Carpenters

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Image:Carpenters the 01.jpg The Carpenters were a 1970s vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter. With their brand of melodic pop, they charted a score of hit recordings on the American Top 40, becoming leading exponents of the soft rock or adult contemporary genre and ranking among the foremost recording artists of the decade.

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Before Carpenters

Born in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, (Richard Lynn on October 15, 1946, and Karen Anne on March 2, 1950), the Carpenter siblings moved with their parents to California in 1963 and settled in the Los Angeles suburb of Downey. Richard had developed his interest in music at an early age, becoming a piano prodigy. The move to southern California was intended in part to foster his budding musical career. Karen, meanwhile, did not manifest her musical talents until high school, when she joined her high school band (Downey High School) and found an interest in the drums. She soon taught herself how to play the drums and mastered them. Around this time, she also realized she could sing.

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1960s

During the mid to late 1960s, the two attempted to launch a musical career but failed to gain a successful recording deal until the decade's end. In May 1966 Karen joined Richard in attending a late night session in the garage studio of L.A. bassist Joe Osborn, where Richard was to accompany an auditioning vocalist. Asked to sing, Karen performed and landed a short-lived recording contract as a solo artist with Osborn's fledgling label Magic Lamp. The resulting single included two of Richard's compositions, "Looking for Love" and "I'll Be Yours," but the label soon folded, bringing this promising start to a close.

During this period, the pair, joined by bassist friend Wes Jacobs, formed the Richard Carpenter Trio, a jazz instrumental group. Winning the Hollywood Bowl "Battle of the Bands" in 1966, the trio was picked up by the RCA label. The label chose not to release their songs, however, and doubting their commercial potential, RCA soon dropped the trio. Richard and Karen next teamed with four other student musicians from Long Beach State to form the sextet Spectrum. Although the new group landed club dates at such venues as the Whisky A Go-Go, no record deal was forthcoming. Nevertheless, the experience proved rewarding for the siblings, as Richard found a lyricist for his original compositions in fellow Spectrum member John Bettis.

After Spectrum folded, the Carpenters decided to continue as a duo, with Richard on keyboards, Karen on drums, and both contributing vocals. They sent out demo tapes and attracted the attention of A&M Records producer Jack Daugherty, who signed the duo in 1969. Their initial LP, titled Offering, featured numerous selections that Richard had written or co-written during their Spectrum period. The most significant track on the album, though, was a ballad rendition of The Beatles' hit "Ticket To Ride", which soon became a minor hit for the Carpenters, and the LP was subsequently repackaged and retitled Ticket to Ride with somewhat improved sales. Following the autumn release of "Ticket to Ride", their label arranged for the duo to perform at the film premieres of Goodbye, Mr. Chips and Hello Dolly in December.

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1970s

The Carpenters achieved their breakthrough in 1970 with the release of the Burt Bacharach-Hal David song, "(They Long to Be) Close to You", which rose to #1 and stayed atop the charts for four weeks. Though Richard and Karen were not the first artists to cut the song - among the others were Dionne Warwick and Richard Chamberlain - the Carpenters' version was by far the most popular, and the song has become synonymous with the duo. A follow-up recording, "We've Only Just Begun" (written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols), reached #2 to become the duo's second major hit in the fall of 1970. Both songs featured on the album "Close To You", which became a bestseller. The duo rounded out the year with a holiday release, "Merry Christmas Darling", which Richard co-wrote with Frank Pooler, who had been the duo's choral director at Long Beach State. The single scored high on the holiday charts in 1970 and made repeat appearances on the charts in subsequent years.

A string of hit singles and albums kept the Carpenters on the charts through the early 1970s, including "For All We Know", "Rainy Days and Mondays", and "Superstar" (all from the LP, Carpenters) in 1971; "Hurting Each Other", "It's Going to Take Some Time", and "Goodbye to Love" (from the LP, A Song for You) in 1972; "Sing" and "Yesterday Once More" (from the oldies-oriented LP, Now and Then) in 1973. "Top of the World", an album selection on the Song for You LP, was covered by country artist Lynn Anderson (of "Rose Garden" fame), became a word-of-mouth hit and was re-recorded for single release in 1973, reaching number one on the Top 40 late that year. A greatest hits LP, titled The Singles: 1969-1973, topped the charts in the U.S. and the United Kingdom and became one of the bestselling albums of the decade, ultimately selling more than 7,000,000 copies in the U.S. alone.

