Post by cam83 on Sept 26, 2003 14:08:02 GMT -5
Chapter Five
From that television performance on the famed Tonight Show, Karen started being invited to celebrity functions, fundraisers, and parties, more than she had in the past. She started to hang out with former celebrity friends like Suzanne Sommers, Barry Manilow, Donna Summer, John Davidson, among many others.
The last few years, had not been a big priority for her, as she was trying to save her life, marriage, and career. Now, she was being treated like a superstar again.
She was now independent from Richard, and she didn't know what to feel. It kind of scared her. She and Richard still talked, but nothing was really brought up about the solo album. She could feel his resistance to it. She felt that she had to walk on egg shells around him, as he was quite touchy about it.
So they talked about the new Carpenters album, that was on the verge of being released. The title was called TOGETHER AGAIN and the debut single was MAKE BELIEVE IT'S YOUR FIRST TIME. On the Adult Contemporary Chart it hit #32, and had a bullet by it, meaning that it could hit near the top of the chart, and probably would, considering that the Carpenters had had 15 # 1 Singles on the Adult Contemporary Charts. The album cover showed them on an outside bridge, but on separate sides, very similar to the Singles 1969-1973 inside cover. The only difference was that this photo was in color, and they were both wearing modern clothing. The inside record jacket, consisted of many different pictures from their earlier career. All 12 songs had lyrics.
She loved this album and the way it was designed. Finally someone was listening to their demands. Richard and Karen would discuss on the phone, what radio stations were playing their newest single. This was their career, and so they would take time to find out how their records would be promoted, and what could they do. Their publicist Paul Bloch would help them, as that was their field.
Karen flew back home to Los Angeles. She wanted to concentrate on promoting her dual careers as a solo act, and as a brother sister duo. She knew that it would be hard, but she just couldn't seem to choose one or the other, so she chose both.
As soon as she came home, she fell into one of her old conflicts. The mother-daughter relationship. It just seemed that whenever Karen was happy, her mother wasn't. It irked her to no end. She wanted to have a good relationship with her mother. That was what she desired so much. Agnes kept rankling Karen about her appearance on the Tonight Show, and how Richard should have been there. They were a team. Did she forget who got her on the road to fame? It was Richard. She should be sticking with him on that. Not working with people who didn't really know the Carpenter family. And how come she had to keep her solo album a secret? Why did she have to hold her family in the dark? Where were her morals?
Karen started back to her old familiar patterns, and she hated herself for falling back into anorexia's outstretched arms. But it was the only thing she knew, in times of great stress, and tribulations. She felt safe. She could easily lose pounds in just a few days. In a week, she could lose over 10 pounds. She had been known to lose over 10% of her body fat in just a few weeks, with excercising and starvation diets.
By July 1st, Karen weighed 91 pounds. She could not hide the weight loss, as this was summer, and all heavy, layered clothing could not be worn. Her heart seemed to be bothering her again. At her parent's insistence, she went to see a doctor, who recommended bed rest. But Karen would not choose this alternative.
So she headed back to New York, dropping plans for reuniting with Richard. She was not ready, even though the record company would be releasing the Carpenters album, by the fall. The touring was off for the time being. Karen was going to spend all her time and energy promoting her solo album. She couldn't deal with the power struggles going on in her family, because she knew that she would become entrapped in it. If she did, she didn't know if she would come out of it. It just got her more upset, and unable to deal with all the struggles that were all being thrown at her. She just couldn't take it anymore. She wasn't that strong.
She appeared on talk shows, morning shows, and at record stores, signing albums. The intercom system would be blaring out her album, and it made her feel so good. She recognized many Carpenters fans, as well as newer fans. "I just bought your album, and I love it so much. It's so wonderful. My parents still listen to your Carpenters albums," said one fan, a teenager, about 16 years old.
It pleased Karen when people gave her compliments. It made her feel that she was on the right path of her life. Her hard work was not in vain. Other Carpenters fans came up, and congratulated her on her album. Some though, were less than thrilled. It was not what they expected from Karen Carpenter, the pure girl next door. And they told her to her face. It hurt, but that was their opinion. She left it at that.
In a few weeks, the album charted on Billboard's TOP 200 album chart at #90 with a bullet beside it. Her single MAKING LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON hit # 9 on the Adult Contemporary Chart, and on the Top 100 Singles, was at # 32 so far. Whenever she heard the song on the radio, she smiled to herself. She did a lot of smiling that summer.
By August 15, 1983, it was # 2 and had sold over 1.7 million copies. It stayed in that position for over 6 weeks, but the # 1 Song would not budge. That didn't bother Karen any. This was her biggest hit single in her solo career, and in the Carpenters, this was her 7th # 2 hit, her 11th Gold Single, and 13th Top Ten hit. On the Adult Charts it hit # 1 and stayed in that position for an amazing 12 weeks.
It was her biggest charting hit single as WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN was only #1 for 7 weeks on the Adult Contemporary Charts. The solo album was now gold, with over 780,000 copies sold, and on the TOP 200 album chart it was now at # 10. It was destined to sell even more than that.
