Today, March 2nd, is dedicated to one of my (s)heroes, Karen Carpenter. Although Karen was only with us for a short time, her voice was amazing and her music is timeless.
Today, March 2nd, is dedicated to one of my she-roes, Karen Carpenter. Although Karen was only with us for a short time, her voice was amazing and her music is timeless. Growing up in the 70’s/80’s I became aware of the Carpenters through my cousin, Rayme, who made tapes of her singing along to their records. I wasn’t a big fan, but I liked their music.
Somewhere around 1988 or 89 (I was 16 at the time – do the math), there was a tv special called “The Karen Carpenter Story.” I just happened to watch it and I was fascinated by the part where Karen first learns to play the drums. I know it was just an actress playing Karen, but it was still cool to me. That was the spark that got me started. I asked my parents for a drums set for Christmas that year (which I still own) and that was the beginning of my drumming career. And I owe it all to Karen. She was a natural on the drums.
Unfortunately, being a female drummer back then wasn’t any easier than it is now. In fact, I have a Carpenter’s video of Karen playing drums in a full-length dress. Who’s dumb idea was that? Anyway, I became obsessed with Karen shortly after watching the tv movie and to feed my addiction I wrote a lot of book reports and research papers about her in high school. From what I have read, Karen spent most of her career fighting to play the drums while everyone else wanted her ‘out front’ to be the singing star. On many occasions they hired other drummers to play both in the studio and on the stage. It is probably true that her vocal talent far exceeded her chops on the kit, but like I said – she was a natural – she could handle it. Personally, I think that any drummer that can sing and play at the same time is awesome. I certainly can’t do that – ask my bandmates! I just play drums. No singing involved.
So Happy Birthday to Karen Carpenter. She would have been 56 today. To honor her memory, I have decided to add a new section to this web site called “On This Day” which will track historical events for women. I guess I better go get started on that!
PS – I still have “The Karen Carpenter Story” on video. Hmmm….maybe I should let my kids watch it someday soon.
