Karen Carpenter would have turned 73 today!

She shares a birthday with Desi Arnaz, Lou Reed and Dr. Seuss.

Think we'll ever get confirmation that she was a lesbian? Maybe after Richard passes? Or, do you think that his kids will "protect the brand" at all costs, even then? I leave the door open that she was asexual, but this woman was done dirty all the way around. I think circumstances and her handlers caused arrested development (and she was probably a late bloomer on top of it) in the realm of relationships...

My favorite song is Top of the World. Never fails to bring a smile to my face as cheesy as it is.

I never get this. People will post on Facebook "Happy Birthday to Mom in heaven, she would have been 89 today." Um. She is dead and you are wishing her a happy BIRTH day? Maybe I am a cold bitch but Jesus move the fuck on.

[quote]I never get this. People will post on Facebook "Happy Birthday to Mom in heaven, she would have been 89 today." Um. She is dead and you are wishing her a happy BIRTH day? Maybe I am a cold bitch but Jesus move the fuck on.

To be fair, I didn't wish her a happy birthday, I just said she would have turned 73 today.

Her age would have finally caught up with her weight.

[quote]People will post on Facebook "Happy Birthday to Mom in heaven

The only appropriate response: "According to Jesus, your Mom is NOT in Heaven."

She died super young, but I have heard that "after a certain age doctors quit seeing their anorexic patients". Not because they recover, but because they die.

She had such big teeth.

[quote]She had such big teeth.

Too bad she never used them.

I don't even know what six stone in weight IS...

Best singer ever. Ever.

[quote]Maybe after Richard passes?

After Richard DIES we may hear something, but most of her friends are dead too.

R2 What makes you think she was a lesbian?

She would still be fat. Gawd she was a big girl.

[quote][R2] What makes you think she was a lesbian?

It's not like she ever ATE snatch.

I mean, happy birthday and all, but no cake for my Karen, the little porker.

She could stand to lose a few.

Couldn't the calcium and minerals in her teeth have sustained her a bit longer?

That mother Agnes was such a fucken cunt to Karen. F her!

Agnes was an inspiration!

I wonder if her parents would name her Karen today?

She’d only just begun

She was good for two things.

CAKE??!?!?!?!

More like a tossed salad and ice tea!

She never would have made it.

[quote]What makes you think she was a lesbian?

Are you new?

Such a Karen!

R25 No, I'm old. There are only rumors, not even big ones, about her being gay, cause she pinged. Is there any actual proof that she was gay or is just typical DL "everyone is gay" thing?

I just saw Karen today. Well, we don't really see things here, but we sense each others auras. You wouldn't understand. Anyway, I told her that her aura was looking a little puffy today, a little bloated. We don't really eat here either, but I was just saying that maybe she could do something about that and she got so offended! That girl has always been too sensitive!

Coke Zero and ExLax for everyone!

I always get her confused with Mama Cass.

Karen Carpenter would have turned 74 today !

Sad!

I made a special ipecac cake in her honor!

Still no cake for Karen, not with those chubby cheeks.

She really needs to lose a few, you know.

For those wishing to give her a birthday present, Karen is requesting Ozempic and Wegovy.

R35 Will she be injecting into her skeleton bones?

R29 - the canon menu is salad and iced tea!

"Karen Carpeteria" would be a fun drag name.

[quote][R35] Will she be injecting into her skeleton bones?

Her neck.

Make sure to eat a 74 calorie treat in her honor!

If only she would've eaten some cak and graxy.

Long may she wave.

She had FAS face, like Bernie Sanders and others.

Why didn’t she???

It was Crystal Pepsi's fault, Rose.

R30 Are you joking? I hope so. One of them was ham sandwich chugging, one was ipecac chugging. I need to re-read little girl blue again. Poor Karen, her cunt mom and creep brother, she never stood a chance.

The find a death forum is the best, and has people from Downey writing in about them:

"I had a music professor who was a past teacher of Richard and Karen. He would always touch on the subject of them and he always said that there was a lot more going on in that family than people knew. He always would cut short by saying that Karen is dead and that past secrets should die with her."

