Post by cam83 on Sept 29, 2003 3:02:38 GMT -5
Chapter Eight
They were starting their world tours a little later than planned. They would be flying over to Japan in the first week of April. The tickets had already been on sale, and like in 1974, all tickets to their 30 concerts were sold out in less than half an hour. They were amazed by how devoted Japan was to their music. Their album TOGETHER AGAIN in Japan was still locked in the # 2 spot, and had sold over 2 million copies, while her KAREN CARPENTER solo album was still at # 1, and sold over 4 million copies in that country. Their SINGLES 1969-1973 album was also lodged in the Top 20 , making them the first group in Japan to have 3 albums in the top12 spots. Unheard of ever before. They even surpassed the Beatles in sales, in Japan, the first American group to do so.
They would start their show with 3 medleys lasting at least 40 minutes. These were their classic hits like CLOSE TO YOU, WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN, TOP OF THE WORLD, SUPERSTAR and so on. Then the opening act would come on, and play for an hour. Then the Carpenters would come back on for another hour and a half, singing full versions of their latest songs. Richard would play some piano pieces, while Karen would go and change. Then she'd come back, play a drum solo, and then she would sing some newer material. They would close with a final medley, and that would be it. If time permitted, they could come back and sing an encore, which would usually consist of FROM THIS MOMENT ON or TOGETHER AGAIN, depending on the audience's request. This would go on for weeks at a time, and during their days, they would visit different landmarks, when not travelling.
Karen had learned enough Japanese, along with Richard to be able to sing a Japanese version of SING and YESTERDAY ONCE MORE. This very well received by the Japanese public, and the record stores, were always sold out of Carpenters products. They were the biggest thing to hit the music charts ever in that country.
Their newest single in that country was IN LOVE ALONE and it was in the top spot at # 1 for the 3 weeks they were there. After they left for Europe, they learned that it still remained at # 1 for an additional 6 weeks.
Meanwhile, in the U.S. their single IN LOVE ALONE was already in the Top 10, peaking at # 6 with a bullet beside it. It was to be destined to hit the Number One spot for an amazing 6 weeks, selling over 3 million copies of the single. On the Adult Contemporary Chart, it was # 1 for 16 weeks, a first for that chart. The Carpenters had only just begun.
Their newest album was just released and IN MY DREAMS was at # 1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums, going platinum the first week on the pole position. In Britain, all of their shows were sold out, and now they were finally able to give a Command Performance to the Queen of England and to the Royal Family.
Karen was especially glad to get the chance to meet Princess Diana. Karen was a big fan of the tall, slender princess. They got to chat, and Karen was so happy when she found out that Diana was a big fan of Karen's voice. Karen also got to learn that Diana had problems with eating, and that she suffered from Bulimia. So Karen got to help her new friend, and tell her that she understood what her new friend was going through.
In Britain, their album IN MY DREAMS was # 1 going triple platinum, and the single IN LOVE ALONE was # 1 as well. Her last number one single in that country, had been REMEMBER WHEN LOVING TOOK ALL NIGHT for 5 weeks. The number two album was KAREN CARPENTER and was already quintuple platinum*5 times platinum
Her new solo album single was MY BODY KEEPS CHANGING MY MIND and it was already cracking the Top 10 at # 6.
une 16th, Karen and Richard arrived back in the States, and they were just exhausted. They were taking a month off to just relax and recuperate. For 2 weeks, the whole Carpenter family headed to New Haven, Connecticut to visit the rest of their family. Everyone had a good time, just relaxing.
Karen spent another week in New York, visiting Phil and Karen Ramone. She loved being a guest in their beautiful home, and many evenings were spent talking until the early hours of the morning.
There was talk of another solo album, as this album already had had their latest single hit # 1 which was MY BODY KEEPS CHANGING MY MIND. On the Adult Contemporary Charts it hit # 1 for 5 weeks. That made 3 Top 5 singles from that album, and they didn't want to wear out that album. The solo album already sold 5 million copies. There was no need to get more hit singles from it. She had cut some extra songs from the first solo session, and she wanted to re-work some of them over again. There were some others that she would love to try.
Now that her first solo album had been very successful, the doors would be open to her, to try and experiment with other forms of music. The range was unlimited and she had the talent to sing any kind of song, whether it be jazz, blues, pop, soft rock, country, singer-songwriter, or Broadway. Her voice was just that well suited to cover any style of music that she so desired. That was a gift that she was so proud of.
