What kind of music did Karen like

[kc1950]

i know she liked Manilow, the Beach Boys, the Beatles -Olivia Newton-John -

She liked Merv Griffith - i think he was a singer in the 40's

but what other music did she like?

Like was she into Michael Jackson, Pink Floyd, Eagles, Steely Dan ?


Did Karen Carpenter ever record with Steely Dan or the Eagles?

Did Karen ever work with Bob Seger?

I know she meet both Beatles - Lennon in 74 and McCartney around the same time -

Did Karen ever meet Sinatra

[wisejester7]

You can add Nat King Cole, Perry Como and Bing Crosby to her list of Likes.

[Rick Henry]

I have never ever seen Merv Griffin, Barry Manilow or Olivia Newton-John listed as Karen's favorite musicians (friends maybe).

She has also mentioned Ella Fitzgerald, Stan Kenton, Buddy Rich and Gene Krupa.

Karen went to a KISS concert around 1977 and she said she thoroughly enjoyed it. By the time the mid to late 70's came around she was open to hard rock sounds (which in the early 70's she found to be raucous).

All the musicians mentioned so far are influences or favorites from early on in her career (mid 60's to early 70's). So I am going to speculate on what she may have liked during the late 70's and early 80's (as we all know musical tastes change and develop with new experiences and exposures).

Using her solo album as a barometer and the types of songs she chose to record I would say some of her later favorites include:

Paul Simon (Pop/Rock)
Bob James (Jazz)
Vickie Sue Robinson (R&B/Disco)
Heatwave (R&B/Funk/Disco/Jazz)
Brothers Johnson (R&B/Funk/Disco/Jazz)
Quincy Jones (R&B/Funk/Disco/Jazz)
Donna Summer (R&B/Disco/Rock)
Billy Joel (Pop/Rock)
Manhattan Transfer (Jazz, Pop, Vocal)

(Note... the reason I am not using any of the later Carpenters albums as a barometer is because Richard is the one who chose the music and songs. Karen's solo album is all about the type of music she liked and wanted to record. Her solo album gives us a pretty good scope as to the music she liked during that time period)

[enigma]

Karen mentioned in a 1978 radio interview that Barry Mannilow gave her that chill factor so I would say that means she liked his music she also mentioned the song that Manilow recorded called I Write The Songs as on of those songs that got away as in she would have loved to have recorded it before Manilow. And yes Karen did see Kiss and was blown away by their theatrics as well as the edgy music as some of us know this led to the famous Gene Simmons encounter at the hotel Kiss was in at the time which happened to be the same hotel the Carpenters were staying in at the time.

[makapipi]

Possibly she like the style of Matt Monroe.

[Rick Henry]

Jan 29, 2009 14:40:39 GMT -5 makapipi said:

Possibly she like the style of Matt Monroe.

Yes, Karen mentioned Matt Munro on several occasions. I believe Richard mentioned that she would pronounce certain words like he did.

Karen said she thought Barbra Streisand was amongst the best of the best. She also said the Beatles were very high on her list.

She adored Elvis Presley.

She also seemed to have a thing for Motown... especially the girl groups like Martha and the Vandellas and Marvelettes.

I vaguely recall hearing her say something about Tom Jones (can anybody verify this one?)

[kc1950]

She really liked Barry Manilow and Michael Jackson (she worked with the guys who did off-the wall)- in addition - i think she loved Billy Joel

She said in a 1978 interview - that she liked Barry Manilow -

[kc1950]

She liked light disco - I think a good example would be Donna Summer's Dim all the lights or Debbie Harry's Heart of Glass

I also think she would have loved Linda Ronstadt's 1983 "Whats new" which was the first oldies album of like pre-rock n roll

[Rick Henry]

Feb 1, 2009 9:58:24 GMT -5 kc1950 said:

She liked light disco - I think a good example would be Donna Summer's Dim all the lights or Debbie Harry's Heart of Glass

I also think she would have loved Linda Ronstadt's 1983 "Whats new" which was the first oldies album of like pre-rock n roll

What Linda Ronstadt did with "What's New" would be called Traditional Pop Standards.

Karen not only liked light disco she also liked your all out disco/rock. "Don't Try To Win Me Back Again" is a good marker in Karen's taste for full on disco with a rock guitar backing. That one is my favorite of her unreleased songs.

As for Karen working with the people who did Michael Jackson's "Off The Wall"... there were only three people who worked with Karen (solo) and Jackson's "Off The Wall". Those would be Greg Phllinganes (keyboards, synthesizers), Jerry Hey (trumpet, flugelhorn) and Louis Johnson (bass guitar). Rod Temperton worte "Rock With You" but did nothing else on Jackson's album. Karen's solo album has more in common with Jackson's "Thriller" album. Overall Karen's solo is most closely aligned to Heatwave's 1979 released album titled "Hot Property" in both similar sound (disco/funk/jazz/ballads) and personnel.