Carpenter's background imformation

Origin Los Angeles, California,
United States
Genres Pop, soft rock, adult contemporary
Years active 1969–1983
Labels A&M
Associated acts Karen Carpenter
Richard Carpenter
The Richard Carpenter Trio


The Carpenters were a vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter. Carpenters were the #1 selling American music act of the 1970s.[1] Though often referred to by the public as "The Carpenters", the duo's official name on authorized recordings and press materials is simply "Carpenters", without the definite article.[2] During a period in the 1970s when louder and wilder rock was in great demand, Richard and Karen produced a distinctively soft musical style that made them one of the best-selling music artists of all time.[1][3]

The Carpenters' melodic pop produced a record-breaking run of hit recordings on the American Top 40 and Adult Contemporary charts, and they became leading sellers in the soft rock, easy listening and adult contemporary genres. Carpenters had three #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and fifteen #1 hits on the Adult Contemporary Chart (see the Carpenters discography). In addition, they had twelve top 10 singles (including their #1 hits). To date, Carpenters' album and single sales total more than 100 million units.[1]

After spending Christmas at home, gaining a significant amount of weight and talking about going back into the studio, Karen and Richard had a major row in late January, 1983. Richard told his sister she simply did not look well and needed to go back into treatment. Karen was furious at the accusation and harbored a depression for the remainder of the week. On Thursday, February 3, 1983 Karen came down to her parents' house in Downey to be near her mother, who after a prolonged conversation Thursday night called Richard the following morning of Friday, February 4, telling him that Karen was upstairs and depressed and he needed to come down as well. By the time Richard had arrived in Downey, tears coursing down his face, Karen had already been loaded in the ambulance.

Richard is quoted as saying that his hope at the time was that this was merely a scare, that she'd just passed out or something, enough to teach her a lesson that she was NOT well and needed to go back into treatment, just as he'd told her ten days earlier, but it was not to be. Banner headlines the following morning screamed the tragedy "POP SINGER DEAD AT 32".

Karen Carpenter did not die from anorexia itself, but from its effects, as said by her brother on many an occasion. Her heart could not take the strain of not eating properly and then eating a great deal. On the morning of Friday, February 4, 1983, at the age of 32, Karen suffered cardiac arrest at her parents' home in Downey and was taken to Downey Community Hospital,[45] where she was pronounced dead 20 minutes later. She was scheduled to sign her divorce papers on the day she died.

The autopsy stated that Karen's death was due to emetine cardiotoxicity resulting from anorexia nervosa. Under the anatomical summary, the first item was heart failure, with anorexia as second. The third finding was cachexia, which is extremely low weight and weakness and general body decline associated with chronic disease. Emetine cardiotoxicity suggests that Karen abused Syrup of Ipecac, or Ipecacuana Wine, used medically to induce vomiting in patients who have ingested poison. Ipecac was easily obtained at the time, but there is no definite evidence that Karen abused it.[46]

Her funeral service took place on Tuesday, February 8, 1983, at the Downey United Methodist Church. Karen Carpenter lay in an open white casket, dressed in pink, as a thousand mourners paid their last respects, among them her friends Dorothy Hamill, Olivia Newton-John, Petula Clark, and Dionne Warwick. Karen's estranged husband appeared at her funeral, and took off his wedding band and threw it in the casket (according to the Ray Coleman Book The Carpenters: the Untold Story).{citation}

On October 12, 1983, the Carpenters received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a few yards from the Kodak Theater. Richard, Harold, and Agnes Carpenter attended the inauguration, as did many fans.[47]

Karen's death brought lasting media attention to anorexia nervosa and also to bulimia. Karen's death encouraged celebrities to go public about their eating disorders, among them Tracey Gold and, later, Diana, Princess of Wales. Medical centres and hospitals began receiving increased contacts from people with these disorders. The general public had little knowledge of anorexia and bulimia prior to her death, making the conditions difficult to identify and treat.

In December 2003, the remains of Karen and her parents were exhumed from Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Cypress, California and reinterred in Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Memorial Park in Westlake Village, California.