U2, the #17 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

"These four men have weathered the test of time, making music that actually means something."

"U2 is one of the greatest bands of all-time."

"Fantastic band!"

"Their songs are very deep and hit the feelings of our humanity."

"U2 is one of the best groups I have ever heard!"

"Their passion and excellent blend of lyrics with music amaze me..."

"An iconic band."

"Music that cleanses the soul."

"Timeless music."

"The impact they have made on listeners and on the world is difficult to overstate."

"U2--legends of Rock and humanity."

"They are one of the best bands in history!"

"Amazing band with deep lyrics."

"U2 is incredible!"

"Legendary group."

"Has to be one of the coolest groups ever."

"I love how they've never been afraid to say what's on their minds."

"True talent here."

"U2 is was one of the best ever."

"They write about the themes that matter."

"They have so much energy in their songs."

"Their songs have so much heart and feeling."

"U2 is the real thing."

"The conviction and passion they incorporate in their work will never cease to resonate in my soul."

"Epic band for the ages."

In 1976, 14-year-old drummer Larry Mullen, Jr. posted a note on the notice board at Mount Temple Comprehensive School in Dublin, Ireland looking to form a new band.  Six kids responded--lead singer Paul Hewson, guitarists David Evans, his brother Dik, Ivan McCormick and Peter Martin and bassist Adam Clayton, but after an initial rehearsal in Mullen's kitchen, Martin left and McCormick was dropped within a few weeks.

The band practiced cover songs and named themselves Feedback, playing punk rock in their early days because they were convinced that musical proficiency was not a prerequisite to achieving success.

After playing their first gig at St. Fintan's High School, the group changed their name to The Hype.  In 1978, the band changed their name to U2.  The group won a talent contest in Limerick that earned them £500 and studio time to record a demo.  Soon afterwards, Dik Evans was removed from the group, playing his last show at the Presbyterian Church Hall in Howth.

U2 recorded the demo at Keystone Studios in Dublin, but the result was less than spectacular as the members were too nervous.  But U2 found a friend in the Irish magazine Hot Press.  Bill Graham of the magazine introduced the members to Paul McGuinness, who signed on to be their manager later in the year.  McGuinness quickly booked new sessions in the band's quest to secure a record deal.  Meanwhile, U2 continued to win fans with performances throughout the country.  

In 1979, U2 recorded a three-song demo at Windmill Lane Studios and CBS released them as an EP available only in Ireland called U2-3.  All 1,000 pressings of the EP sold.  In 1980, U2 finished an Irish tour at the 2,000-seat National Stadium in Dublin.  Bill Stewart, an A&R Representative with Island Records, was one of those in attendance and signed U2 to a recording contract shortly after.

The group's initial release, "11 O'Clock Tick Tock", did not chart, leading the band to turn to Steve Lillywhite to produce U2's first album.  Among the techniques that Lillywhite used were recording Mullen's drums in a stairwell and recording the sound of smashed bottles and forks hitting a spinning bicycle tire.

Evans, who became known as The Edge, bought the Electro-Harmonix Memory Man, a delay effect unit which would eventually characterize his sound.  U2 released the album Boy, with "I Will Follow" receiving some airplay on Album-Oriented Rock stations.  As you'll notice throughout our spectacular, when an artist becomes big, fans usually go through and buy up albums from an artists' back catalog.  U2 fans eventually turned Boy into a Platinum album.

 

"Out Of Control" showed the incredible potential of Hewett's songwriting at a young age.  "'Out Of Control' is about waking up on your 18th birthday," he told Hot Press magazine in 1979, "and realizing that you're 18 years old and that the two most important decisions in your life have nothing to do with you -being born and dying."

 

One of the things U2 fans love about the group is that they are not afraid to tackle any injustice.  From the get-go, the band does this with "The Electric Co.", which refers to Electro Convulsive Therapy.  It was a popular treatment in Irish mental hospitals that the group felt was inhumane.  

Hewitt became known by his own moniker, Bono, and the group enjoyed a successful tour of the United States and Europe.  While on tour, Bono lost his briefcase containing songs to be included on the group's next album.  When it came time to record the band's second album, Bono had to improvise lyrics, but the album October was completed and released in 1981.  October also has sold over one million copies.

"Gloria" is a spiritual song appealing to a higher power.  The members were devout Christians and they almost broke up when they were afraid that being a Rock star might conflict with their faith.

"Trash, Trampoline and the Party Girl" is about a Party Girl who wants more than a party.

