Still remembered.....

[Prisoner_Walking]

Hey everyone. I hope you all had a great weekend!

Just thought I'd share..... how great the impact the Carpenters STILL have on society today. Here in the UK, as I drove home tonight, a young D.J. on the radio sang the whole of the chorus of "Top Of The World" during a phone in segment - totally unexpected.

And then I switched on the T.V and one of the hottest new U.K bands The Feeling were on London Television saying how much they are influenced by the Carpenters!

How cool is that....?

Anyway, thanks for letting me share. Hope you all have a great week!

-Leo-

[Rick Henry]

Hi Leo... that is some great information. It seems as each decade passes the Carpenters are becoming more and more recognized for their musical contributions. Cheers to K&R!

[smoothie2]

:(That is really special Leo...how neat! I am so Glad THE music
is still remembered and played all throughout the world!

[Carps1000]

Yep Leo is right. Not a day seems to go by in the UK without someone mentioning T Cs or sommat happening to remind us all of em. What gets me is that I do so wish all these nice comments were made when Karen was still alive & they were being ridiculed so much by the media and like......all these people that are soooo in love with the Cs music now but hidden so far in the closet listening to their records then that they were in Narnia. Where were most of these people then?? Yeah I know ...not born or following the fashionable trend of Cs bashing. Ken carps1000

[enigma]

nice to know that the UK has not forgotten the Carpenters I guess good things really never are forgotten. Especially nice to see that hot young acts pay tribute to a great quality act like the Carpenters. Though America seemingly has forgotten the Carpenters its nice to know the rest of the world knows as we do the the Carpenters are truely and all time great and timeless musical force. (their popularity still seems to be especially strong in the UK and Japan).

[ps11932]

Thanks for sharing the news about the ongoing recognition worldwide of the C's influence. Though I don't have many regular associations among people knowledgeable of popular music (except of course here on the Forum), the times when I have mentioned the Carpenters to people even in their 20's have always brought, at least, "yes I sure have heard of them and have some familiarity", and more often a level of respect. I remember, for instance, attending the work Christmas luncheon in 2004. There was a young lady there (not over 25 years old, I'm sure) playing piano, singing and leading in a sing-a-long. Something about her presence and command of the crowd brought Karen to mind. Afterwards I told her "Thanks for your music. It was great!" I was about the 20th person to talk to her so her response was like, "Yeah. Sure. Thanks." So I went on to say, "You were reminiscent of my favorite female vocalist, Karen Carpenter." Her eyes got real wide, she took half a step back- then she blushed and said, "My! That's quite a compliment!" Though she had probably never heard The Carpenters during the time they were actively producing music, she certainly recognized the legacy and the musical debt owed them.

[Rick Henry]

carps1000 said:

all these people that are soooo in love with the Cs music now but hidden so far in the closet listening to their records then that they were in Narnia. Where were most of these people then?? Yeah I know ...not born or following the fashionable trend of Cs bashing. Ken carps1000

I think the bashing Carpenters received in the 70's and 80's adds to their legacy. Legions of people have come around to realize they really didn't deserve the bashing. There are many musical acts out there that do deserve the bashing - but Carpenters never did deserve it. I think during that time period people just didn't know how to relate to Carpenters - and also the way A&M's media machine represented Carpenters as the goody-two shoed perfect siblings - that's an easy target to bash. But in the end when it came dow to it and the image thing has disipated - it's the music which has held up and people realize Carpenters are one of the greats.

enigma said:

Though America seemingly has forgotten the Carpenters its nice to know the rest of the world knows as we do the the Carpenters are truely and all time great and timeless musical force. (their popularity still seems to be especially strong in the UK and Japan).

I wouldn't say the U.S. has forgotten Carpenters. They may not get the same kind of radio play as bands like Led Zeppelin, Queen, Elvis or the Beatles - but they do receive a fair amount of radio play on certain stations year round. But more so their music sells consistenly in the U.S. - almost every music store across the U.S. carries atleast one or more of the compilations released in the last five years. Here in Southern California most music stores carry the Carpenters entire catalog of releases -and it's not just one copy of each - but four or five copies.

Carpenters are also very popular on U.S. internet web sites - take a look at MySpace and see how many people from the U.S. list them as a favorite - tons of people list them alongside other artists like Beatles, Avril Lavigne, Led Zeppelin, Celine Dion, Sonic Youth, Van Halen, Barbra Streisand, Justin Timberlake and so forth.

On the U.S. edition of Amazon.com Carpenters "Gold: 35th Anniversary Edition" still ranks between #700 - 800, that's excellent for a disc which has been around for a few years now. Carpenters have another six or seven discs which remain consistant in sales in Amazon.com.

I will agree though that fans in the U.S. are still the most closeted - but even that is changing little by little.

[Prisoner_Walking]

It is heartwarming to hear that The Carpenters ARE still appreciated - all over the world. I guess people really appreciate good music when they hear it - their perceived image is not relevant anymore, so all that is left is the music - and no-one can fault that. Karen is a legend...it's just a shame she didn't know it in her own lifetime.

-Leo-

[YesterdayOnceMore]

Hey all - sorry to be so late in joining in these conversations - can you say COMPUTER VIRUS? Yes, I've been battling with one from home for days, now. Think the problems are resolved, but...we'll see.

Just LAST NIGHT, after listening to LEO on the CD player, I turned on the radio to find out about the weather. INSTEAD, I was treated to a rousing "Goodbye To Love." The DJ came on the radio, (it's an all-request at 5 show) and said that some "dude" called in and requested Carpenters. Well, certainly - this "dude" has called-in many times, and this DJ likes Rainy Days, Goodbye To Love, and We've Only Just Begun. But, even more interestingly, he decided to play something he'd picked up on vacation, which was Live In Japan. He played the Medley cut from that. Something one doesn't hear everyday over the radio. I'm happy to know that our DJ's all over the world don't forget about Carpenters, either. I hardly listen to the radio, being all made up over new CD's, et all - so much great music to listen to....but couldn't have been happier that I tuned-in last night. What a TREAT.

Thanks for the thread, Leo. Good stuff.
Take care, all
Tim

[wisejester7]

I think it is FANTASTIC that the Carpenters are still remembered and given air play and recognition.
Leo and Ken are lucky to live where the C's are still played without prompting from some "dude" (what station are you contacting, Tim?).
The more time passes, the stronger the music and talents of the Carpenters seem to be. Rick's comments about the 'bashing' the C's took is right on. It only highlights that they were true talents. They hired the best of bandmates and demanded the best of performances at all times...from themselves especially. It shows and that is why they stand the test of time.

[YesterdayOnceMore]

You know, Wisejester7, I don't care WHAT they call me.....as long as they WILL play Carpenters music, yes? ;-)

I SOOOOOOO hated hearing anything NEGATIVE at all about Karen and Richard at the time - used to drive me NUTTERS! However, I believe, Rick, that you have a point. And WJ7 you made a good follow-up point - the harassment the Carpenters got with their "goody four-shoes, squeaky-clean, all American" image actually ended up serving them quite well. It's now a part of the legacy of Carpenters. And, not only is the music brought up (like on VH1, for example), but now so the image is also, on its own, worthy of mention, seemingly, by those who "look back and remember." So - whatever brings attention to them....hey, it's good by this fan.
Tim

[BethMosior]

Thats really coooooool Prisoner-Walking, I love it when I hear how the C's have influenced them in there own music that makes my day thanx for sharing it