During the first half of the 1970s, the Carpenters' music was a staple of Top 40 playlists, and even more so Middle-of-the-Road, Easy Listening and Adult Contemporary radio. The duo produced a distinctive sound featuring Karen's expressive contralto on lead vocals, with both siblings contributing background vocals that were overdubbed to create densely layered harmonies. To his role as vocalist, keyboardist, and arranger, Richard added that of composer on numerous tracks. Several of his compositions with lyricist John Bettis became hit records, including "Goodbye to Love", "Yesterday Once More", and "Top of the World".

To promote their recordings, the Carpenters maintained a staggering schedule of concert tours and television appearances during this period. Among their numerous television credits were appearances on such popular series as American Bandstand, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, and the Carol Burnett Show. In 1971 the duo appeared in a television special on the BBC in the United Kingdom and were the featured performers in a summer replacement series, Make Your Own Kind of Music, which aired on NBC-TV in the U.S. In May 1973 the Carpenters accepted an invitation to perform at the White House for President Richard Nixon and visiting West German chancellor Willy Brandt.

The Carpenters' popularity often confounded critics. With their output focused on ballads and mid-tempo pop, the duo's music was often dismissed by critics as bland and "saccharine". The recording industry, however, bestowed awards on the duo, who won three Grammy Awards during their career (including Best New Artist, and Best Pop Performance by a Duo, Group, or Chorus, for "Close to You" in 1970; and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group for the LP Carpenters in 1971). In 1973, the Carpenters were voted Best Band, Duo, or Group (Pop/Rock) at the first annual American Music Awards.

Extensive touring in 1973-74 left the duo with little time for recording new material. As a result, the Carpenters did not issue a new album in 1974. Instead the pair chose for single release the Williams-Nichols composition, "I Won't Last a Day Without You." Originally recorded as an album track for 1972's Song for You LP, the single version became the fifth and final selection from that album project to chart in the Top 20, reaching #11 on the U.S. charts. Also in 1974, the Carpenters achieved a massive international hit with an uptempo remake of Hank Williams' "Jambalaya," which, while not released as a single in the U.S., reached the top 30 in Japan and sold well in England, among other countries. In late 1974 a Christmas single followed, a jazz-influenced rendition of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town".

In early 1975 the Carpenters scaled the charts with a remake of the Marvelettes' hit "Please Mr. Postman". Released in late 1974, the single soared to #1 on the U.S. charts in January 1975, becoming the duo's third and final number one single. Later that spring the pair scored a final top five hit with the Carpenter-Bettis song "Only Yesterday". Both singles appeared on the LP Horizon, which also included covers of The Eagles' "Desperado" and Neil Sedaka's "Solitaire", which became a moderate hit for the duo that year. The LPs Horizon and A Kind of Hush, released in 1975 and 1976 respectively, achieved "gold" status but failed to peak as high as previous efforts. Their singles releases in 1976 likewise followed a pattern of diminishing returns. The duo's highest charting single that year was a cover of Herman's Hermits' "There's a Kind of Hush", which peaked at number 12. The follow-up single, the Carpenter-Bettis song "I Need to Be in Love" (said to be Karen's favorite of all of the duo's singles) charted no higher than 25, while the 1930s novelty song "Goofus" failed to reach the Top 40 entirely, and was also the first Carpenters single not to reach #1 or #2 on the Adult Contemporary chart since "Ticket To Ride." The disco craze was in full swing by 1977, and adult-appeal "easy listening" artists like the Carpenters as well as John Denver, Helen Reddy, and Olivia Newton-John (before her starring role in the movie musical "Grease" brought her back to prominence) were getting lost in the shuffle.

