February 4
Karen Carpenter
A Tuesday Newsday Classic
February 3, 1959. August 16, 1977. December 8, 1980. February 4, 1983. April 5, 1994.
For any person who is a true fan, any one of these dates might invoke an unpleasant memory of the ‘day the music died’ for them. Each date marks the passing of a well loved and famous musical artist. Do you recall where you were and what you were doing on any one of these days?
My brother – who is a disc jockey – still talks about August 16, 1977. The day Elvis died. For Nirvana fans it’s April 5, 1994. Beatles devotees recall December 8, 1980 as a day which shocked the world. And, of course, February 3, 1959, marks the tragic date when Buddy Holly died in a plane crash along with a few others.
Karen Carpenter in the early 1970’s
If you don’t recognize February 4, 1983, you can be forgiven. But for me that was the date when the first artist whose voice and music truly captured me, died: Karen Carpenter.
To this day I wonder it was an avoidable outcome if only… if only her mother had been more loving and less controlling… if only she hadn’t been forced to come out from behind her drums… if only the press had not been so awful to her… if only she could have loved herself the way her fans loved her.
By all accounts, Karen’s life could have become a fairy-tale come true. At the age of nineteen Karen, as one half of The Carpenters, saw their first big hit “Close To You” rocket to the top of the pop charts. Fame and financial success followed with a string of Top Ten records. Concerts, TV specials, and an invitation to the White House were all a part of those heady years.
And yet. Karen was particularly sensitive to body image. From the Infallible Wikipedia:
“Carpenter began dieting while in high school. Under a doctor’s guidance, she began the Stillman diet, eating lean foods, drinking eight glasses of water a day, and avoiding fatty foods. She reduced her weight to 120 pounds and stayed approximately at that weight until around 1973, when the Carpenters’ career reached its peak. That year, she happened to see a photo of herself taken at a concert in which her outfit made her appear heavy. Carpenter hired a personal trainer who advised her to change her diet. The new diet caused her to build muscle, which made her feel heavier instead of slimmer. Carpenter fired the trainer and began her own weight loss program using exercise equipment and counting calories. She lost about 20 pounds and intended to lose another five pounds. Her eating habits also changed around this time, with Carpenter trying to get food off her plate by offering it to others at the meal as a taste.”
With increased success, came increased pressure to look and be perfect. By most accounts it seems that Karen spent her life trying to gain her mother’s love and approval. Older brother Richard was the focus of the family’s attention. At age 3 he was playing the piano and had been identified as a child prodigy with immense talent. It must have come as a huge shock to her parents when it was Karen and her amazing voice that proved to be the secret to success. Also from the Infallible Wikipedia:
“(Karen) Carpenter had a complicated relationship with her parents. They had hoped that Richard’s musical talents would be recognized and that he would enter the music business, but were not prepared for Karen’s success. She continued to live with them until 1974. In 1976, Carpenter bought two Century City apartments which she combined into one; the doorbell chimed the opening notes of ‘We’ve Only Just Begun’.”
In this photo, you can clearly see that she is not at a healthy weight.
Most of the focus on Anorexia Nervosa came after Karen’s untimely death. In the decades since there has been research and a public push to find solutions for those who are afflicted by the disorder. Karen Carpenter’s struggle has been largely responsible for this.
One of the things I would have loved would have been to attend a Carpenter’s concert. Alas, being only 13 when they hit the top of the charts, it was not going to happen. My mother believed rock and roll concerts (the Carpenters were not exactly rock and roll BTW) were not appropriate places for young women. In fact, the first concert I attended was a decade later, long after the Carpenters were no longer touring.
For several years in the 1970’s, however, I purchased every one of their albums and would listen to Karen’s dulcet tones for hours on end. I loved her voice.
Fast forward to Friday, February 4, 1983. I was working at Microsoft – then located near the Burger Master on Northup Way in Belleuve, Washington – paying more attention to selling computer software and not listening to music for hours each day.
It was payday and at lunchtime one of my fellow Microsofties, Sue C., and me decided to go deposit our paychecks in the bank. We headed to downtown Kirkland, a few miles north. Once our banking was complete, we drove south on Lake Washington Boulevard. We likely had the radio on – background to our chatting – when I heard the announcement “Pop star Karen Carpenter has died.”
I think Sue was behind the wheel and immediately stopped the car as we both exclaimed shock and dismay. How could it be? What I most recall about that day is that it seemed dark to me. In reality, according to the weather history, it was a fairly mild, clear day. But in my mind, it’s dark.
Karen Carpenter was such a part of our growing up experience; she was 32 years old, a mere seven years older than ourselves.
