Aside from having pure talent for playing the piano, he also has a tremendously genius ear. Not everyone can hear what he heard for the Carpenters and for Karen.
I've just watched the BBC Documentary 'The Carpenters' Story: Only Yesterday', and was fascinated by this look back into the time of my youth. Richard is, as others have said, and absolute genius, and remains so. And from all I can read, a heck of a nice man, married to his wife since 1984, five kids, great family, solid. But you'll have to watch the documentary to see how close he himself came, to going over the edge, and how he went on to do better. So few musicians like these ones, today. Or at least it seems that way to me.
I don't know if any one here has ever tried to chart music ( an entire song all instruments) but it takes some special skill to do so and at Richards' age at the time to just" chart" the songs speaks volumes to his genius just like Brian Wilson
Thank you Richard and Karen for all your gorgeous music. Loved you both from the very beginning and always! Will always miss Karen and her magical voice and drumming. ❤❤
I am 27 years old and they were before my time, obviously. But the carpenters are amongst my favorite artists of all time. I feel like Richard’s ability to construct a song combined with Karen’s superstar talent was the perfect mix. The reason for their superb success
@@dougretter So true! Unless Richard could have sang like her. He was the brains, because of what he could create. He went back to Les Paul and Mary Ford to explain where it was first discovered how to overdub their sound, only if I remember correctly, Les and Mary did it with their guitars, and obviously Karen and Richard did it with their voices. I wouldn't want to know how many hours it took them to overdub every last song. Richard never had the voice like Karen, but Richard had the one thing that Karen didn't, and that was the love of their mother. She doted on Richard. She moved them to California to help him have a great career as an amazing musician. As it was, Karen was an exceptional drummer, but I often wonder if she did that as a way to hide from the eye of the cameras or people. She didn't want her broad hips that she inherited from her mother. Her mother was a bitch and didn't do a thing for her. Her love was all for Richard.
@survivrs You are wrong on several points: Yes, Les Paul over dubbed Mary Ford's voice. Karen started playing drums because she wanted to escape Physical education class and then admired the drumming of a band mate and wanted to do that too, and long before her self-image became a problem.Agnes did help Karen. Karen was in tap and ballet classes at the age of four, at Agnes' expense. Agnes authorized the purchase of expensive Ludwig drums and tolerated having a practicing drummer in the house, as well as a bulky drum set. Karen was enrolled in expensive drum lessons with a high profile teacher. And most telling, Agnes stood up to Hal Blaine and defended Karen's drumming ability as "as good as any of those guys on TV," which at that time meant Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, Charlie Watts, Dave Clark, Sal Mineo (as Gene Krupa), Dennis Wilson, and Ginger Baker.The world is full of imperfect mothers, yet all of them make great sacrifices to benefit their children, even those children that are not their favorites.
It's so Wonderful Listening Richard talk about him and Karen .... "It's a new day for those Good Old Dreams." Happy Holidays! 🎄 Thank you for sharing! 💖
Made in America. Happy Holidays all over again. You always want to prove that you can do holidays again. it doesn't matter if you've done them 100 times, you want to prove you can do them 101.
@@TheLarryBrown You're behind, it's October! Now I'm going to do Halloween over again... 101 and counting! You are correct on all but one thing... I don't have to prove anything, I celebrate because I Love it!!! Have a Wonderful Day!! 🎃
Thank you Richard Carpenter for talking about your music. I grew up with your music & even today, it brings joy to my heart to listen to your's & Karen's music & singing. Thank you for sharing your challenges with us in this post & God bless you!
The Wrecking Crew were essential for any singers/bands success. I learned so much about them when it came out that Glen Campbell was probably the #1 requested studio musician back then. He was wanted by Elvis, Frank Sinatra, and everyone in between. Then they found out Glen could sing, and for about a year he became a "Beach Boy" when I think it was Dennis Wilson took time off. Once Glen was "discovered", he got his own summer tv show thanks to the Smothers Brothers. I remember watching his show. It's fun listening to the stories Alice Cooper tells about the 2 of them and playing golf for a number of years. They were total opposites but meshed so well together. As for Richard, he reminds me of Jimmy Webb. The magic either of them made with a keyboard was instant success, and when Richard had himself and Karen overdubbing their songs, that was pure genius. As a kid, I couldn't understand how they came up with so many singers whose voices sounded so much like their own....because they were their own!!!
Hi, I loved your comment. Glen joined The Beach Boys when Brian had a nervous breakdown on a plane flying to Houston to do a show. Not only was Glen a great singer but he could also hit those high notes and he also played the bass guitar, which is what he played on tour as Carl played lead and Al Jardine played rhythm. I wish I could find it but there is a video that was once shown on UA-cam that had Glen playing bass on Sloop John B.
