Parade on MSN

1971 Carpenters ballad, one of their most tender tracks, took two years to become a hit

Inside the story of the slow-burn smash ...

In 1973, Karen Carpenter left Johnny Carson’s audience in awe with a virtuoso singing and drumming medley

A 1973 Tonight Show clip shows Karen Carpenter playing stunning jazz drum solos between lead vocals, proving she was truly ...

A song in a bank commercial was never destined to be a hit. Then the Carpenters saw the ad.

Discover how the Carpenters' "We've Only Just Begun" went from a bank commercial jingle to a Grammy Hall of Fame hit.
Parade on MSN

Discover the gritty backstory behind the Carpenters' 1971 hit 'Superstar'

The song had to be sanitized before it was recorded by a popular brother and sister duo ...
AOL

Karen Carpenter’s Final Concert: A Tiny Crowd, a Tragic End

Karen Carpenter gave her final performance to a tiny, intimate crowd just weeks before her untimely death at 32. Unlike the grand arenas and packed theaters where The Carpenters usually performed, ...
American Songwriter

On This Day in 1983, the World Lost One of the Greatest Singers Ever and One-Half of an Iconic Brother-Sister Duo

On this day (February 4) in 1983, Karen Carpenter died of a cardiac arrest in her parents’ Downey, California, home at the age of 32. She gained fame as the drummer and vocalist for the Carpenters, ...
AOL

Karen Carpenter Refused to Perform 'Solitaire' Live Despite Its Success

Karen Carpenter reportedly disliked the 1975 Carpenters song "Solitaire" so much she refused to perform it live. According to the YouTube channel Professor of Rock, the brother and sister duo were ...