Post by cam83 on Oct 1, 2003 1:41:14 GMT -5
Chapter Eleven
Karen and Phil sat down, when they got together, and talked over different concepts on what Karen wanted her album to be like. Did she want Rock and Roll? Rhythm and Blues? Jazz? Broadway show tunes? Country tunes? Pop? Soft Rock? They also went over the different workings of other singers, and what they were singing. She wanted to be her own artist, but she didn't want to be all alone musically.
There were a few tunes that Karen mentioned that she would like to record, and one of them was the song called DREAM SISTERS, that Richard had given to her. Richard and John Bettis had crafted this beautiful masterpiece.
Originally, it was to have been a song just for Karen to duet with herself, and then it would be 2 more voices added, then another 4 added and so on. So by the end of the song, there would be 32 voices of Karen, to showcase her immense vocal range.
Karen had pleaded with Richard to let her record the song on her solo album, and he finally relented. She saw such extreme potential in the song, for her and Olivia. Some of the songs not used on the first solo album, would be used in this set. She had recorded over 21 songs, and since 12 of them had been released on her first album, there was still some to select from. She chose about 5 selections from there. She and Phil chose another 6 more songs, with song titles as WANTING YOU ALL NIGHT LONG, OUR LOVE IS FOREVER AND EVER, RAINING ALL DAY IN MY HEART, THE LOVE IS GONE FROM MY HEART, HERE AND NOW (YOU AND ME), and IN MY LIFE, IN MY TIME.
She really liked these songs, as some of them were her personal anthems. Olivia and Karen recorded the duet, and they spent a lot of time adding more and more voices to it. They were amazed at how good it sounded. Many thanks went to Richard Carpenter, who came in from L.A. to help produce this song. He spent hours and hours with this song, and with both Karen and Olivia, going for the right approach. Their vocals were flawless, with intricate harmonies and sounded similar to MAKING LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON and IF I HAD YOU.
Eventually word got out that Karen and Olivia, 2 of the biggest singing stars of the 1970's and 1980's were recording a duet. This created a lot of publicity, among those in the recording industry. Many people would just stop by and listen to them create this song. It didn't seem to bother the 2 singers. They were professional enough to not worry who was in the booth, but to concentrate on their singing.
They threw that philosophy when Barbra Streisand stopped by to listen to them. Karen felt so distracted, and so scrutinized, that she had to come and see Barbra. Karen considered Barbra Streisand the best singer in the world, and was deeply touched that the Legend would come and take a listen. They chatted about music, Karen's solo album, and Karen's vocal talent. Barbra even hinted that she would love to do a song with Karen some time, if Barbra's schedule would allow it. Karen was just shaken that Barbra would even consider doing a duet with her. Karen just bubbled out compliments about Barbra's YENTL movie, album, her duet with Donna Summer, her Grammy win for EVERGREEN. Karen, shyly admitted that she had recorded that song as well, after seeing the movie A STAR IS BORN.
Many people were saying that Karen was a Legend, but she didn't buy into this theory. Barbra was the ultimate one, because she was a star on television, on the movie screens, on Broadway, and on the Pop charts. Karen was just a singer, although she felt she wasn't as good as Barbra.
Whenever she told Rich this, he would say that was bull. That she was as good of singer as Barbra if not more. She was kind of pleased but whenever she was around Barbra, she felt like some kind of novice. Olivia joined them as well, and they all made plans to go for dinner sometime soon.
As soon as Barbra and her associates left, Karen started bouncing around in glee, and happiness. Olivia just kept laughing at Karen, and nodding her head in wonderment. Richard was too busy to even notice.
Finally the song was done, and they all listened to it. Richard strongly believed that this would be a monster seller of a single. He felt quite proud of it, and admitted that this was one of his best songs that he had ever produced.
Even the Carpenter parents had to concede, hearing it from Richard's mouth, while letting them hear what the new single would be like. After he was done producing that song, Richard flew back to L.A. to work on production on other music artists.
Karen continued on with recording other songs. She had a lot of fun, and her schedule kept her very busy, that she had no time to do anything else. She and Olivia did meet Barbra Streisand for dinner one night, and had an excellent evening.
The Grammy Awards came up in February, and so Karen flew to Los Angeles for the ceromony. She would be singing her last hit single, which was nominated for 3 Grammy Awards and she would be singing the song IN LOVE ALONE with Richard, with another 5 nominations for them and Richard as Producer.