@@SThompsonRAMM_1203 Thanks Steve, I've seen at least one video on here where Glen talks about playing bass, but it's been quite awhile. I think it was a big interview with the Wrecking Crew. I wish I could be more helpful, but maybe I can come across it if I can't sleep tonight. I love hearing Carol Kaye talking about the rhythm she came up with on the Bass, and I think it was for Sonny and Cher, but I'm not totally sure about that tonight. Sorry I'm so useless right now! I had surgery yesterday and my pain is crazy.
@@ibleebinU He learned to play by ear. Once he heard something, he could play it, something he learned around the age of 6 after his parents bought him a child sized guitar. For anyone hearing him the 1st time, they never forgot it. You could have put sheet music upside down, and as long as he already knew the song, it didn't matter how the music looked, he played what he knew.
Thanks so much for posting this! Love hearing straight from the ppl that were there instead of an article that might not be accurate.Thank You Richard for doing this!
Hardly gets his due but is one of the greatest musicians and arrangers of all time. It’s unbelievable how this group was bashed as being too perfect around the mid 1970’s.
So cool to hear how We've Only Just Begun was created. I remember that Crocker Bank commercial! But I don't remember that it was Paul Williams singing it, but very cool how Richard made it his own, he's a genius musician.
...🇧🇷🌅💙🌹🎵🎶🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🎹 Beautiful Duo! Musical Magic of the Universe! We were together here in Rio de Janeiro in November 1981. A Bright Week! Hugs Richard! Health and Many Achievements! Congratulations!👏👏👏🍀 Thanks!🙏
As a brother and sister team they may have had their differences - like any brother and sister - but their shared musical vision was as one mind, one heart.
It's very interesting to hear RIchard speak about the music and how it was put together. Would love to hear more!!!! Is that his home studio behind him? Pretty friggin' cool if it is. I have my own home studio in my basement with drums keyboards..bass...couple of guitars and a P.A. system. Recording to a little 4 track $600 Digital Tascam. I haven't had my breakthrough hit yet and only torture the people at the open mic I go to with my original songs. One day I might become a 50 year over nite hit!!!
@@RitaSora I am just joking. I have no illusions of stardom. My Carnegie Hall is the open mic I used to go to until they shut it down because of covid. Its sold now but I will head over to a Blues Jam once that gets going again. I saw Charles Anznavour perform and he had a song about an older waiter who was a singer still waiting for his big break. That is not me. I just do it for fun. The story of the Carpenter's is fascinating right at the beginning. Appearing on the College Talent program as a Trio. Recording in a garage studio. Herb Albert hearing them. The dreams and aspirations they must have had then culminating in a hit song when they were so young that started their huge success. I always think the early days in a group or artists history are the best usually. Not many can keep the energy, creativity and freshness through their career. They become too professional!! I am an amateur!!!! Thanks for the comment though and support!!!
@@jamesbond4633 Ha! Your welcome.Got it! Just didn't want you to give up right b4 a possible big break.Yes The Carpenters Story is very interesting to me.I have loved them since day one.Karen always fascinated me with that warm and happy voice on their TV specials and her deep singing voice on some of their songs.I have an inherited deep voice from mom and was embarrassed that I sounded like one of the boys when I was at school.Then came Karen....... Ha!
@@abc456f Hey ...thanks for the information. I might just do that. I used to have the 4 track cassette Tascam which was easy to operate. This digital one is a little more complicated and just has a tiny screen to mix on etc. so not very user friendly. I much prefer sliders and knobs and such but running the software you mentioned on a laptop that I could hook up to a large screen might be the way to go. I worked doing computer networking and support so can probably figure it out. I have about 10 songs so am ready for the big times!!! lol. Thanks again for the suggestion!!!!
@@RitaSora My nephew is the one who might become famous. He studied at Berkeley in Boston for piano and writes musicals and farces. He is doing a one man show now called The Exorcist: An Operetta that is hilarious. Going to watch it next week. He likes all the old style writes like Cole Porter , Jerry Herman , Yip Harburg etc. He is an old soul in a young body kinda like Karen was and Richard too.
100% agree. Naturally Karen got all the plaudits for her perfect singing ability which probably but understandably overshadowed Richard's input... I think it was only after she had passed-over and a few years at that, that he came out of the shadows and spoke about his own contribution to his songs.
Actually, Richard Carpenter was NOT at all underrated in their heyday, really up until Karen's death. Richard just sat it all aside 1) because he could 2) the heartbreaking loss of his sister. The duo will never be rivaled again.
