Carpenters Museum?

[molee]

I am told that there is a museum (display?) at the Carpenters Performing Arts Center at Long Beach State University. Has anyone been there (if there is indeed a museum/display)? What is there to see? When is it open?

-Mo Lee

[Rick Henry]

Hi MoLee...

It is called The Richard and Karen Carpenter Exhibit which is housed in the performing arts center (it's not a museum... but maybe a "mini museum"). It is however a very nice exhibit of Carpenters memorabilia. They used to open the exhibit to the public the first Saturday of each month... but I am unsure of the schedule these days.

I've been there a few times.

Here is the bio which you can find on the performing arts center's website.
www.carpenterarts.org/carpenterexhibit.html

The Carpenters Exhibit features photos, artifacts and memorabilia from Richard and Karen's life and career, from childhood through mega-stardom. It is open during all Carpenter Center events, and by appointment, subject to the availability of the Carpenter Center. For further information, or to schedule and appointment, call [phone].

During the height of their popularity, The Carpenters earned 11 gold albums and 10 gold singles in the United States alone. Since that time, The Carpenters have continued to gain new fans, both in the U.S. and abroad, with international sales exceeding 100 million copies. Many of their albums are now multi-platinum. The Carpenter Center is proud to display the gold and platinum records of The Carpenters.

A copy of a 1973 Hot 100 Billboard Chart lists "Top of the World" in the #1 spot. Rolling Stone featured Richard and Karen on the cover of its July 1974 issue. The exhibit also includes a rare copy of Karen's 1966 Magic Lamp single.

To give visitors a behind the scenes glimpse of The Carpenters’ creative process, Richard lent the group's original instruments to the exhibit, along with lead sheets and original scores of some of their greatest hits. The Center now showcases Richard's Wurlitzer 140-B electronic piano, which he bought in 1967 from Jeff Hanna of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, as well as Karen's 1965 Ludwig Super Classic drum set.

Also on display is the lead sheet for "They Long to Be Close to You," which became their best selling single in the United States. In late 1969, A&M co-founder Herb Alpert asked The Carpenters to cover this little-known Burt Bacharach/Hal David song. Richard found just the right approach to the song, and with their unforgettable vocals, "(They Long to Be) Close to You" raced to #1 in just six weeks. It was the first of many hits for Karen and Richard, and established The Carpenters as a household name.

The two arrangements on display are "Goodbye To Love" and "Yesterday Once More." These were the first two Richard Carpenter/John Bettis songs to be released as singles. Both became Top 10 hits in both the U.S. and the U.K.-as did two subsequent Carpenter/Bettis originals: "Top of the World" and "Only Yesterday."

Former students of CSULB’s music program, The Carpenters remained close to their alma mater. They came back for several benefit concerts, each time to help the University Choir meet the cost of tours to such far-flung places as Hawaii and Europe. In 1994, the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center opened at the school that has always been close to The Carpenters.



By the way The Pink Floyd Laser spectacular will be performing at the Performing Arts Center on April 18th. I am very much considering attending this event. I've heard it is an excellent show and have never seen it. I have although had the pleasure of seeing the real thing twice. I saw Pink Floyd in the mid and late 80's.

[YesterdayOnceMore]

Mo Lee, I have been there, as well - what an amazing sensation that was to be looking at all of these wonderful items, as Rick has described them.

See the thread in Tim's Corner called " A Treasure Hunt in Downey" for my reaction to the Performing Arts Center. Also, I believe there are links to photos I took of the museum, and the Newville house, as well as the apartments, and the Lubec Street house. If the links aren't there, you can find the photos in the pictures thread.

Of all of the items that I saw there, it was Karen's tiny-sized "Lead Sister" tee that was the most poignant.

Enjoy!

[molee]

Rick and Tim,
Thank you for the information. I really enjoyed reading Tim's account of his visit to the CPAC. It gave me chills! I am defintely going to go!

Mo Lee

[YesterdayOnceMore]

Rick, since the "Treasure Hunt In Downey" is actually Carpenters related, should it be moved back to the main forum? I can't move it, but thought I would mention it. I'll leave that up to you.

Thanks.

[Rick Henry]

Feb 5, 2009 14:46:04 GMT -5 YesterdayOnceMore said:

Rick, since the "Treasure Hunt In Downey" is actually Carpenters related, should it be moved back to the main forum? I can't move it, but thought I would mention it. I'll leave that up to you.

Thanks.

Yes, already taken care of!

[YesterdayOnceMore]

Feb 6, 2009 10:01:28 GMT -5 Rick Henry said:

Feb 5, 2009 14:46:04 GMT -5 YesterdayOnceMore said:

Rick, since the "Treasure Hunt In Downey" is actually Carpenters related, should it be moved back to the main forum? I can't move it, but thought I would mention it. I'll leave that up to you.

Thanks.

Yes, already taken care of!

Thank You!