Their more experimental album, Passage, released in 1977 (and no doubt partially inspired by the science-fiction craze of the late '70s, due to Star Wars and Close Encounters of the Third Kind), marked an attempt to broaden their appeal by venturing into other musical genres. The LP featured an unlikely mix of Latin rock, calypso, and pop, and included the Top 40 hit "All You Get From Love is a Love Song". The most notable tracks included cover versions of "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" (from the rock opera Evita), and Klaatu's "Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft", both complete with choral and orchestral accompaniment. Although the single release of "Calling Occupants" became a top ten hit in the U.K., it stalled at number 32 on the U.S. charts, and the album failed to cross the gold threshold of 500,000 copies sold in the States. Richard has said that he felt another track from "Passage," "I Just Fall In Love Again," could have become a major success had A&M decided to release it as a single and might have gotten the duo back on track in terms of having hits. The song did in fact become a hit in 1979 for Anne Murray, proving Richard's feelings about the song's appeal.

Despite their disappointing performance on domestic charts, the Carpenters continued to enjoy enormous popularity. In 1978, they had a top 10 hit on the country chart with the uptempo, fiddle-sweetened "Sweet, Sweet Smile," written by future country-pop star Juice Newton (on the pop chart, it came up a few notches short of the Top 40, stopping at #44). A second Singles album (covering the years 1974-1978) was released in the U.K., while in the States, their 1978 holiday album, A Christmas Portrait, proved an exception to their faltering career at home and became a seasonal favorite. Their television specials also garnered solid ratings and kept them before the public eye during the late 1970s. Karen dated such celebrities as Alan Osmond and Mike Curb.

By the mid-1970s, extensive touring and lengthy recording sessions had begun to take their toll on the duo and contributed to their professional difficulties during the latter half of the decade. Karen dieted obsessively and developed the disorder anorexia nervosa, which first manifested itself in 1975, when an exhausted and emaciated Karen was forced to cancel concert tours in the U.K. and Japan after collapsing onstage in Las Vegas while singing "Top of the World." (Her obsession with weight loss apparently began after she read a review in Billboard magazine that dubbed her "Richard's chubby sister.") Richard, meanwhile, developed an addiction to Quaaludes, which began to affect his performance in the late 1970s and led to the end of the duo's live concert appearances in 1978.

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1980s

Richard sought treatment for his addiction at a Topeka, Kansas, facility in early 1979. Karen, meanwhile, decided to pursue a solo album project with renowned producer Phil Ramone in New York. Her choice of more adult-oriented and disco/dance-tempo material represented an effort to retool their image. The resulting product, however, met a tepid response from Richard and A&M executives in early 1980, and Karen wavered in her dedication to the project. Ultimately, she abandoned the solo effort in favor of launching a new LP with her brother, now fully recovered from his addiction. (Her solo LP, Karen Carpenter, remained unreleased until October 1996; one single from it, "If I Had You," was released in 1989, and made the top 20 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and among the album's other tracks was a cover of Paul Simon's "Still Crazy After All These Years.") Their LP Made in America, released in 1981, spawned a final top 20 hit single, "Touch Me When We're Dancing" (also their final #1 Adult Contemporary hit), with three other singles (including another Motown cover version, this time "Beechwood 4-5789") barely cracking the Top 75.

Personal troubles, however, dimmed the prospects of this modest return to the charts with Karen's failed marriage to Tom Burris and the ongoing effects of her anorexia nervosa. After a whirlwind romance, Karen had married real estate developer Thomas J. Burris in a lavish wedding held at the Beverly Hills Hotel on August 31, 1980. The marriage turned out to be a disaster and the couple separated in November 1981. In 1982, Karen sought therapy with noted psychotherapist Steven Levenkron in New York City for her disorder and returned to California later that year determined to regain her professional career and finalize her divorce. She quickly gained 10 lb (5 kg) in one week, but the sudden weight gain further damaged her heart, which was already damaged from years of dieting and abuse (especially - as is rumored - abuse of ipecac, which directly damages heart muscle when taken repeatedly). On February 4, 1983, at the age of 32, Karen suffered cardiac arrest at her parents' home in Downey and was taken to Downey Memorial Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Karen was planning to officially sign her divorce papers on the day she died.