Wow!! It's amazing that I've never heard this story before...a BANK JINGLE??? I gotta find that bank commercial!! That's an huge moment in music history, discovering that song in a cheesy TV commercial, and giving it the full Carpenters treatment!! GREAT story!!
It WAS a really sweet commercial with that wonderful song. Then we Hear it in toto from the Carpenters a year or two later! Surprise!! It's a hit single !!!
Loving this bonus footage! We hope you all got a chance to check out our interview with Denny Tedesco! He tells some really amazing stories about his Dad and some other bits from Immediate Family and The Wrecking Crew!
I think he’s an incredible arranger as well. Did he do arrangements for other musical artists very much post Karen’s death? I noticed he did something with Dusty Springfield.
Not much, if anything, that's commonly known, or else I would know about it. He made one solo album around 1985 called "Time" where he had a few guest singers, including Dusty Springfield (the song was "Something in your eyes" ) and Scott Grimes. The title song was agood instrumental track. That album was not successful and Richard basically quit making new music after that, and only worked retweaking Carpenters music, putting together new compilations with occasional previously unheard Carpenters tracks, and making two new Carpenters albums "Voice of the Heart" and "Karen Carpenter," and more recently he released one more solo record "Richard Carpenter's Songbook," solo piano renditions of Carpenters tunes, and also an album of Carpenters tracks re-recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. It seems like he feels that "Carpenters" was the fulfillment of his life's destiny and he is content to be mostly retired (and filthy rich) and occupy himself strictly with Carpenters.
He worked with Dusty Springfield on "Something in your eyes" in 1987 although it was originally written for Karen. In 2008 he recorded it again with Filipina Claire de la Fuente.
Cara, você é muito parecido com a sua irmã! Imagino que ficar sem ela deve ser difícil pra você até hoje. Obrigada pela linda obra de vocês, tão importante pra mim e pra milhões de pessoas no mundo. 😊
Holy cow around 4min 36sec we get to see Richard making a VERY Karen face when he looks to the side. Wide eyes almost like he’s rolling his eyes in a funny goofy way as the word astatate. Idk why that give me so much joy but it does.
In every interview I hear with him his favorite word seems to be,”I, I, I, I, I, I”. He did the same thing in a PBS fund raising thing a decade or so ago. He seemed agitated when the interviewer seemed to give Karen too much credit for their success. (Too much,….in his mind.) Karen is almost an afterthought to him. You are brilliant Richard. But you would have been nothing without your sister. You know her. The one with the best voice this planet has ever known.
Yeah I know. He's there to talk about himself. They pay him to talk about himself. 40 years later people still contact him and ask him to talk about himself. And he has the NERVE to talk about himself!!!! By the way, you used the word "I" in your post. You should resign your UA-cam account, you have made a flagrant transgression...used the word "I" well I never........ In other news.....get a life.
Richard Carpenter is definitely a 'Boss' always wonder why he didn't recruit another singer a few years after the passing of his sister Karen. I am sure he had his reasons RIP Karen Carpenter.
i think he knew that karen couldnt be replaced, i did say in an interview that karen was the greatest singer that ever lived. im not bullshitting, but i think of my brother as the male version of the karen singing style. he was born blind, but has the perfect pitch singing and is just amazing to listen to. i will always love karens singing and drumming, and of course the studio ace of richard.
@@katiegrundle9900 Yes I agree Karen Carpenter just may be the greatest singer of all time followed by a close second Roy Orbison and Judith Durham of the Seekers. thank you for your interesting comments, Your brother must be an amazing singer.
Well he did with his solo album "Time." It has Dionne Warwick, Dusty Springfield, and Scott Grimes on it. He also produced Scott Grimes' first solo record.
It is and will be very hard to separate the musical legacy to the early passing of Karen simply because it begs the unanswered question why didn't anyone try to save her
They did,but she had to save herself first.Back then, not much was known about Anorexia Nervosa. And is so extremely complicated. It's not just a matter of est more,you'll be ok.
Why didn't anyone try to save Elvis, Michael Jackson, Andy Gibb, Janis Joplin, or the countless alcoholic or smoking dad all over the world, probably even your own. Let it occur to you that these are adult people that can't be controlled. I always think it's ironic how the people, like you, that want someone to intervene and force Karen to stop secretly destroying herself are the same people that will vilify Richard and Agnes and Herb for supposedly causing her illness by controlling her.
Yeah, sadly that was apparently the environment in their household too, growing up. Their mother pegged Richard as ‘the genius’ and considered Karen the kid, side-kick. When the world turned Karen into a superstar, there was resentment-it was supposed to be Richard who was King.
Nice guys finish last. He's a world famous super star and recognized genius that topped Burt Bacharach. He's being interviewed, still, 40 years after the Last Carpenters album because people, like you, want to hear what he has to say.
