gone.
RH: Wow,
Chris that was beautifully worded. You really have a way with words.
RH: What was your reaction when you first heard Karen's solo album?
CT: First
hearing Karen's solo album was both an exciting and bittersweet experience. I
loved most of it and was surprised by some of it because it was so different
from her previous work. I remember being particularly impressed by "Guess
I Just Lost My Head", "All Because Of You", and her great take
on, "Still Crazy After All These Years". I was so glad when it
was finally released on CD in 1996. The cover image, while one of my favorite
photos of Karen ever, is not very pleasing in terms of its treatment. It's too
bad they didn't go with the originally planned color stylings of her
photographs. I'm guessing that the thinking was to do a different look on the
cover photo in '96 because it was being released so many years after the fact.
The face looks washed out. I realize it was a design choice, but I just wish
more care would have been given to it. She was so beautiful in that solo
shoot. She deserved better. Well, at least the folks at A&M were
consistent. They gave her a lackluster treatment till the very end.
RH: You
are so right. It’s too bad that A&M did not put more care into Karen’s (and
Richard’s) image. Even more they should have given Karen more opportunity to voice who she was and what she wanted to record.
RH: Do you have a favorite song from her album?
CT: As
much as I adore both "If I Had You" and "If We Try", my
favorite has to be her solo version of "Make Believe It's Your First
Time". When I first heard it, I was in awe. I had always thought the
Carpenters' version was nice, but it was not a favorite of mine. For the
first time, I found myself loving the song. The solo version is so
intimate and her performance is heartbreakingly beautiful. I feel that
the arrangement is better overall and the soft solo piano that begins and ends
the song is gorgeous. I miss the bridge that was later added to the Carpenters
version, but other than that, the solo recording of it is perfection.
RH: I’m
with you on “Make Believe It’s Your First Time”. I was never much for the
Carpenters version, which showed up on “Voice of the Heart”, but Karen’s solo
version is pure magic. It’s one of several songs from her solo album, which I
feel had hit potential.
RH: What are your views on the shelving of her album?
CT: Karen's
album should have been released at the time. We'll never know if it would have
changed the ending of her story, but at the very least it would have
been a celebrated event and a highlight in her career. She and her legacy
deserved that. Karen was far too huge a talent not to have put out solo
records. Had it been released in 1980, I feel that the solo album would be even
more treasured by her fans than it is now. While not everything on the
album was top-notch, the rest of it was far too good to keep it under wraps.
They had the greatest female voice in the world in their hands. If there
were certain tracks they were less than pleased with, they should have paid
*her* to record more songs instead of the other way around. It's simply
criminal and very sad that she was not supported.
RH: Do you think any of the songs on her solo album could have been a hit in
1980? Which one song do you think would have been best for a single release?
CT: It's
hard to say for sure, but "Making Love In the Afternoon" sounds like
a hit to me. Another strong one is, "If I Had You". When it was
released as a single in 1989, it was encouraging to see it go to number 18 on
the Adult Contemporary chart. I heard it often on light rock radio stations,
which was exciting. One time after it was played, I remember hearing a DJ say,
"That was the late, great Karen Carpenter with 'If I Had You'.. that is
HOT!!"
RH: And
that’s it Chris, Karen Carpenter was just simply sizzling HOT! And your
portraits of her capture that essence completely.
RH: I
thank you Chris for your time and I have really enjoyed sharing this time with
you and coming to learn a little more about. I wish the very best for you in
all your endeavors. I hope to one day see that video for “Guess I Just Lost My
Head”, that in my mind is one HOT song!