Her funeral service took place on Tuesday 8th February, 1983 at the United Methodist Church in Downey. Karen Carpenter, dressed in pink, lay in an open white casket, and through an afternoon rain a thousand mourners passed through to say goodbye, among them her friends Dorothy Hamill, Olivia Newton John, Petula Clark, Cristina Ferrare and Dionne Warwick. "I saw her at the Grammys photo session and she was so proud of the way she looked", Warwick said.

Voice Of The Heart was released in November 1983, an album that was in the works at the time of her death, also included some finished tracks left out of Made In America and a couple of earlier albums. Voice Of The Heart review The album peaked at #46, and two singles were released. "Make Believe It's Your First Time", a duo version of a song she had recorded for her solo album, only got up to #101, and "Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore" didn't chart in the U.S. A couple of the more depressing songs recorded for these sessions were held back for later compilations.

Richard Carpenter married Mary Rudolf on May 19, 1984. He had known Mary since 1975.

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After Carpenters

Karen's death from anorexia nervosa shocked the world; although many had noticed her increasingly frail appearance, few realized she had been starving herself for so many years. Her death brought lasting media attention to anorexia nervosa—a devastating psychological disorder that destroys millions of lives each year. Karen's death encouraged celebrities to go public about their eating disorders. Medical centers and hospitals began receiving a massive amount of phone calls from people who were suffering from these disorders.

Following Karen's death, Richard Carpenter has continued to produce recordings of the duo's music, including several albums of previously unreleased material and numerous compilation albums. In 1984, using outtake material from the duo's first Christmas album (A Christmas Portrait) and recording new material around it, Richard constructed a "new" Carpenters Christmas album, An Old Fashioned Christmas. In 1987, Richard released his first solo album, Time [1], which generated one hit single, "Something in Your Eyes" (sung by Dusty Springfield). His dedication to protecting the Carpenters' image and recording legacy has sparked criticism from some quarters, as Richard has insisted on substantial project oversight as the price for his cooperation in any documentary or drama focusing on them. In 1987 he intervened to limit the distribution of the Todd Haynes short film Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (which used Barbie dolls to relate a perspective on Karen's untimely death). Although numerous critics found Karen's portrayal to be sympathetic, the film depicted the Carpenter family in an unflattering light, and Richard prevailed in pulling the film from distribution on the basis that Carpenters tracks were used on the soundtrack without permission.

A 1989 TV movie, The Karen Carpenter Story, produced with Richard's cooperation, gained favorable notices and reached a wide audience. In the first few weeks after the movie's airdate, many record stores reported selling out of their Carpenters stock. A critical reevaluation of the Carpenters' musical output followed during the 1990s, as interest in and appreciation for the duo's recorded work increased. The superior technical quality of the recordings, the sorrowful undercurrents in many of their songs and the pain in Karen's voice as well as her life attracted many divergent fans. Even '90s R&B group Boyz II Men list the Carpenters among their biggest influences. In 1990 the alternative rock band Sonic Youth recorded, "Tunic (Song for Karen)", which depicted Karen saying goodbye to her relatives as she got to play the drums again and meet her new "friends", Dennis Wilson, Elvis Presley and Janis Joplin. A 1994 biography, The Carpenters: The Untold Story, by respected music journalist and biographer Ray Coleman, covered the arc of the duo's career and personal lives. A tribute album, If I Were a Carpenter, by contemporary artists (such as Sonic Youth, Shonen Knife, Grant Lee Buffalo, Matthew Sweet, and The Cranberries) also appeared that year and provided an alternative rock interpretation of numerous Carpenters hits. Karen Carpenter, Karen's solo album, was released in October 1996.