Karen and Phil sat down, when they got together, and talked over different concepts on what Karen wanted her album to be like. Did she want Rock and Roll? Rhythm and Blues? Jazz? Broadway show tunes? Country tunes? Pop? Soft Rock? They also went over the different workings of other singers, and what they were singing. She wanted to be her own artist, but she didn't want to be all alone musically.
There were a few tunes that Karen mentioned that she would like to record, and one of them was the song called DREAM SISTERS, that Richard had given to her. Richard and John Bettis had crafted this beautiful masterpiece.
Originally, it was to have been a song just for Karen to duet with herself, and then it would be 2 more voices added, then another 4 added and so on. So by the end of the song, there would be 32 voices of Karen, to showcase her immense vocal range.
Karen had pleaded with Richard to let her record the song on her solo album, and he finally relented. She saw such extreme potential in the song, for her and Olivia. Some of the songs not used on the first solo album, would be used in this set. She had recorded over 21 songs, and since 12 of them had been released on her first album, there was still some to select from. She chose about 5 selections from there. She and Phil chose another 6 more songs, with song titles as WANTING YOU ALL NIGHT LONG, OUR LOVE IS FOREVER AND EVER, RAINING ALL DAY IN MY HEART, THE LOVE IS GONE FROM MY HEART, HERE AND NOW (YOU AND ME), and IN MY LIFE, IN MY TIME.
She really liked these songs, as some of them were her personal anthems. Olivia and Karen recorded the duet, and they spent a lot of time adding more and more voices to it. They were amazed at how good it sounded. Many thanks went to Richard Carpenter, who came in from L.A. to help produce this song. He spent hours and hours with this song, and with both Karen and Olivia, going for the right approach. Their vocals were flawless, with intricate harmonies and sounded similar to MAKING LOVE IN THE AFTERNOON and IF I HAD YOU.
Eventually word got out that Karen and Olivia, 2 of the biggest singing stars of the 1970's and 1980's were recording a duet. This created a lot of publicity, among those in the recording industry. Many people would just stop by and listen to them create this song. It didn't seem to bother the 2 singers. They were professional enough to not worry who was in the booth, but to concentrate on their singing.
They threw that philosophy when Barbra Streisand stopped by to listen to them. Karen felt so distracted, and so scrutinized, that she had to come and see Barbra. Karen considered Barbra Streisand the best singer in the world, and was deeply touched that the Legend would come and take a listen. They chatted about music, Karen's solo album, and Karen's vocal talent. Barbra even hinted that she would love to do a song with Karen some time, if Barbra's schedule would allow it. Karen was just shaken that Barbra would even consider doing a duet with her. Karen just bubbled out compliments about Barbra's YENTL movie, album, her duet with Donna Summer, her Grammy win for EVERGREEN. Karen, shyly admitted that she had recorded that song as well, after seeing the movie A STAR IS BORN.
Many people were saying that Karen was a Legend, but she didn't buy into this theory. Barbra was the ultimate one, because she was a star on television, on the movie screens, on Broadway, and on the Pop charts. Karen was just a singer, although she felt she wasn't as good as Barbra.
Whenever she told Rich this, he would say that was bull. That she was as good of singer as Barbra if not more. She was kind of pleased but whenever she was around Barbra, she felt like some kind of novice. Olivia joined them as well, and they all made plans to go for dinner sometime soon.
As soon as Barbra and her associates left, Karen started bouncing around in glee, and happiness. Olivia just kept laughing at Karen, and nodding her head in wonderment. Richard was too busy to even notice.
Finally the song was done, and they all listened to it. Richard strongly believed that this would be a monster seller of a single. He felt quite proud of it, and admitted that this was one of his best songs that he had ever produced.
Even the Carpenter parents had to concede, hearing it from Richard's mouth, while letting them hear what the new single would be like. After he was done producing that song, Richard flew back to L.A. to work on production on other music artists.
Karen continued on with recording other songs. She had a lot of fun, and her schedule kept her very busy, that she had no time to do anything else. She and Olivia did meet Barbra Streisand for dinner one night, and had an excellent evening.
The Grammy Awards came up in February, and so Karen flew to Los Angeles for the ceromony. She would be singing her last hit single, which was nominated for 3 Grammy Awards and she would be singing the song IN LOVE ALONE with Richard, with another 5 nominations for them and Richard as Producer.
