I kind of screwed up Lennon week last week. I got busy and didn’t post like I wanted to. Today is Richard Carpenter’s birthday. In case you’ve forgotten, he is one half of the Carpenters who were very popular in the Seventies.

People know Karen Carpenter, his sister, as the voice of the group. I loved the Carpenters, their harmony was perfect. Richard would usually play the piano while Karen sang, but he helped sing too; backgrounds and harmony. Karen died of heart failure in 1983 after fighting anorexia most of her life. With her gone, Richard tried to carry on, but it just wasn’t the same without Karen.

Probably their most famous song is their first “Close to You”. It was a number one song in 1970, their first of three. This video was recorded on MTV and showing Karen playing the drums (I didn’t know she could play the drums) and Richard on piano. My favorite part of this song is the last 30 seconds. The harmony is just magnificent. A great song.