One other country where the Carpenters' popularity reached monstrous proportions - and continued strong after Karen's death - was Japan. Retail singles by non-Japanese artists typically do not sell well in Japan - although Western artists often enjoy strong album sales and radio airplay there - but the Carpenters were one exception. Three of the Carpenters' singles ("Superstar," "Yesterday Once More," and the double-sided "I Need To Be In Love"/"Top Of The World") made the top 10 on Japan's Oricon chart, and seven others reached the top 40 there. In 1995, a Japan-only best-of compilation, "22 Hits of the Carpenters" (featuring all but two of the 20 songs the duo placed in the American top 40 during their career), was a massive best-seller, and actually received a tenth-anniversary re-release in 2005.

Several of their songs have achieved the status of popular standards. In particular, "Close To You" is frequently sung in karaoke bars, while the duo's signature tune, "We've Only Just Begun", continues to be performed at weddings and receptions. Both recordings have been honored with Grammy Hall of Fame awards for recordings of lasting quality or historical significance: "We've Only Just Begun" was inducted in 1998, while "Close to You" followed in 2000. "Superstar" has been covered by numerous artists, with extremely popular recordings from Luther Vandross and most recently Ruben Studdard. Clay Aiken performed "Solitaire" on American Idol and introduced the song to a whole new generation.

Today, Richard Carpenter lives with his wife Mary Rudolf-Carpenter and their four daughters and one son in Thousand Oaks, California, and the couple are prominent supporters of the arts there. In 2004, Carpenter and his wife pledged a generous $3 million gift to the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza Foundation in memory of Karen Carpenter. He is also affiliated with the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center on the campus of California State University, Long Beach. He continues to make occasional concert appearances, including fundraising efforts for the Carpenter Center. In 2001, he was a featured guest of Petula Clark in concert in Norfolk, Virginia, and portions of the concert were recorded for CD release and for broadcast as a PBS special. The following year, he introduced Clark at the Carpenter Center and appeared on her "Ultimate Collection" CD. Carpenter is also today an avid collector of award winning classic cars, including a black Chrysler 300 convertible from the '60s, which he has owned and maintained for over 25 years.

In December 2003, Karen (along with her parents) was exhumed from Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Cypress, California, and re-interred in Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village, CA.

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Albums

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Carpenters Studio Albums

  • 1969 "Offering" (later re-released as "Ticket To Ride")
  • 1970 "Close To You"
  • 1971 "Carpenters" (a.k.a. "The Tan Album")
  • 1972 "A Song For You"
  • 1973 "Now & Then"
  • 1975 "Horizon"
  • 1976 "A Kind Of Hush"
  • 1977 "Passage"
  • 1981 "Made In America"
  • 1983 "Voice Of The Heart"
  • 1989 "Lovelines"
  • 2001 "As Time Goes By"
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Carpenters Live Albums

  • 1974 "Live In Japan"
  • 1976 "Live At The Palladium"
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Carpenters Christmas Albums

  • 1978 "Christmas Portrait
  • 1984 "An Old-Fashioned Christmas"
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Carpenters Compilations

note: non-U.S. compilations and identical re-releases excluded

  • 1973 "The Singles: 1969-1973" **
  • 1985 "Yesterday Once More" **
  • 1990 "From The Top" **
  • 1993 "Carpenters Collection" (Time-Life CD release)
  • 1995 "Interpretations" **
  • 1997 "Their Greatest Hits And Finest Performances" (Reader's Digest CD release) **
  • 1997 "Love Songs" **
  • 1998 "Yesterday Once More"
  • 2000 "The Singles: 1969-1981" **
  • 2002 "20th Century Masters: Millenium Collection"
  • 2002 "The Essential Collection: 1965-1997" **
  • 2003 "Carpenters Perform Carpenter" **
  • 2004 "Gold: 35th Anniversary Edition" ** 
     ** contains previously unreleased or remixed selections
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Richard Carpenter Solo Albums

  • 1987 "Time"
  • 1997 "Pianist Arranger Composer Conductor"
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Karen Carpenter Solo Album

  • 1996 "Karen Carpenter"
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Singles

US chart positions courtesy the Hot 100. The Carpenters placed a total of twelve songs in the US Top 10, including three number ones and five songs that hit number two.

