Tracey
NEW TO THE FAMILY
While Dreaming of who you may become, You waste the person that you are
Posts: 25
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Post by Tracey on Sept 5, 2003 16:01:04 GMT -5
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Post by Rick Henry on Sept 5, 2003 22:16:43 GMT -5
Hi Tracey,
Welcome to the board. It is amazing to see how popular The Carpenters are after all these years. It's not only here in the U.S., but all around the world. Even in non English speaking countries. The Carpenters are even known in places like Iceland, Viet Nam, Russia, Netherlands, Hungary, Greece, and on and on.
Please feel free to post messages and reply to any posts. It's always interesting to hear what others think.
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Post by Boat2Sail on Sept 6, 2003 10:08:01 GMT -5
;DHola Tracey - so happy to have you here. I've been a Carps fan for about 30 years. I was only 10 when I first heard the Carpenters. The first song that really caught my attention was "Superstar".
What was the first carps song that made you really notice them.
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Tracey
NEW TO THE FAMILY
While Dreaming of who you may become, You waste the person that you are
Posts: 25
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Post by Tracey on Sept 6, 2003 18:08:10 GMT -5
Hi Boat2Sail, I can't remember which song it was actually -- it was my older sister who had the albums and to be honest -- one day when I was 6 or 7 she said the Carpenters were going to be on TV -- I said I wanted to watch something else as I'd never heard of them before and thought they were woodworkers. We actually had an argument over it that was so bad my mom stepped in and said it was my sisters turn to choose. So very grumpily I sat and waited to see some big lugs build something out of wood. But when Karen caem on there was something so friendly looking about her -- friendliness that was missing in my life at that time :-[and I liked her right away  -- then when she started to sing I could not beleive it  8- -- it was like no voice I had ever heard and my Sister was immediately replaced as the "biggest Carpenters Fan" in our neighborhood  . I ate , breathed and dreamed Carpenters  , had to have their albums and had no passion greater -- well except for my Sunshine Family dolls -- does anyone remember those?? ;D They looked very friendly too! I think Top of the World was my favorite Carpenters song for a while, but I don't know if it was the first. The best Carpenter memory I have is when I was when I was given permission to go with my older sister, her best friend across the street, and her friends Mother, to the Valley Forge Music Fair to see the Carpenters live! And I got my concert book signed by Karen afterwards and she was soooo extremely nice to me that I knew she loved children alot! The day that she died I was a teenager and was a teenager, working my first job and I was in the car listening to the radio either on my way to or from that Job when the DJ interupted his broadcast to say that :The Girl with the Golden voice is dead at age 32." Before he even said her name I knew who he was talking about. I had to pull my car over and I completely lost it. I went through an actual depression over her death which required mood elevating drugs to break. Pretty crazy I guess, but when she sang a song, no matter who you were and how many other people were listening, it felt like she was singing it just for you, almost like meeting a friend for lunch and getting lost in old times. It still feels that way when I hear her voice, like its right there, front and center, and she is aware of me. Maybe I just sound nuts, but I have never heard another singer who seemed to sing in her audiences lap. I've experienced many wonderful singers, but that conversational brilliance that was Karens has never been matched. Geesh sorry I ran on like that - right then -- lets just say... Top of the World. |
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Post by Rick Henry on Sept 6, 2003 21:50:41 GMT -5
Great story Tracey. thank you so much for sharing with us.
I saw The Carpenters live only once. It was December 29, 1977, in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand. The best part of the show was watching Karen perform her drum solo. There was this huge mirror above her so you could watch her as she played. She was fantastic.
What a loss. She was such an interesting talent. What made her even better is that certain genuine friendliness about her.
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Tracey
NEW TO THE FAMILY
While Dreaming of who you may become, You waste the person that you are
Posts: 25
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Post by Tracey on Sept 6, 2003 23:25:08 GMT -5
Thank You Rick -- after I posted the bit about the mood elevating drugs I had second thoughts about the post -- these were PRESCRIBED drugs by the way!! ;D You were really lucky to see them in Las Vegas! I have never been to Las Vegas and it is one of my goals -- I am not a gambler really but its so sparkly there and I am hoping maybe I could show up at one of those funny chapels and volunteer to be a witness to some strangers wedding!  Really I would like to take it in some day and you must have had a terrific time before and after the show as well -- what a bonus! Well, I'm off to bed! |
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Post by Rick Henry on Sept 7, 2003 0:22:40 GMT -5
Hi again Tracey. I like the part about volunteering to be a witness for some strangers wedding. Here's a little more background to my Las Vegas trip. I was taken there by my parents for my 18th birthday which was December 29, 1977. We arrived late afternoon on the 29th, we stayed at the MGM Grand. Within two hours after our arrival to our hotel room we left for the dinner/show. We had a nice dinner. I had chicken and afterward the show which was opened by comedian David Brenner. He was good - but really the main focus was to hear Karen sing live. We left Las Vegas early the next morning to go home. There was really no time for us to do anything else. That's the last time I was in LV. One more piece of info about the LV show. The Carpenters were doing a 2 week engagement, which began December 24, 1977 and continued until January 4, 1978. Below is a link to the SCRAPBOOK page of THE CARPENTERS ONLINE website. Scroll down to the tenth item to read an announcement of this engagement. www.carponline.bravepages.com/page%202.htm |
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Post by Sammy on Sept 7, 2003 11:24:30 GMT -5
Hi Tracey WELCOME.
I really enjoyed reading your Carpenters story. I vaguely remember my brother and I once had an argument about what to watch on TV one night. I wanted to watch a Carpenters special and my brother (who was into groups like Blue Oyster Cult and Kiss at the time) put up a big fight. He kept saying anything but the Carpenters. My brother and I both got our way. My parents let me watch the special on the family TV (they stayed and watched with me), while my brother was allowed to watch his show on my mom and dad's TV upstairs in their bedroom.
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Post by Boat2Sail on Sept 8, 2003 1:30:22 GMT -5
Hi again Tracey. I like the part about volunteering to be a witness for some strangers wedding. Here's a little more background to my Las Vegas trip. I was taken there by my parents for my 18th birthday which was December 29, 1977. We arrived late afternoon on the 29th, we stayed at the MGM Grand. Within two hours after our arrival to our hotel room we left for the dinner/show. We had a nice dinner. I had chicken and afterward the show which was opened by comedian David Brenner. He was good - but really the main focus was to hear Karen sing live. One more piece of info about the LV show. The Carpenters were doing a 2 week engagement, which began December 24, 1977 and continued until January 4, 1978. Below is a link to the SCRAPBOOK page of THE CARPENTERS ONLINE website. Scroll down to the tenth item to read an announcement of this engagement. www.carponline.bravepages.com/page%202.htm |
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Post by ThomB on Sept 10, 2003 23:11:03 GMT -5
Just dropped in to say HI TRACY!
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8- -- it was like no voice I had ever heard and my Sister was immediately replaced as the "biggest Carpenters Fan" in our neighborhood 