Richard was always jealous of his little sister. As long as she lived he would always be second place, never first. She wasn't mean about it, she was just a superstar.
@@Coowallsky Richard and his mother were convinced he was the genius of the family Together they picked on Karen all her life, the mother was cruel. But Karen had the Voice that cannot be denied Even now in interviews Richard is dismissive of Karen. I admit this is heresay, I didn't know them personally but it all adds up. I suspect you don't have any better info than I do so watch your words.
@@gymshoe8862 Richard never considered hiself to be a genius. Not ever. He was very talented and his parents saw that hence the reason they moved to California. Richard did not pick on Karen. Her mothjer was the one that was very indifferent to the attention that Karen was receiving once they started getting traction. I've never seen Richard being dismissive of Karen or her talents. Watch my words? You're the one spreading heresay by your own admission.
One can look them up in Wikipedia under "The Wrecking Crew" but here are a few of the musicians from the 1960s. Don Randi, Al De Lory, Carol Kaye, Bill Pitman, Tommy Tedesco, Irving Rubins, Roy Caton, Jay Migliori, Steve Douglas, and Ray Pohlman, in addition to Hal Blaine and Joe Osborn. These musicians were the soundtrack of many musical groups back in the day.
It would have been some subset of all the instruments you hear other than piano and bass, and guitar, unless Joe Osborn is considered part of the wrecking crew, in which case bass as well. Richard plays piano, electric piano, some synthesizer and some organ. Karen plays drums (but very little on their records other than the first) and bass on a track or two, Tony Peluso plays guitar on tracks after "Goodbye to Love." All other instruments (other than bass) were played by unnamed session musicians, and some/many/most/all of those are the wrecking crew. Oboe, flute, harp, strings, brass, guitar, drums, trumpet solo, french horns. The wrecking crew can't just be bass, drums, and guitar, it has to be more than that.
The Carpenters were great. The person who edited this video should be fired. It's waaayy too chopped up. There's so much missing that what Richard is saying amounts a bunch of disjointed half-thoughts. Even disjointed whole-thoughts would be better than this editing disaster.
This man is finally getting recognized as the genius he is.
Aside from having pure talent for playing the piano, he also has a tremendously genius ear. Not everyone can hear what he heard for the Carpenters and for Karen.
Richard Carpenter and Buddy Holly both.
Thanks, Richard. Thanks, Karen. I'm glad to have had you two in my life.
I've just watched the BBC Documentary 'The Carpenters' Story: Only Yesterday', and was fascinated by this look back into the time of my youth. Richard is, as others have said, and absolute genius, and remains so. And from all I can read, a heck of a nice man, married to his wife since 1984, five kids, great family, solid. But you'll have to watch the documentary to see how close he himself came, to going over the edge, and how he went on to do better. So few musicians like these ones, today. Or at least it seems that way to me.
Great musician this guy and his sister are incredible
I don't know if any one here has ever tried to chart music ( an entire song all instruments) but it takes some special skill to do so and at Richards' age at the time to just" chart" the songs speaks volumes to his genius just like Brian Wilson
Frank Zappa
Thank you Richard and Karen for all your gorgeous music. Loved you both from the very beginning and always! Will always miss Karen and her magical voice and drumming. ❤❤
I am 27 years old and they were before my time, obviously. But the carpenters are amongst my favorite artists of all time. I feel like Richard’s ability to construct a song combined with Karen’s superstar talent was the perfect mix. The reason for their superb success
Without Karen, you never would have heard about Richard.
You've got a good ear. ; )
@@dougretter So true! Unless Richard could have sang like her. He was the brains, because of what he could create. He went back to Les Paul and Mary Ford to explain where it was first discovered how to overdub their sound, only if I remember correctly, Les and Mary did it with their guitars, and obviously Karen and Richard did it with their voices. I wouldn't want to know how many hours it took them to overdub every last song. Richard never had the voice like Karen, but Richard had the one thing that Karen didn't, and that was the love of their mother. She doted on Richard. She moved them to California to help him have a great career as an amazing musician. As it was, Karen was an exceptional drummer, but I often wonder if she did that as a way to hide from the eye of the cameras or people. She didn't want her broad hips that she inherited from her mother. Her mother was a bitch and didn't do a thing for her. Her love was all for Richard.
@survivrs You are wrong on several points:
Yes, Les Paul over dubbed Mary Ford's voice.