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Carpenters Singles

  • 1969 "Ticket To Ride" (#54) b/w "Your Wonderful Parade"
  • 1970 "(They Long To Be) Close To You" (#1, four weeks) b/w "I Kept On Loving You"
  • 1970 "We've Only Just Begun" (#2) b/w "All Of My Life"
  • 1970 "Merry Christmas Darling" (now a holiday standard, spent three weeks at #1 on Billboard magazine's seasonal/holiday music chart) b/w "Mr.Guder"
  • 1971 "For All We Know" (#3) b/w "Don't Be Afraid"
  • 1971 "Rainy Days and Mondays" (#2) b/w "Saturday"
  • 1971 "Superstar" (#2) b/w "Bless The Beasts And Children" (#67)
  • 1971 "Hurting Each Other" (#2) b/w "Maybe It's You"
  • 1972 "It's Going To Take Some Time" (#12) b/w "Flat Baroque"
  • 1972 "Goodbye To Love" (#7) b/w "Crystal Lullaby"
  • 1973 "Sing" (#3) b/w "Druscilla Penny"
  • 1973 "Yesterday Once More" (#2) b/w "Road Ode"
  • 1973 "Top Of the World" (#1, two weeks) b/w "Heather"
  • 1974 "I Won't Last a Day Without You" (#11) b/w "One Love"
  • 1974 "Please Mr. Postman" (#1, one week) b/w "This Masquerade"
  • 1974 "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" b/w "Merry Christmas Darling"
  • 1975 "Only Yesterday" (#4) b/w "Happy"
  • 1975 "Solitaire" (#17) b/w "Love Me For What I Am"
  • 1976 "There's a Kind Of Hush (All Over the World)" (#12) b/w "(I'm Caught Between) Goodbye And I Love You"
  • 1976 "I Need To Be In Love" (#25) b/w "Sandy"
  • 1976 "Goofus" (#56) b/w "Boat To Sail"
  • 1977 "All You Get From Love Is a Love Song" (#35) b/w "I Have You"
  • 1977 "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft (The Recognized Anthem Of World Contact Day)" (#32) b/w "Can't Smile Without You"
  • 1977 "Christmas Song" b/w "Merry Christmas Darling"
  • 1978 "Sweet, Sweet Smile" (#44) b/w "I Have You"
  • 1978 "I Believe You" (#68) b/w "B'wana She No Home"
  • 1981 "Touch Me When We're Dancing" (#16) b/w "Because We Are In Love (The Wedding Song)"
  • 1981 "(Want You) Back In My Life Again" (#72) b/w "Somebody's Been Lyin'"
  • 1981 "Those Good Old Dreams" (#63) b/w "When It's Gone (It's Just Gone)"
  • 1982 "Beechwood 4-5789" (#74) b/w "Two Sides"
  • 1983 "Make Believe It's Your First Time" (#101) b/w "Look To Your Dreams"
  • 1984 "Your Baby Doesn't Love You Anymore" (did not chart) b/w "Sailing On The Tide"
  • 1984 "Little Altar Boy" b/w "Do You Hear What I Hear?"
  • 1986 "Honolulu City Lights" b/w "I Just Fall In Love Again"
  • 1991 "Let Me Be The One" (promo CD only)
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Richard Carpenter Single

  • 1987 "Something In Your Eyes" (feat. Dusty Springfield) b/w "Time"
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Karen Carpenter Singles

  • 1966 "Looking For Love" b/w "I'll Be Yours"
  • 1989 "If I Had You" b/w "The Uninvited Guest"
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Reference

  • Ray Coleman; The Carpenters: The Untold Story; Harper Collins Publishers; ISBN 0-06-018345-4 (1st edition, paperback, 1994).
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See also

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External links

fr:The Carpenters ja:カーペンターズ pt:Carpenters simple:Carpenters sv:The Carpenters

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