 

Here is the sublime "I Fall Down".

McGuinness landed U2 a performance on the popular U.K. television show Top of the Pops and a performance opening for Thin Lizzy.  But Bono, the Edge and Mullen became involved in Shalom Fellowship, a charismatic Christian group in Dublin.  Questioning the relationship between their faith and the lifestyle of a Rock band, Bono and the Edge considered quitting U2 but they stayed put.

In 1982, U2 opened for the J. Geils Band as part of their promotion tour.  However, the band was out of money and made a concerted effort to step up the quality of their songs and get better as a group.  The result was the 1983 album War.

This isn't about New Year's Day that most think of; it is about the solidarity movement of Lech Walesa in Poland.  Coincidentally, Poland announced they would abolish martial law on New Year's Day in 1983.  

The Edge played piano and guitar on this track.  When the group performed it in concert, he placed the guitar on his lap as he played the piano, then when it came time for his guitar solo, he got up with his guitar and walked to the front of the stage as the crowd cheered wildly.  "New Year's Day" reached the Top 10 in the U.K. and #2 in Ireland.

 

War has now sold over four million copies and yielded the single "Sunday Bloody Sunday", which contrasted the events of Bloody Sunday with Easter Sunday.  

There are two "Bloody Sundays"--in 1920, British troops fired into a crowd at a soccer match in Dublin in retaliation for the killing of British undercover agents, and on January 30, 1972, British paratroopers killed 13 Irish citizens protesting the lack of civil rights in Derry, Northern Ireland.

The song was well received, especially in the U.K. where the album reached #1.  As one of U2's most iconic songs, it is a solid member of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

 

"Two Hearts Beat As One" features the bass line of Clayton.  The video was shot in the Montmartre area of Paris, France.

 

The lyrics in "Seconds" are about the threat of nuclear war, which was a real possibility in the Ronald Reagan era.  It is the first time that The Edge sang lead.

The group's efforts paid off in the form of sold-out shows in the U.S. and Europe.  Shows were recorded for the release of the live albums Under a Blood Red Sky and Live at Red Rocks, with the former selling three million units. 

 

Bono wrote this song after reading Psalm 40 from The Bible.  He added music and called it "40".

The success led to a much better contract with Island in 1984, which included ownership of their songs and an increased royalty rate.

 

U2 strove for more experimentation for their next album, and hired Brian Eno to produce it and Daniel Lanois to engineer it.  U2 to this point certainly showed what they could do. They took their game to the next level with their next release, The Unforgettable Fire, in 1984, featuring the single "Pride (In The Name Of Love)", which was written about Martin Luther King, Jr.  The song rose to #1 in New Zealand, #2 in Ireland, #3 in the U.K. and #4 in Australia.  With a peak of #33 in the U.S., it is another Top Unknown/Underrated Song*.

U2 were nominated for Best Group Video at the MTV Video Music Awards.  The Unforgettable Fire album also reached #1 in the U.K. and U2 added Australia to its list of countries that ranked their album #1.  It has sold over three million copies in the United States alone. 

 

The Edge began playing a riff and the others joined in, the beginning of the creation of "Bad".  U2 recorded the track in three takes at Slane Castle in Dublin.  The castle featured on the cover of the album is not Slane, but Moydrum Castle. 

 

"The Unforgettable Fire" was inspired after the group saw an exhibit with that name at the Chicago Peace Museum while touring in 1983.  The exhibit showcased artwork from Japanese victims of the Hiroshima bombing.

 

"A Sort Of Homecoming" is from poet Paul Celan who wrote, "Poetry is a sort of homecoming."

Bono and Clayton participated in the Band Aid charity song "Do They Know It's Christmas?", with proceeds benefiting famine victims in Ethiopia.

A tour followed, and U2 gained tremendous exposure with an appearance at the Live Aid concert benefiting victims of famine in Ethiopia at London's Wembley Stadium in 1985.  The group gave an iconic performance before a worldwide television audience, with Rolling Stone magazine calling U2 the "Band of the '80s", opining that "for a growing number of rock-and-roll fans, U2 have become the band that matters most, maybe even the only band that matters".

And that band that matters so much has many more great songs to hear!

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.

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

 

(Continued from Part One)

The duo set out to record their next album, which would prove to be their best.  The single "Hurting Each Other" (a cover of a Ruby & The Romantics tune) was released in late 1971 and it was another across-the-board hit, #1 on the Adult chart and #2 Popular in both the U.S. (kept out of the top spot only by Nilsson's classic "Without You") and Canada, #4 in Australia, and #7 in New Zealand, and another million-seller.