Karen started playing drums because she wanted to escape Physical education class and then admired the drumming of a band mate and wanted to do that too, and long before her self-image became a problem.Agnes did help Karen. Karen was in tap and ballet classes at the age of four, at Agnes' expense. Agnes authorized the purchase of expensive Ludwig drums and tolerated having a practicing drummer in the house, as well as a bulky drum set. Karen was enrolled in expensive drum lessons with a high profile teacher. And most telling, Agnes stood up to Hal Blaine and defended Karen's drumming ability as "as good as any of those guys on TV," which at that time meant Gene Krupa, Buddy Rich, Ringo Starr, Keith Moon, Charlie Watts, Dave Clark, Sal Mineo (as Gene Krupa), Dennis Wilson, and Ginger Baker.The world is full of imperfect mothers, yet all of them make great sacrifices to benefit their children, even those children that are not their favorites.
So refreshing to know that members of the younger generation appreciate the impact of The Carpenters. Good on you :-)
Love his candidness and youthful exuberance here!!
Richard was the brains and music arranger behind The Carpenters.
It's so Wonderful Listening Richard talk about him and Karen .... "It's a new day for those Good Old Dreams."
Happy Holidays! 🎄 Thank you for sharing! 💖
Made in America. Happy Holidays all over again. You always want to prove that you can do holidays again. it doesn't matter if you've done them 100 times, you want to prove you can do them 101.
@@TheLarryBrown You're behind, it's October! Now I'm going to do Halloween over again... 101 and counting! You are correct on all but one thing... I don't have to prove anything, I celebrate because I Love it!!! Have a Wonderful Day!! 🎃
Richard looks great! He’s been through a lot. 🤩
1:08 With regards to how he speak. Him and Karen share the same tone, same intonations, and same speech patterns. This is so fascinating!
A musical Genius and a Red Sox fan to boot. Gotta love Richard.🙂
Interesting to hear him comment on the bass lines he wrote. The bass part for “For All We Know” is especially brilliant.
so true
Thank you Richard Carpenter for talking about your music. I grew up with your music & even today, it brings joy to my heart to listen to your's & Karen's music & singing. Thank you for sharing your challenges with us in this post & God bless you!
The Wrecking Crew were essential for any singers/bands success. I learned so much about them when it came out that Glen Campbell was probably the #1 requested studio musician back then. He was wanted by Elvis, Frank Sinatra, and everyone in between. Then they found out Glen could sing, and for about a year he became a "Beach Boy" when I think it was Dennis Wilson took time off. Once Glen was "discovered", he got his own summer tv show thanks to the Smothers Brothers. I remember watching his show. It's fun listening to the stories Alice Cooper tells about the 2 of them and playing golf for a number of years. They were total opposites but meshed so well together. As for Richard, he reminds me of Jimmy Webb. The magic either of them made with a keyboard was instant success, and when Richard had himself and Karen overdubbing their songs, that was pure genius. As a kid, I couldn't understand how they came up with so many singers whose voices sounded so much like their own....because they were their own!!!
Hi, I loved your comment. Glen joined The Beach Boys when Brian had a nervous breakdown on a plane flying to Houston to do a show. Not only was Glen a great singer but he could also hit those high notes and he also played the bass guitar, which is what he played on tour as Carl played lead and Al Jardine played rhythm. I wish I could find it but there is a video that was once shown on UA-cam that had Glen playing bass on Sloop John B.
@@SThompsonRAMM_1203 Thanks Steve, I've seen at least one video on here where Glen talks about playing bass, but it's been quite awhile. I think it was a big interview with the Wrecking Crew. I wish I could be more helpful, but maybe I can come across it if I can't sleep tonight. I love hearing Carol Kaye talking about the rhythm she came up with on the Bass, and I think it was for Sonny and Cher, but I'm not totally sure about that tonight. Sorry I'm so useless right now! I had surgery yesterday and my pain is crazy.
@@survivrs Also crazy to think that Glen didn't/couldn't read music. Just a natural.
@@ibleebinU He learned to play by ear. Once he heard something, he could play it, something he learned around the age of 6 after his parents bought him a child sized guitar. For anyone hearing him the 1st time, they never forgot it. You could have put sheet music upside down, and as long as he already knew the song, it didn't matter how the music looked, he played what he knew.
Thanks so much for posting this! Love hearing straight from the ppl that were there instead of an article that might not be accurate.Thank You Richard for doing this!
I love these. Richard is such an awesome lad musically.
As well as all around.
Hardly gets his due but is one of the greatest musicians and arrangers of all time. It’s unbelievable how this group was bashed as being too perfect around the mid 1970’s.
Just like Lindsey Buckingham. Without either of them, the music created would NEVER have been the same
Thanks for posting this. Wonderful.
He is the real deal. Karen’s one-in-a-million voice and Richard’s arranging genius were pure synergy.
