(Credit: Alamy)
Mon 26 May 2025 18:30, UK
By now, the expansive musical talents of Karen Carpenter are no secret. An artistic visionary with an endless aptitude for jazz drumming, she was a master behind the sticks, but her role as a vocalist in 1970s soft-rock sibling outfit The Carpenters rarely gave her a chance to stretch those percussionist muscles. In fact, the musician’s life was often punctuated by imposed restrictions, and she was rarely given he opportunity to shine in her own, independent capacity away from The Carpenters.
1979 marked the end of an exhaustive decade for the vocal duo. Endless touring, coupled with high-pressure studio sessions, thrust The Carpenters firmly into the American mainstream. The eight studio albums the pair released over the course of the decade made them a commercial powerhouse, earning a pretty penny for their label, A&M, and placing unparalleled attention on Karen and Richard Carpenter. Inevitably, this unwavering attention and exhaustive existence took its toll on the pair.
Karen Carpenter had struggled with her weight since her high school days, but it was during the mid-1970s that the problem became much more serious. The drummer and vocalist developed severe anorexia, and her busy schedule within The Carpenters didn’t allow her enough time to properly seek help or recovery from the condition. Meanwhile, Richard Carpenter was suffering from severe insomnia and depression, spurred on by an addiction to Quaaludes.
Despite the duo’s willingness to carry on in spite of these serious issues, no doubt influenced by A&M’s determination to continue cashing in on the pair’s commercial successes, The Carpenters could not sustain such a troubled existence for very long. So, when the end of the decade rolled around, Richard Carpenter sought help for his drug addiction and mental health issues, leaving Karen Carpenter with an opportunity to explore herself as a solo artist.
In 1979, she set about recording a solo album with producer Phil Ramone in New York City. Allowing the musician to explore a wider range of influences than was deemed appropriate for The Carpenters, the album packed with ideas. Country influences were placed alongside elements of disco, and even a reinterpretation of Paul Simon’s ‘Still Crazy After All These Years’. The album was completed in 1980, but it was met with immediate disapproval from A&M’s executives.
Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, co-founders of the label, were particularly unsupportive of the album, much to the devastation of Carpenter herself. So, shortly after its completion, the album’s release was cancelled, and the project was shelved. Unsurprisingly, this decision broke Carpenter’s heart, and it is said that she broke down in tears when the record was met with the disapproval of A&M. Life moved on quickly, and the following year, she recorded another Carpenters album, Made in America, with Richard.
Still, her shelved solo album remained at the forefront of Carpenter’s mind, even as her health declined rapidly during the early 1980s. On February 3rd, 1983, the musician reportedly called producer Phil Ramone, mentioning her love of the unreleased solo album and her devastation at A&M’s response to it. Less than 24 hours later, Karen Carpenter passed away after suffering a heart attack resulting from anorexia.
Carpenter would not live to see the release of her solo work, but the album did see the light of day eventually. Various tracks and recordings from the solo album were included on posthumous Carpenters albums, including Voice of the Heart and Lovelines, albeit rearranged by Richard Carpenter.
However, the original incarnation of the album was eventually released in 1996, 16 years after it was originally recorded. Expectedly, the album is a masterful example of Carpenter’s unparalleled vocal quality and musical talent, which should never have been pulled from release by A&M all those years ago.
Related Topics
Subscribe To The Far Out Newsletter