There was a time when I sang the song featured in this video a lot. It was during seventh and eighth grade music class and our teacher would have us sing some songs like “The Theme To M.A.S.H.” and “The Rainbow Connection”. Another was “Top of The World”, and I’ll never forget the part about “Not a cloud in the sky/got the sun in my eyes/and I won’t be surprised if it’s a dream.”
The person singing the original version of this in this video was Karen Carpenter. She was part of the dup “The Carpenters”, with the other half being her brother, Richard. We hear her singing and it’s like time stops. Her voice just fills out the entire song and it’s what helped make the duo as insanely popular as it was. As talented as she was at it, singing was not her first love, not even close.
Karen did have an amazing singing voice, but she really loved playing the drums. She would have been a woman after my own heart, but I hadn’t reached my teen years yet when she passed. It’s awful that the people, including her own family, tore her away from the drums. I’ve seen videos of her playing and there’s just a sense of joy and giddiness when she sits behind the kit. Buddy Rich, whom I consider one of the best drummers ever, held her skills in extremely high esteem.
While it was a terrible shame how this wonderfully talented singer died, her death did help raise awareness for anorexia and people are a lot more aware of eating disorders. Although it does tend to strike women a lot more, it can also hit men as well, though the macho culture tends to try to put that on the back burner. We can still enjoy her music and try to help those who are afflicted by it today.
What was your favorite song by the Carpenters? Were you ever able to see them in concert? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section. Also, please “Like” us on Facebook.
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