Little Girl Blue (eBook)

The Life of Karen Carpenter

Randy L. Schmidt (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2010 | 1. Auflage
Chicago Review Press (Verlag)
978-1-56976-694-1 (ISBN)

Infos

An intimate profile of one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century, this first full-length biography of Karen Carpenter details every aspect of her life, from her modest Connecticut upbringing and her rise to stardom in southern California to the real story of her tragic, untimely death. This illuminating depiction of a 1970s icon covers her time as lead singer of the Carpentersthe top-selling American musical act of the decadeand provides insight into their string of 16 consecutive top-20 hits, including 'Close to You,''We've Only Just Begun,' 'Top of the World,'and 'Superstar,' as well as a critical review of her aborted solo career. A behind-the-scenes look into the life of a superstar, from the prolific recordings and the relentless touring to the awards, fame, and fortune, this history also chronicles her struggle with anorexia nervosa and gives important new details from her autopsy that shed new light on her death at age 32. Groups such as Sonic Youth and the Corrs and artists including k. d. lang and Madonna have cited Karen Carpenter among their major influences, and this definitive biography, based on exclusive interviews with nearly 100 ofher friends and associates, is a testament to her brief yet remarkable life.

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An intimate profile of one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century, this first full-length biography of Karen Carpenter details every aspect of her life, from her modest Connecticut upbringing and her rise to stardom in southern California to the real story of her tragic, untimely death. This illuminating depiction of a 1970s icon covers her time as lead singer of the Carpenters-the top-selling American musical act of the decade-and provides insight into their string of 16 consecutive top-20 hits, including "e;Close to You,"e; "e;We've Only Just Begun,"e; "e;Top of the World,"e; and "e;Superstar,"e; as well as a critical review of her aborted solo career.A behind-the-scenes look into the life of a superstar, from the prolific recordings and the relentless touring to the awards, fame, and fortune, this history also chronicles her struggle with anorexia nervosa and gives important new details from her autopsy that shed new light on her death at age 32. Groups such as Sonic Youth and the Corrs and artists including k. d. lang and Madonna have cited Karen Carpenter among their major influences, and this definitive biography, based on exclusive interviews with nearly 100 of her friends and associates, is a testament to her brief yet remarkable life.

Textauszug

PROLOGUE RAINY DAYS AND RAIN MAN ___________ 'I want you to know that I did not kill my daughter.' Agnes Carpenter's first words to Barry Morrow were piercing. Set to interview the Carpenter family matriarch, he was thunderstruck as the woman suddenly jumped in front of the family's housekeeper, who had answered his knock at the door. This startling and awkward occurrence interrupted Morrow's introduction. 'Yes ma'am,' he replied with caution. 'May I come in?' ___________ The year was 1984. Hollywood producer Jerry Weintraub had called a meeting with Barry Morrow, a screenwriter whose resume included two recent popular television movies starring Mickey Rooney and Dennis Quaid: the Emmy award winner Bill (1981) and Bill: On His Own (1983). Both were based on the writer's real-life friendship with Bill Sackter, a mentally challenged man he befriended and saved from the institution where Sackter spent forty-four years of his life. On Thursday, October 18, Weintraub asked Morrow to write the screenplay for an upcoming television movie with the working title A Song for You: The Karen Carpenter Story. 'You know, I am just not a fan of the Carpenters,' Morrow told Weintraub, who had managed the duo's career since 1976. Morrow knew of the Carpenters' music and recalled news reports of Karen's untimely death the previous year, but he didn't particularly like their music. 'It was considered elevator music,' he recalls. 'I was listening to acid rock, Dylan, and Crosby, Stills and Nash.' Determined, Weintraub began to cajole Morrow. 'All right, listen,' he said. 'Here's what you do. I am going to give you three or four albums and a great bottle of wine. I want you to go to a room, turn off the lights, drink this wine and listen to these albums.' Morrow, who admits he had never enjoyed a good bottle of wine at that point in his life, much less a great one, followed Weintraub's orders. 'I never heard her before, I had never stopped to listen,' he says. 'I had never heard the sadness and the sorrow and the pain in her voice. I thought when she sang 'I'm on top of the world' she was serious. I never heard the undertones to it, the layers. When I heard the guitar solo in the middle of 'Goodbye to Love,' I thought, wait a second, I never even knew the Carpenters!' Finishing the bottle of wine, Morrow phoned Weintraub. 'I'm in,' he said, 'if you still want me.' ___________ Barry Morrow knew very little of the story he was hired to write. Naturally, one of his first interviews was with Karen's brother, Richard Carpenter, who was ambivalent about lending his name to a film about his sister. He saw potential for pain in such a production, not only for himself but for his elderly, still-greiving parents, devestated by the loss of their daughter. Morrow found Richard to be extremely guarded during their first meetings. More than anything, he saw the surviving Carpenter as highly protective, not only of his sister's but also his own image and, even more so, that of his family. The interviews were frustrating and at times proved futile. This confused Morrow because he knew the Carpenter circle had initiated and endorsed the project. Even so, he was determined to ask tough and direct...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 17.5.2010
• Vorwort: Dionne Warwick
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Literatur ► Biografien / Erfahrungsberichte
• Themenwelt: Kunst / Musik / Theater ► Musik ► Pop / Rock
• ISBN-10: 1-56976-694-0 / 1569766940
• ISBN-13: 978-1-56976-694-1 / 9781569766941