 

The album yielded no less than six hits.  This song written by Carole King and originally included on her album Music made it to #2 on the Easy Listening chart.  Messenger played the alto flute solo while Tim Weisberg, who enjoyed a hit with Dan Fogelberg on "The Power Of Gold", played the bass flute.

 Richard got an idea for one song after watching the movie Rhythm on the River starring Bing Crosby.  In the movie, Crosby's most famous song was "Goodbye To Love", but it was never performed.  So, Richard imagined what it might sound like and wrote some lyrics.  Bettis finished the song, and Tony Peluso delivered a great fuzz guitar solo as well, which became the single "Goodbye To Love", a #4 smash in Canada, #5 in New Zealand, #7 in the United States and #9 in the U.K. 

 

On the strength of his performance, Peluso was hired full-time to be in the group.  "Sing" gave the duo seven #1 songs on the Adult chart in less than three years, and hit #3 overall in the U.S., #4 in Canada, and #7 in New Zealand  and sold over one million copies. 

 

"Sing" picked up Grammy nominations for Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Vocal and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals.  Although the duo already had an album ready to release, A Song for You was doing so well that they continued to release smash hits from that album while also releasing new singles off the upcoming release, Now and Then.

"Yesterday Once More" also went Gold and reached the Top 10 in nearly every major country in the world, #1 in Canada and #2 in the U.S. and U.K.  It was later included on the album Now and Then.  Richard explained the background for the song on the group's official website:

           The oldies were enjoying a resurgence in 

           popularity during the early '70s, much to 

           Karen's and my delight. I thought it would be 

           nice to write a song about this, and use the

           piece to bookend the oldies medley we were 

           planning to record for the second side of our first 

           album release for 1973, Now and Then. The 

           resulting 'Yesterday Once More' became our

           eighth domestic Gold single, and one of our

           biggest hits worldwide.

 

The Gold single "Top Of The World" topped charts in the U.S. and Canada and reached #3 in Ireland, and #5 in the U.K.

 

A Song For You has sold over three million copies in the U.S. alone and contains six major hits.  The single "I  Won't Last A Day Without You" gave the Carpenters their 9th #1 on the EL chart but stalled at #11--it's another of The Top Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.

 

The title song is another great song on the album.

 "Road Ode" is another top track on A Song For You.  The jazz arrangements most common with their early releases showed the band playing their roots.

The house pictured on Now and Then was purchased by Karen and Richard for their parents using the proceeds from "Close To You".

 

"This Masquerade" is another Leon Russell song later remade into a big hit by George Benson.

 

The album also sold over two million in the U.S. alone.  The Carpenters recorded a jazz version of the Christmas standard "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" and performed on Perry Como's Christmas television special.





Although the group did not record an album in 1974, their played to 85,000 fans on their first tour of Japan.  The Carpenters did release their greatest hits album, The Singles:  1969-1973, which went to #1 in the U.S. and spent 17 weeks at #1 in the U.K. and sold over seven million copies in the United States alone, one of the best-selling albums of the decade.

The Carpenters are one of the most consistent acts of the last 65 years, and we have more from the duo in Part Three!

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

"Everyone mentions Karen's beautiful voice !! Richard's arrangements are absolutely stunning!!"

"Their music is truly timeless, & the most beautiful in the world!"

"That voice touches me every time."

"This brother and sister duo were so gifted and talented. Karen's voice was unmistakable and so pure, and Richard not only played a mean piano was the mastermind behind the group."

"What GREATNESS."

"Karen had the most amazing voice, singing a song that gives me chills. Her voice was everything...."

"The sweetest, most soothing voice you will ever hear. That sweet voice could calm the savage beast. Sublime! The Carpenters were magical."

"Pure music both from Karen in her majestic voice and amazing drumming along with Richard's great songwriting and arrangement skills."

"Time can't change the joy of hearing Karen's magic, enchanting, mesmerizing voice." They were simply sensational, with one great song after another."

"Karen's voice is mesmerizing and haunting."

"Karen's voice is Hauntingly beautiful... otherworldly.... ethereal... graceful.... POWERFUL. "

"The Carpenters sound is iconic to this day and can, or will never be, rivaled."

"You could tune a piano to Karen's voice and Richard's arrangements were brilliant."

"Pure class."

