The Carpenters, The #18 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Three

 

(Continued from Part Two)

 

In advance of their next album Horizon, the duo released their remake of the Marvelettes' #1 song "Please Mr. Postman".  When the Carpenters also hit #1, it became the only time when both original and remake reached #1.  It also hit #1 in Canada, #2 in the U.K. and Ireland, and #4 in New Zealand.  The single was their record-setting 12th Gold record in the U.S., most ever by a duo.

Horizon went Gold and also contains the hit "Only Yesterday", #2 in the United States, #4 in Canada, #5 in Ireland, #7 in the U.K., and #10 in New Zealand.

Although they had plenty of great songs that Richard wrote or co-wrote, the Carpenters also excelled at recording covers with Richard's superb arrangements.  Here is an "Oldies Medley" they featured on the album, preceded by "Only Yesterday".

 

The Carpenters' remake of the Neil Sedaka hit "Solitaire" gave them yet another #1 with adults.

But Karen was having trouble with the constant demand of recording and touring, and a tour of the U.K. and Japan was canceled.  To promote their music, the Carpenters were one of the first acts to produce music videos.

 

In 1976, the duo released the album A Kind of Hush, another Gold release.  The title song, a remake of the hit by Herman's Hermits, stalled at #17 overall, but hit #1 on the Adult chart.

The Carpenters' Very First Television Special was broadcast in December.

 

"I Need To Be In Love" became the group's 14th #1 song on the Adult chart, more than any other artist in the history of the chart.  The artist that earlier scored five consecutive Adult #1's incredibly put together another string of six straight Adult #1's culminating with "I Need To Be In Love".

 

"All You Get From Love Is A Love Song" reached #4 on the Easy Listening chart from their album Passage in 1977.  To give you the nature of the Carpenters' historic success, consider this:  from 1970 beginning with "Close To You" through 1976, the duo scored 19 Top 5 Adult hits out of 20 releases.  That feat has never been matched by anyone in the history of the chart.  Even more incredibly, 17 of the 19 were either #1 or #2.

The duo once again hosted a holiday television special, The Carpenters at Christmas.

 

The follow-up, "Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft"  reached the Top 10 in many countries, led by a #1 performance in Ireland.  The Carpenters received their 18th Grammy nomination for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals.

 

In 1978, the Carpenters released the album Christmas Portrait, one of the most popular Christmas albums of all-time that has sold over one million copies.  Their remake of the Nat King Cole classic "Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire)" has become a Christmas standard in its own right.

The Carpenters also recorded this memorable version of "Sleigh Ride".

 "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" is another song that The Carpenters made their own.

But by this time, Richard was addicted to Quaaludes, originally prescribed to him that he had been taking more and more since 1971.  In September, he halted a series of shows in Las Vegas, but the Carpenters did play on December 3 in Long Beach. 

To his credit, Richard checked himself into an addiction treatment facility in Topeka Kansas in early 1979 and decided to reserve the next year for relaxation and rehabilitation.  Richard was also aware of the problems Karen was having with anorexia nervosa, but Karen denied it.  She went to work on a solo project and spent the year recording it only to find out A&M wasn't pleased.  Karen was devastated.

 

By the time Karen married Tom Burris on August 31, 1980, Richard was now recovered and ready to resume recording.  In 1981, the incredible duo enjoyed their final big hit from their album Made in America, with their 15th #1 Adult hit--"Touch Me When We're Dancing".

The Carpenters starred in the television special Music, Music, Music!  The duo also toured the U.S., Europe, and Brazil.

After moving to New York City in 1982, Karen finally enlisted the help of psychotherapist Steven Levenkron.  She traveled briefly to Los Angeles to record a couple of songs, when Richard noticed that she seemed to be in poor health and didn't feel Levenkron was helping her.  In September of that year, Karen called Levenkron and said her heart was "beating funny" and she felt dizzy and confused.  

Karen admitted herself to the hospital and she was hooked up with an IV.  She gained 30 pounds in eight weeks.  She finally left the hospital in November and told her family and friends she was cured.  Despite their objections, Karen returned home to California.  She weighed 108 pounds and maintained this weight for the rest of her life.   

On January 11, 1983, Karen did a photo session to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Grammy Awards.  On February 1, Karen and Richard met for dinner to talk about upcoming plans for the duo.  

On February 3, Karen visited her parents and talked about finalizing a divorce from Burris.  The next morning, her mother found her lying unresponsive on the floor, and Karen was rushed to the hospital.  But after Richard and his parents had waited 20 minutes in the waiting room, a doctor entered the room to tell them Karen had died.  The official cause of death was "emetine cardiotoxicity due to or as a consequence of anorexia nervosa." 

Karen's funeral was on February 8, 1983 at their church, the United Methodist Church in Downey.  More than a thousand people came to pay respects including Karen's friends Herb Alpert, Olivia Newton-John, Dionne Warwick, Petula Clark, and figure skater Dorothy Hamill.  Karen's death gave attention to the illness, which was little known at the time.

In the years since Karen's death, Richard has continued to produce albums of previously-unreleased material and compilations.

In 1983, the Carpenters received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.  The Carpenters album Voice of the Heart was released, which included songs left off of the Made in America album.

Richard married Mary Rudolph on May 19, 1984.  In 1984, the Carpenters released the compilation Yesterday Once More, which went Double Platinum in the U.S. alone.  Their 1997 compilation Love Songs was certified Gold.  In 2002, the Carpenters released the box set The Essential Collection:  1965-1997.

In 2002 the Carpenters released the box set The Essential Collection:  1965-1997.  In 2004, Richard and his wife donated $3 million to the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Foundation in California in memory of Karen.

The Carpenters have sold over 150 million albums to date, making them one of the top 15 in the Rock Era in that category.

Most "awards shows" of the modern day were not in existence during the Carpenters' reign, but they did earn 3 Grammy Awards among 18 nominations.

The duo piled up 28 career hits, with an impressive 12 of them reaching the Top 10 and 2 number one songs.  They are also among the leaders in the Rock Era with 5 #2 songs.  The true measure of the Carpenters' success, however, is not with kids but with adults, where they charted 32 career hits, with 23 of those going Top 10 and 15 #1 songs.