They were starting their world tours a little later than planned. They would be flying over to Japan in the first week of April. The tickets had already been on sale, and like in 1974, all tickets to their 30 concerts were sold out in less than half an hour. They were amazed by how devoted Japan was to their music. Their album TOGETHER AGAIN in Japan was still locked in the # 2 spot, and had sold over 2 million copies, while her KAREN CARPENTER solo album was still at # 1, and sold over 4 million copies in that country. Their SINGLES 1969-1973 album was also lodged in the Top 20 , making them the first group in Japan to have 3 albums in the top12 spots. Unheard of ever before. They even surpassed the Beatles in sales, in Japan, the first American group to do so.
They would start their show with 3 medleys lasting at least 40 minutes. These were their classic hits like CLOSE TO YOU, WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN, TOP OF THE WORLD, SUPERSTAR and so on. Then the opening act would come on, and play for an hour. Then the Carpenters would come back on for another hour and a half, singing full versions of their latest songs. Richard would play some piano pieces, while Karen would go and change. Then she'd come back, play a drum solo, and then she would sing some newer material. They would close with a final medley, and that would be it. If time permitted, they could come back and sing an encore, which would usually consist of FROM THIS MOMENT ON or TOGETHER AGAIN, depending on the audience's request. This would go on for weeks at a time, and during their days, they would visit different landmarks, when not travelling.
Karen had learned enough Japanese, along with Richard to be able to sing a Japanese version of SING and YESTERDAY ONCE MORE. This very well received by the Japanese public, and the record stores, were always sold out of Carpenters products. They were the biggest thing to hit the music charts ever in that country.
Their newest single in that country was IN LOVE ALONE and it was in the top spot at # 1 for the 3 weeks they were there. After they left for Europe, they learned that it still remained at # 1 for an additional 6 weeks.
Meanwhile, in the U.S. their single IN LOVE ALONE was already in the Top 10, peaking at # 6 with a bullet beside it. It was to be destined to hit the Number One spot for an amazing 6 weeks, selling over 3 million copies of the single. On the Adult Contemporary Chart, it was # 1 for 16 weeks, a first for that chart. The Carpenters had only just begun.
Their newest album was just released and IN MY DREAMS was at # 1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums, going platinum the first week on the pole position. In Britain, all of their shows were sold out, and now they were finally able to give a Command Performance to the Queen of England and to the Royal Family.
Karen was especially glad to get the chance to meet Princess Diana. Karen was a big fan of the tall, slender princess. They got to chat, and Karen was so happy when she found out that Diana was a big fan of Karen's voice. Karen also got to learn that Diana had problems with eating, and that she suffered from Bulimia. So Karen got to help her new friend, and tell her that she understood what her new friend was going through.
In Britain, their album IN MY DREAMS was # 1 going triple platinum, and the single IN LOVE ALONE was # 1 as well. Her last number one single in that country, had been REMEMBER WHEN LOVING TOOK ALL NIGHT for 5 weeks. The number two album was KAREN CARPENTER and was already quintuple platinum*5 times platinum
Her new solo album single was MY BODY KEEPS CHANGING MY MIND and it was already cracking the Top 10 at # 6.
une 16th, Karen and Richard arrived back in the States, and they were just exhausted. They were taking a month off to just relax and recuperate. For 2 weeks, the whole Carpenter family headed to New Haven, Connecticut to visit the rest of their family. Everyone had a good time, just relaxing.
Karen spent another week in New York, visiting Phil and Karen Ramone. She loved being a guest in their beautiful home, and many evenings were spent talking until the early hours of the morning.
There was talk of another solo album, as this album already had had their latest single hit # 1 which was MY BODY KEEPS CHANGING MY MIND. On the Adult Contemporary Charts it hit # 1 for 5 weeks. That made 3 Top 5 singles from that album, and they didn't want to wear out that album. The solo album already sold 5 million copies. There was no need to get more hit singles from it. She had cut some extra songs from the first solo session, and she wanted to re-work some of them over again. There were some others that she would love to try.
Now that her first solo album had been very successful, the doors would be open to her, to try and experiment with other forms of music. The range was unlimited and she had the talent to sing any kind of song, whether it be jazz, blues, pop, soft rock, country, singer-songwriter, or Broadway. Her voice was just that well suited to cover any style of music that she so desired. That was a gift that she was so proud of.