I could happily listen to him talk for hours.
Yes, I was transfixed as well. So cool to hear how We've Only Just Begun was created. Richard is a genius.
Great video and thank you
So cool to hear how We've Only Just Begun was created. I remember that Crocker Bank commercial! But I don't remember that it was Paul Williams singing it, but very cool how Richard made it his own, he's a genius musician.
Thank you for sharing!
Karen’s voice could melt the steel off a battleship. So sad that we had to lose her at such a young age.
She was the greatest female pop vocalist of all time.
Her tone and range was unrivalled. Heartfelt, melancholy and soulful.
...🇧🇷🌅💙🌹🎵🎶🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟🎹 Beautiful Duo! Musical Magic of the Universe! We were together here in Rio de Janeiro in November 1981. A Bright Week! Hugs Richard! Health and Many Achievements! Congratulations!👏👏👏🍀 Thanks!🙏
Siento que Richard es el mejor testimono de la presecia de Karen en nuestros corazones para siempre.Como hermano y musico,extraodinario.
Karen was an angel !!! She always let her brother tag along ....
Great story..cool regular guy..
As a brother and sister team they may have had their differences - like any brother and sister - but their shared musical vision was as one mind, one heart.
Yes you are some of the great writers and song singers of the era
Carpenters are legend.
It's very interesting to hear RIchard speak about the music and how it was put together. Would love to hear more!!!! Is that his home studio behind him? Pretty friggin' cool if it is. I have my own home studio in my basement with drums keyboards..bass...couple of guitars and a P.A. system. Recording to a little 4 track $600 Digital Tascam. I haven't had my breakthrough hit yet and only torture the people at the open mic I go to with my original songs. One day I might become a 50 year over nite hit!!!
Keep trying! You never know!
@@RitaSora I am just joking. I have no illusions of stardom. My Carnegie Hall is the open mic I used to go to until they shut it down because of covid. Its sold now but I will head over to a Blues Jam once that gets going again. I saw Charles Anznavour perform and he had a song about an older waiter who was a singer still waiting for his big break. That is not me. I just do it for fun. The story of the Carpenter's is fascinating right at the beginning. Appearing on the College Talent program as a Trio. Recording in a garage studio. Herb Albert hearing them. The dreams and aspirations they must have had then culminating in a hit song when they were so young that started their huge success. I always think the early days in a group or artists history are the best usually. Not many can keep the energy, creativity and freshness through their career. They become too professional!! I am an amateur!!!! Thanks for the comment though and support!!!
@@jamesbond4633 Ha! Your welcome.Got it! Just didn't want you to give up right b4 a possible big break.Yes The Carpenters Story is very interesting to me.I have loved them since day one.Karen always fascinated me with that warm and happy voice on their TV specials and her deep singing voice on some of their songs.I have an inherited deep voice from mom and was embarrassed that I sounded like one of the boys when I was at school.Then came Karen....... Ha!
@@abc456f Hey ...thanks for the information. I might just do that. I used to have the 4 track cassette Tascam which was easy to operate. This digital one is a little more complicated and just has a tiny screen to mix on etc. so not very user friendly. I much prefer sliders and knobs and such but running the software you mentioned on a laptop that I could hook up to a large screen might be the way to go. I worked doing computer networking and support so can probably figure it out. I have about 10 songs so am ready for the big times!!! lol. Thanks again for the suggestion!!!!
@@RitaSora My nephew is the one who might become famous. He studied at Berkeley in Boston for piano and writes musicals and farces. He is doing a one man show now called The Exorcist: An Operetta that is hilarious. Going to watch it next week. He likes all the old style writes like Cole Porter , Jerry Herman , Yip Harburg etc. He is an old soul in a young body kinda like Karen was and Richard too.
Richard is such a treasure
Sounds like a combo of very smart and "on something ," with the utmost respect !
thank the good lord for joe osborn lucky guy to have them walk into his studio
Joe Osborn should thank The Good Lord for The Carpenters.
Richard is so much under rated and deserves to be in the Rock Hall, alone and with The Carpenters!
100% agree. Naturally Karen got all the plaudits for her perfect singing ability which probably but understandably overshadowed Richard's input... I think it was only after she had passed-over and a few years at that, that he came out of the shadows and spoke about his own contribution to his songs.
brilliant. terribly underrated
Actually, Richard Carpenter was NOT at all underrated in their heyday, really up until Karen's death. Richard just sat it all aside 1) because he could 2) the heartbreaking loss of his sister. The duo will never be rivaled again.
Certainly not underrated
When you discover very early in life what you were meant to do.