I'm guessing he's talking about the bitch mom and the weird Richard vibe. And for people who don't know, Richard married his first cousin and Karen was incredibly embarrassed by it. Of course Agnes thought it was fine because at least she knew the cousin and knew she wouldn't give away family secrets.

I think I'll watch this today.

Awww, this makes me sad.

I wonder how much beautiful music the world lost b/c it lost her.

She was too curvy!

The Carpenters were pretty much over even before Karen died. They were a product of the early '70s and their music never evolved. Karen's voice was not made for the 1980s. And that buried solo album of hers should have stayed buried. The only success she might have had would have been to maybe start singing standards the way Linda Ronstadt did for a while.

R51 is Richard.

“As time passes and events unfold, one’s perspective on certain matters can change, as has mine regarding this album. Karen was with us precious little time. She was a great artist. This album represents a certain period and change of approach in her career.

“As such, it deserves to be heard, in its entirety, as originally delivered.”

Just seems to say, “I thought it was crap then, and still do now. But anyway, here.” Yeah, thanks a lot RC.

R51 Agree. I'm not an expert but a friend of mine who is a voice coach in NYC (broadway folks) always goes on how her singing is "natural and clean." Maybe she could have gone more towards the Dionne Warwick 80's route with producers like Barry Gibb and Barry Manilow.

She was never supposed to be the singer, she was the drummer. They just discovered by accident that she could sing and in a lower voice than most women. I think they tried to make her sing soprano and realize that she was no good at that.

More Agnes! More, more!

[quote] The Carpenters were pretty much over even before Karen died. They were a product of the early '70s and their music never evolved. Karen's voice was not made for the 1980s. And that buried solo album of hers should have stayed buried.

Disagree. Her solo album wasn't game changing, but it wasn't terrible. That was where record companies were pushing artist at the end of the 70s, like Olivia Newton-John.

Karen had some of the same issues career wise as Dusty Springfield. Both could really do or sing just about any style but were kept (by record companies/suits) in a narrowly defined commercial genre, and stumbled as styles changed. It would have been something to see what Karen could have created without Richard if she'd lived longer, but she really didn't have time to get out from under her weird, twisted brother's shadow.

Yeah I agree R56. She was by no means "over". If anything they would have just been relegated to yacht rock stations and Love Boat appearances.

R55 You could stand to lose a few, chubster.

I am the same age as her when she died and I envy her for ther thin figure. One can only hope...

We all return to bones and dust. My Karen just got a head start.

r60, call me sometime. We have a lot in common.

I really want to see the new documentary, but it doesn't have a streaming release date yet.

I hope you found the peace you were looking for...

Her voice is more nourishing than anything she ate.

[quote] It would have been something to see what Karen could have created without Richard if she'd lived longer, but she really didn't have time to get out from under her weird, twisted brother's shadow.

What makes you think she would have ever gotten out from under his creative control had she lived longer ? I don't think much would have changed between those two.

Jokes aside & her MOR stuff - her voice!

Most music acts don't last that long. The Carpenters had an 11 year run, and the last 4-5 years of it were nowhere near as successful as the first few. But that happens. Olivia Newton-John was America's sweetheart, and she changed her image and her music style more than once during her career, and even she only had about a 13 year run of chart and sales success. Olivia was able to extend her stardom because of the films she made. Grease has been a beloved classic for more than 45 years and every subsequent generation has discovered it. And even Xanadu has a cult following (and the music is still beloved). Karen never had any of that. If she didn't have anorexia, it would not have surprised me to see her quietly retire once the writing was clearly on the wall.

Such a rich voice and so wholesome.

Karen was briefly married, her parents & brother reportedly accompanied the newlyweds on their honeymoon...

I recall seeing a photo of her in a magazine a few months before she died and thought that she was ill and probably fighting some horrible disease like cancer. Anorexia didn't even enter my mind even back then even though I had a bachelors in psychology.

She could've stood to lose a few pounds.

And now we have Eugenia Cooney but she's not influencing enough people, there's still so many fat kids.

WTF? How is she still alive? There is no way she weighs more than 70 pounds.

She looks a little heavy R72.

You're all fat!

Calista at R75, you type fat!

I want to mention Guy Pearce so I’m going to, although he staunchly denies having any connection to the general subject matter.

Oh and Christian Bale circa "The Machinist"