There are a few musicians/ bands who have had a profound impact on my life. I’ve already posted about one or two of my drumming influences, so now I’ll move on to the amazing Karen Carpenter. Ironically she was also a drummer, perhaps best known for her stunningly angelic voice in harmony with her brother as The Carpenters.
Whenever I hear a song by The Carpenters I am immediately reminded of my late mother, who I think of daily. They were popular on the radio station my Mom listened to when I was a child. Granted there were certainly a host of other popular artists at the time but for whatever reason the music of The Carpenters connected with me. I suppose love songs tend to do that. In reality I believe it was the quality of the music, the layering of the vocals, and the reletively wholesome message which appealed to me. Of course I didn’t admit any of this to my pier group at the time. They would not have understood, lol.
When I was first introduced to their music I had no idea Karen played the drums. We rarely bought albums so how would I know. Fast forward to today with the aid of the internet and video clips, I can now see and hear what I was missing. She was an amazing drummer/ percussionist. You must check this video out. She was completely ahead of her time:
I could have learned so much from her as a drummer had I heard more than just the Carpenters ballads on the radio. While I was banging on the drums to bands like The Beatles and later on Rush, these songs continually resonated with me, having been planted into my eardrums years earlier.
They were raised in New Haven, Ct which is, ironically, within an hour of my hometown. In the early 70’s they moved out West to make it big, and the rest is musical history. Karen left us at a young age due to unfortunate circumstances. But fortunately her and her brother’s music live on. Here are the lyrics to one of my favorites. Perhaps you remember it:
Why do stars fall down from the sky
Every time you walk by?
Just like me, they long to be
Close to you
On the day that you were born the angels got together
And decided to create a dream come true
So they sprinkled moon dust in your hair of gold and starlight in your eyes of blue.
Sometimes what was old can be new once again.
I love you Mom! ❤️ This song is for you.
Jim
We are major fans of the Carpenters - especially my daughter. That video was amazing. I had no idea she played drums. Thanks for this fun entry.