Wow!! It's amazing that I've never heard this story before...a BANK JINGLE??? I gotta find that bank commercial!! That's an huge moment in music history, discovering that song in a cheesy TV commercial, and giving it the full Carpenters treatment!! GREAT story!!
"Theyve only just begun to live" is the last line in the 1939 film Wuthering Heights. ua-cam.com/video/97X9huy7pHQ/v-deo.html
ua-cam.com/video/97X9huy7pHQ/v-deo.html
It WAS a really sweet commercial with that wonderful song. Then we Hear it in toto from the Carpenters a year or two later! Surprise!! It's a hit single !!!
LOVE YA RICHARD ❤❤❤
Loving this bonus footage! We hope you all got a chance to check out our interview with Denny Tedesco! He tells some really amazing stories about his Dad and some other bits from Immediate Family and The Wrecking Crew!
I think he’s an incredible arranger as well. Did he do arrangements for other musical artists very much post Karen’s death? I noticed he did something with Dusty Springfield.
Not much, if anything, that's commonly known, or else I would know about it. He made one solo album around 1985 called "Time" where he had a few guest singers, including Dusty Springfield (the song was "Something in your eyes" ) and Scott Grimes. The title song was agood instrumental track. That album was not successful and Richard basically quit making new music after that, and only worked retweaking Carpenters music, putting together new compilations with occasional previously unheard Carpenters tracks, and making two new Carpenters albums "Voice of the Heart" and "Karen Carpenter," and more recently he released one more solo record "Richard Carpenter's Songbook," solo piano renditions of Carpenters tunes, and also an album of Carpenters tracks re-recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. It seems like he feels that "Carpenters" was the fulfillment of his life's destiny and he is content to be mostly retired (and filthy rich) and occupy himself strictly with Carpenters.
He worked with Dusty Springfield on "Something in your eyes" in 1987 although it was originally written for Karen. In 2008 he recorded it again with Filipina Claire de la Fuente.
@@captnneroAh, Claire dela Fuente, she was considered the Philippines' Karen Carpenter!
As a pianist myself, I would love to sit and talk to Richard for a while.
,,👍🏻👍🏻very nice
Genius. Period.
Genius.
An American musical genius
Some of the groups in the Rock HOF, clearly are NOT fit for the honor if Karen and Richard are excluded.
Cara, você é muito parecido com a sua irmã! Imagino que ficar sem ela deve ser difícil pra você até hoje. Obrigada pela linda obra de vocês, tão importante pra mim e pra milhões de pessoas no mundo. 😊
Holy cow around 4min 36sec we get to see Richard making a VERY Karen face when he looks to the side. Wide eyes almost like he’s rolling his eyes in a funny goofy way as the word astatate. Idk why that give me so much joy but it does.
Brother and sister, can't get better matching voices
♥
❤
3:28 This is the Crocker Bank commercial where Richard heard "We've only just begun"
ua-cam.com/video/97X9huy7pHQ/v-deo.html
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
In every interview I hear with him his favorite word seems to be,”I, I, I, I, I, I”.
He did the same thing in a PBS fund raising thing a decade or so ago.
He seemed agitated when the interviewer seemed to give Karen too much credit for their success.
(Too much,….in his mind.)
Karen is almost an afterthought to him.
You are brilliant Richard.
But you would have been nothing without your sister. You know her. The one with the best voice this planet has ever known.
Yeah I know. He's there to talk about himself. They pay him to talk about himself. 40 years later people still contact him and ask him to talk about himself. And he has the NERVE to talk about himself!!!! By the way, you used the word "I" in your post. You should resign your UA-cam account, you have made a flagrant transgression...used the word "I" well I never........ In other news.....get a life.
Richard Carpenter is definitely a 'Boss' always wonder why he didn't recruit another singer a few years after the passing of his sister Karen. I am sure he had his reasons RIP Karen Carpenter.
i think he knew that karen couldnt be replaced, i did say in an interview that karen was the greatest singer that ever lived. im not bullshitting, but i think of my brother as the male version of the karen singing style. he was born blind, but has the perfect pitch singing and is just amazing to listen to. i will always love karens singing and drumming, and of course the studio ace of richard.
@@katiegrundle9900 Yes I agree Karen Carpenter just may be the greatest singer of all time followed by a close second Roy Orbison and Judith Durham of the Seekers. thank you for your interesting comments, Your brother must be an amazing singer.
Well he did with his solo album "Time." It has Dionne Warwick, Dusty Springfield, and Scott Grimes on it. He also produced Scott Grimes' first solo record.
Cuando habla, Richard se emociona...
nothing about the wrecking crew guys? what's up with that?
I feel sorry for people who haven’t experienced their song Crescent Noon
Arrogant prat.. "look at me! I did that!!" .. good job he happens to be a genius as well...