From that television performance on the famed Tonight Show, Karen started being invited to celebrity functions, fundraisers, and parties, more than she had in the past. She started to hang out with former celebrity friends like Suzanne Sommers, Barry Manilow, Donna Summer, John Davidson, among many others.
The last few years, had not been a big priority for her, as she was trying to save her life, marriage, and career. Now, she was being treated like a superstar again.
She was now independent from Richard, and she didn't know what to feel. It kind of scared her. She and Richard still talked, but nothing was really brought up about the solo album. She could feel his resistance to it. She felt that she had to walk on egg shells around him, as he was quite touchy about it.
So they talked about the new Carpenters album, that was on the verge of being released. The title was called TOGETHER AGAIN and the debut single was MAKE BELIEVE IT'S YOUR FIRST TIME. On the Adult Contemporary Chart it hit #32, and had a bullet by it, meaning that it could hit near the top of the chart, and probably would, considering that the Carpenters had had 15 # 1 Singles on the Adult Contemporary Charts. The album cover showed them on an outside bridge, but on separate sides, very similar to the Singles 1969-1973 inside cover. The only difference was that this photo was in color, and they were both wearing modern clothing. The inside record jacket, consisted of many different pictures from their earlier career. All 12 songs had lyrics.
She loved this album and the way it was designed. Finally someone was listening to their demands. Richard and Karen would discuss on the phone, what radio stations were playing their newest single. This was their career, and so they would take time to find out how their records would be promoted, and what could they do. Their publicist Paul Bloch would help them, as that was their field.
Karen flew back home to Los Angeles. She wanted to concentrate on promoting her dual careers as a solo act, and as a brother sister duo. She knew that it would be hard, but she just couldn't seem to choose one or the other, so she chose both.
As soon as she came home, she fell into one of her old conflicts. The mother-daughter relationship. It just seemed that whenever Karen was happy, her mother wasn't. It irked her to no end. She wanted to have a good relationship with her mother. That was what she desired so much. Agnes kept rankling Karen about her appearance on the Tonight Show, and how Richard should have been there. They were a team. Did she forget who got her on the road to fame? It was Richard. She should be sticking with him on that. Not working with people who didn't really know the Carpenter family. And how come she had to keep her solo album a secret? Why did she have to hold her family in the dark? Where were her morals?
Karen started back to her old familiar patterns, and she hated herself for falling back into anorexia's outstretched arms. But it was the only thing she knew, in times of great stress, and tribulations. She felt safe. She could easily lose pounds in just a few days. In a week, she could lose over 10 pounds. She had been known to lose over 10% of her body fat in just a few weeks, with excercising and starvation diets.
By July 1st, Karen weighed 91 pounds. She could not hide the weight loss, as this was summer, and all heavy, layered clothing could not be worn. Her heart seemed to be bothering her again. At her parent's insistence, she went to see a doctor, who recommended bed rest. But Karen would not choose this alternative.
So she headed back to New York, dropping plans for reuniting with Richard. She was not ready, even though the record company would be releasing the Carpenters album, by the fall. The touring was off for the time being. Karen was going to spend all her time and energy promoting her solo album. She couldn't deal with the power struggles going on in her family, because she knew that she would become entrapped in it. If she did, she didn't know if she would come out of it. It just got her more upset, and unable to deal with all the struggles that were all being thrown at her. She just couldn't take it anymore. She wasn't that strong.
She appeared on talk shows, morning shows, and at record stores, signing albums. The intercom system would be blaring out her album, and it made her feel so good. She recognized many Carpenters fans, as well as newer fans. "I just bought your album, and I love it so much. It's so wonderful. My parents still listen to your Carpenters albums," said one fan, a teenager, about 16 years old.
It pleased Karen when people gave her compliments. It made her feel that she was on the right path of her life. Her hard work was not in vain. Other Carpenters fans came up, and congratulated her on her album. Some though, were less than thrilled. It was not what they expected from Karen Carpenter, the pure girl next door. And they told her to her face. It hurt, but that was their opinion. She left it at that.
In a few weeks, the album charted on Billboard's TOP 200 album chart at #90 with a bullet beside it. Her single MAKING LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON hit # 9 on the Adult Contemporary Chart, and on the Top 100 Singles, was at # 32 so far. Whenever she heard the song on the radio, she smiled to herself. She did a lot of smiling that summer.
By August 15, 1983, it was # 2 and had sold over 1.7 million copies. It stayed in that position for over 6 weeks, but the # 1 Song would not budge. That didn't bother Karen any. This was her biggest hit single in her solo career, and in the Carpenters, this was her 7th # 2 hit, her 11th Gold Single, and 13th Top Ten hit. On the Adult Charts it hit # 1 and stayed in that position for an amazing 12 weeks.
It was her biggest charting hit single as WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN was only #1 for 7 weeks on the Adult Contemporary Charts. The solo album was now gold, with over 780,000 copies sold, and on the TOP 200 album chart it was now at # 10. It was destined to sell even more than that.