Here is another artist which ranked in The Top 10* from the mid-70's until the end of the 1980's.  They are still solidly in The Top 20*, as the "error rate" (derived from the closeness of the point total) is just plus or minus two in this range.

Richard Carpenter was born October 15, 1946 while sister Karen was born March 2, 1950.  Richard grew up playing piano at an early age, taking lessons when he was eight.  He grew frustrated with the formal nature of the lessons and began teaching himself how to play by ear.  When he was just 14, Richard started lessons at Yale School of Music.  Karen liked music too, taking ballet and tap classes when she was four, but also liked to play sports.

In 1963, the Carpenters moved to Downey, California, and Richard became the organist for services and weddings at the local Methodist church.  In 1964, Richard enrolled at Cal State-Long Beach, where he met songwriter John Bettis.  Karen was at Downey High School and became interested in the drums.  She took lessons from jazz players in the area.  In 1965, Karen and Richard performed for the first time as part of the pit band for the play Guys and Dolls.

By the end of the year, the two siblings, together with friend Wes Jacobs, began the Richard Carpenter Trio.  The group featured jazz songs, all arranged by Richard.  Karen became the vocalist for the group and took lessons from Frank Cooler.

The next year, while session musician Joe Osborn was recording a demo with Richard and Friberg, Osburn asked Karen to sing.  He was immediately impressed and signed Karen to his label, Magic Lamp Records, and Richard to his publishing company, Lightup Music.  But a single featuring two of Richard's songs didn't catch on, and the label shut down the next year.

 

That summer, The Richard Carpenter Trio entered the annual Battle of the bands competition at the Hollywood Bowl.  Performing an instrumental version of "The Girl From Ipanema" and their own song, "Iced Tea", the group won the competition.  

Karen graduated from Downey High in 1967 and soon joined Richard at Long Beach State as a music major.  Meanwhile, Osborn continued to let Karen and Richard record demo tapes in his studio.  Jacobs left the group to study classical music and the trio disbanded.  

Richard and Bettis were hired to play turn of the 20th century songs at a refreshment shop at Disneyland's Main Street.  But when the pair honored requests by patrons to play popular music, they were fired by their supervisor, Victor Guder.  Bettis and Richard didn't take this very well and later wrote the song "Mr. Guder" about their former boss.

Karen and Richard joined other students at Long Beach State, including Bettis on guitar, guitarist Gary Sims, bassist Dan Woodhams, and singer Leslie Johnston to form the group Spectrum.  Spectrum played regularly at the famous Whisky a Go Go, once opening for Steppenwolf, and sent demos to record labels in L.A. with no luck.  

In 1968, Spectrum too disbanded and Richard and Karen decided to form the duo called Carpenters.  They appeared on the television program Your All American College Show performing a cover of "Dancing In The Street".  Sulzer became their manager and got a copy of their demo tape to A & M Records.  Owner Herb Alpert saw the tremendous potential in this brother and sister act and signed them to a recording contract on April 22, 1969.  Importantly, the arrangement gave the duo the ability to record material with creative control.  

 

The Carpenters began work on their debut album, which included much of the material they had performed with Spectrum.  Osborn played bass on the album and would do so for the rest of the duo's career.  In October of 1969, the Carpenters released the album Offering, which was later renamed Ticket to Ride.  A slower cover of the Beatles' "Ticket To Ride" was released as a single and became a minor hit.  

"Someday" is a standout track--a masterpiece of musicianship.

Karen and Richard met accomplished songwriter Burt Bacharach, who liked their sound and invited the Carpenters to open for him at a charity concert.  Alpert asked Richard to come up with a different arrangement of a song written by Bacharach and Hal David that first Richard Chamberlain (in 1963) and then Dionne Warwick (in 1964) had recorded.

Famous session drummer Hal Blaine was added for the recording and the Carpenters released "(They Long To Be) "Close To You" in March of 1970.  The song reached #1 in July and remained there for four weeks in the U.S.; it also ruled charts in Canada and Australia.

"Close To You" won a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus, the Carpenters captured the award for Best New Artist, and "Close To You" was also nominated for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocals.  

 

The duo finished recording songs for the album of the same name and released it in August.  The next single was a song Richard had heard as a commercial for Crocker National Bank, written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols.  Williams went on to write many hits, including "Evergreen" for Barbra Streisand; both wrote television theme songs--Williams for The Love Boat and Nichols for Hart to Hart.  The Carpenters wove their magic on the song which became another smash, landing at #1 in Canada and Australia and #2 in the states--"We've Only Just Begun".