Where part 2?
Richard is a genius!
Agree
Only he doesn't mention the wrecking crew....
He mentioned drummer Hal (Blaine). And "same guys" meaning the Wrecking Crew.
@@TheLarryBrown He also mentione Joe Osborne.
It is and will be very hard to separate the musical legacy to the early passing of Karen simply because it begs the unanswered question why didn't anyone try to save her
They did,but she had to save herself first.Back then, not much was known about Anorexia Nervosa. And is so extremely complicated. It's not just a matter of est more,you'll be ok.
Why didn't anyone try to save Elvis, Michael Jackson, Andy Gibb, Janis Joplin, or the countless alcoholic or smoking dad all over the world, probably even your own. Let it occur to you that these are adult people that can't be controlled. I always think it's ironic how the people, like you, that want someone to intervene and force Karen to stop secretly destroying herself are the same people that will vilify Richard and Agnes and Herb for supposedly causing her illness by controlling her.
Why is it all edited?
That's how it was presented on the DVD.
Richard is brilliant. Just ask him, he will tell you so.
Yeah, sadly that was apparently the environment in their household too, growing up. Their mother pegged Richard as ‘the genius’ and considered Karen the kid, side-kick. When the world turned Karen into a superstar, there was resentment-it was supposed to be Richard who was King.
Nice guys finish last. He's a world famous super star and recognized genius that topped Burt Bacharach. He's being interviewed, still, 40 years after the Last Carpenters album because people, like you, want to hear what he has to say.
He should do some new things with Rumer:)
i feel like he's sitting there with a straight face saying he wrote songs by Burt Bacharach and Paul Williams... give that girl a sandwich
Clickbait - virtually nothing about The Wrecking Crew, and nothing at all about their playing and personalities in the studio.
..... somethings wrong with him here,
Creepy guy
@@christopherharris3229Yeah I know. Superstars that like to talk about music....who needs 'em.
Richard was always jealous of his little sister. As long as she lived he would always be second place, never first. She wasn't mean about it, she was just a superstar.
That's bullshit.
@@Coowallsky Richard and his mother were convinced he was the genius of the family Together they picked on Karen all her life, the mother was cruel. But Karen had the Voice that cannot be denied Even now in interviews Richard is dismissive of Karen. I admit this is heresay, I didn't know them personally but it all adds up. I suspect you don't have any better info than I do so watch your words.
@@gymshoe8862 Richard never considered hiself to be a genius. Not ever. He was very talented and his parents saw that hence the reason they moved to California. Richard did not pick on Karen.
Her mothjer was the one that was very indifferent to the attention that Karen was receiving once they started getting traction.
I've never seen Richard being dismissive of Karen or her talents.
Watch my words? You're the one spreading heresay by your own admission.
@@Coowallsky You want to debate here in comments? Get a life.
@@gymshoe8862 Back atcha,doofus!
Yeah Richard with Karen in her grave their will never ever be a 101..
Something off in his mannerisms.something wrong,can't quite put my finger on it.anyone got a clue???
He's a little high energy, enthusiastic, passionate, and a little jittery. And you are....?
Wrecking crew = Hal Blaine, he means, right? Who else?
Joe Osborn of course
One can look them up in Wikipedia under "The Wrecking Crew" but here are a few of the musicians from the 1960s. Don Randi, Al De Lory, Carol Kaye, Bill Pitman, Tommy Tedesco, Irving Rubins, Roy Caton, Jay Migliori, Steve Douglas, and Ray Pohlman, in addition to Hal Blaine and Joe Osborn. These musicians were the soundtrack of many musical groups back in the day.
@@SayItAintSo4real the film/documentary Tedesco’s son did is a must watch for anyone who enjoys music
@@SayItAintSo4real Don't forget Glenn Campbell.
It would have been some subset of all the instruments you hear other than piano and bass, and guitar, unless Joe Osborn is considered part of the wrecking crew, in which case bass as well. Richard plays piano, electric piano, some synthesizer and some organ. Karen plays drums (but very little on their records other than the first) and bass on a track or two, Tony Peluso plays guitar on tracks after "Goodbye to Love." All other instruments (other than bass) were played by unnamed session musicians, and some/many/most/all of those are the wrecking crew. Oboe, flute, harp, strings, brass, guitar, drums, trumpet solo, french horns. The wrecking crew can't just be bass, drums, and guitar, it has to be more than that.
The Carpenters were great.
The person who edited this video should be fired. It's waaayy too chopped up. There's so much missing that what Richard is saying amounts a bunch of disjointed half-thoughts. Even disjointed whole-thoughts would be better than this editing disaster.