In 1989 I watched with interest the CBS TV movie The Karen Carpenter Story. In the years since her death I had not listened much to The Carpenters. The moment I heard those favorite songs and her voice, however, it was as if I was transported back to the early 1970’s. What a voice. It was filled with emotion and able to convey a sadness that transcended the years. Like so many artists who died young, I wonder what wonderful songs the world missed out on when Karen Carpenter left us on February 4, 1983.
A few links:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karen_Carpenter
I couldn’t make up my mind as to which of these two songs to share… so I did both. I think Superstar also captures the depth of whatever pains she felt in life.
Superstar: https://youtu.be/SJmmaIGiGBg
Links to three other posts I’ve made about Karen Carpenter:
Wedding Woes
Just like me, they long to be…
The following year Coolidge objected to cutting down a tree for the event so a 35 foot tall live Norway Spruce was located and planted in a new location near the Treasury Building. This tree survived until 1929 when it was determined that the plant had been damaged and needed to be replaced. This began a series of live trees being planted, dying, and being replaced until, in 1934, the last tree was cut down in that location.
The Energizer Bunny was also pink but instead of being one of a crowd which outlasts the others, this rabbit had attitude. It wore hip sunglasses. It was hot pink. It moved around the room on blue flip flop sandals. And it had a big ole bass drum with the word “ENERGIZER” emblazoned across the surface. In short, it had important elements of a great advertising campaign in that it was memorable and humorous. The bunny has appeared in over 100 commercials and has been featured on TV shows and in movies.
The origin of Sadie Hawkins Day is, no doubt, an anachronism to the young people of today who would be simultaneously surprised and offended by it. But on November 13, 1937, the event was introduced in a popular comic strip and soon, in the vernacular of today, went viral.
Ford Motor Company’s response to this demographic phenomenon was the introduction of the Pinto, marketed as “The Little Carefree Car” on September 11, 1970. From the Infallible Wikipedia:
“In April 1974, the Center for Auto Safety petitioned the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) to recall Ford Pintos to address fuel system design defects after reports from attorneys of three deaths and four serious injuries in rear-end collisions at moderate speeds. The NHTSA found there was not enough evidence to warrant a defect investigation. In August 1977, Dowie’s ‘Pinto Madness’ article was published a series of accusations against Ford, the Pinto and the NHTSA. These included that Ford knew the Pinto was a ‘firetrap,’ and said that Ford did not implement design changes because Ford’s cost-benefit analysis document showed that paying out millions in damages in lawsuits was more profitable than the design changes. The day after the article’s release consumer advocate Ralph Nader and the author of the Mother Jones article held a news conference in Washington DC on the alleged dangers of the Pinto’s design. On the same day, Nader and the Center for Auto Safety re-submitted their petition to the NHTSA.”
It took some digging but I finally found a few photos. I’m particularly amused by this one of ‘my’ guy giving us a little beefcake with the Pinto in the background. Belatedly, I give thanks for that car and how important it was to me at the time. For five years it was my trusty steed, there for me every step of the way.
The line “Where were you in ’62?” is in reference to the movie American Graffiti where then unknown actor Richard Dreyfuss becomes obsessed with finding the blonde who is driving the white Thunderbird. He never does but the already iconic Thunderbird is cemented in legend and, for his character, is what defines his final teenage experience.
First, a description of the car. It’s a 1964 1/2. White with a black convertible rag top. Red leather seats. Pretty much every teenager’s dream as the coolest car. I know it was mine.
Then, behind me, blue and red lights come on. My heart pounds. Oh crap.
For more information, here’s the Wikipedia link to the Mustang and, for those who have never seen American Graffiti, it’s a classic movie worth the time it takes to watch.
The safety pin was an especially great invention for mothers everywhere to keep the baby’s diaper pinned without stabbing the child. Making a large pin with a cute animal as the protective head has been a popular adaptation for decades.
When Punk Rock became a thing in the late 70’s and early 80’s the practice of using a safety pin as a decorative piercing became popular with the musicians and their followers.
The name Barbara was, at the time, a very popular name. It first hit the top ten names list in 1927 and remained there until 1958, a whopping 31 years. If you expand a bit, the name was a top 20 name for a total of 38 years. Whether one can blame Barbara’s free fall from popularity on the Barbie Doll is debatable. Having the most famous fashion doll in the world bear that name no doubt made more than a few parents reconsider it as a good choice for their daughter. After all, who would want to name their child after a doll? Another factor is that names, particularly girl’s names, tend to be popular for a period of time then are not used for decades.
barbaradevore.com 