Williams recalled to Songfacts:

       We wrote the first two verses of "We've Only Just 

         Begun".  We wrote a second version of the

         commercial that became the bridge of the song.  We 

         added a third verse just in case anybody would ever 

         want to record it.  And then I assumed that it would 

         never, ever get cut again.  Richard heard me singing it 

         on the TV commercial, and called and asked if there

         was a complete song.  And we went, "Well, funny you

         should ask."

 

Close To You was nominated for Album of the Year and Best Engineered Recording for this superb performance.  A popular song never released as a single, "Love Is Surrender", is from the Christian musical Tell It Like It Is that Richard and Karen heard.  Richard and Bettis changed the lyrics to reflect a romantic relationship.  

 

Another album track has been gaining in popularity through the years and it now tanks high in The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.  Here is the wonderful "Crescent Noon", featuring Karen's hauntingly beautiful Alto voice.

Richard sang lead on another of the top tracks--"I Kept On Loving You".

Richard and Bettis wrote "Maybe It's You" for their previous group Spectrum.  Earle Dumler delivered the oboe solo.

The album has now sold over two million copies and both singles went Gold.  

The group hired Woodhams and Sims as well as Bob Messenger and Doug Strawn to form their live band and began touring.  They selected Sherwin Bash as their new manager about this time, and appeared on several television shows, including The Ed Sullivan Show. 

 

The lyrics to this song were written in 1944 by 18-year-old Frank Pooler.  In 1966, when Pooler was choral director at California State University, Long Beach, two of his students, Karen and Richard, asked him if he had any ideas for holiday songs.  Pooler gave them the lyrics of the song he had written and told them he didn't think much of the melody.  Pooler said that Richard wrote a new melody in 15 minutes. 

Four years later, at the end of 1970, the Carpenters released the single "Merry Christmas, Darling", which ranked high on the holiday charts.  It would return to those charts again and again in the years that followed and has become a Christmas staple. 

It may have seemed they exploded out of the gate, but you know from reading this that they put in a lot of work and paid their dues before making it big.  They were deciding what to release after their two monster hits "Close To You" and "We've Only Just Begun" when their manager suggested they go see the movie Lovers and Other Strangers.  Richard and Karen were immediately taken with a song that Bread had recorded for the movie.  They knew then what they wanted to release as the next single.  

In 1971, the duo released their self-titled album.  The first single was a song that Bread had recorded for the movie Lovers and Other Strangers.  The Carpenters' version raced to #3 in the U.S. (and was their third consecutive #1 Adult hit), #6 in New Zealand, #7 in Canada and #10 in Australia. 

"For All We Know" also sold over one million copies and earned an Oscar for Best Original Song.  The Carpenters were nominated for Album of the Year and Best Contemporary Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus and the album picked up another nomination for Best Engineered Recording.

 

The album has gone over four million in career sales and reached #2 on the Album chart, behind only Carole King's masterpiece Tapestry. Another song written by Williams and Nichols, "Rainy Days And Mondays", continued the Midas touch for the Carpenters, giving them their fourth consecutive Gold record and another Top 5 hit (#2 in the U.S., #3 in Canada, and #1 on both countries' Adult charts). Once again, the group was able to land members of The Wrecking Crew (drummer Hal Blaine, bassist Joe Osborn, Tommy Morgan on harmonica and Bob Messenger on tenor sax) as backing musicians.

 

The group toured to support the album, including  a sold-out show at Carnegie Hall.  The Carpenters scored a third smash on the album with the Leon Russell song "Superstar", another Gold record and #2 song, kept out of #1 only by Rod Stewart's "Maggie May".  It was their fifth consecutive #1 Adult song and also reached #3 in Canada, #7 in Japan, and #9 in New Zealand. 

Richard was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist for "Superstar".   The duo starred in their own television series, Make Your Own Kind of Music.  The flip side of "Superstar" was written by Barry DeVorzon and Perry Botkin, Jr., who would go on to enjoy a huge hit with "Nadia's Theme" in 1976.  

From the film of the same name, "Bless The Beasts And The Children" was nominated for Best Song from a Motion Picture at the Academy Awards and it earned a Grammy nomination for Best Album of Original Score, Written for a Motion Picture.  It could easily have been the "A" side and charted as well, but with a peak of #67, it is one of The Top Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*. 

Very few artists in the Rock Era have thoroughly dominated an era as the Carpenters did.  Catch more of their greatest in Part Two!