Monday, December 04, 2017

TICKET TO RIDE - THE CARPENTERS

I recently watched one of those PBS/Colorado Public TV fundraisers that featured the Carpenters.   It was quite nostalgic, remembering their popular songs, and it also reminded me of how great Karen was.  Richard tends toward self-aggrandizement, and he did make some interesting arrangements, but it was Karen's voice that made them stars.  As the Wiki entry notes:  The Carpenters was an American vocal and instrumental duo of Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (b. 1946). They produced a distinct soft musical style, combining Karen's contralto vocals with Richard's arranging and composition skills."  I was particularly struck with their rendition of the Beatles Ticket to Ride.  Turn it up and enjoy!


The version below is better audio quality and has very interesting still photos:


2 comments:

Steve Heller said...

I have a Carpenters story that goes way back to the early 70’s. I moved to N. Hollywood, CA in January of 1971 to seek my fortune in the feature film business. One day a Jehovah’s Witness came a knockin’ on the door. He was a pleasant and interesting fellow so I invited him in. He wanted to start a weekly Bible study at my place, which I agreed to. His name was Chuck Peloso and it turned out he was a professional still photographer who had his own studio. It also turned out that he was a union (IATSE) motion picture cameraman and had many contacts in the industry.

Chuck also knew some people in the music business, among them, Jack Daugherty, who was the Carpenters producer in 1969. Cousin Kay and musician hubby Gary were close friends and neighbors of mine. At one point, Danny Moore was producing some music Gary and others had written and I was invited as a guest to some of the recording sessions. I ended up with a copy of five songs of the finished product on quarter inch reel to reel tape. Then I got the bright idea of trying to help out in the marketing of the songs and thought it would be great if the Carpenters gave the music a listen to see if they would be interested. So, Chuck told me how to get in touch with his friend Jack Daugherty. I did get in touch and learned that Jack was no longer the Carpenters producer and would not be able to help out. Even though that was disappointing, Chuck did have another friend who was getting ready to shoot a non-union feature film and gave me his name. I called the guy, met with him, and got hired as a boom man on my very first feature film.

Douglas E said...

Cuz - interesting story; thanks for sharing.