A biography for Richard Carpenterhasn’t been written yet.
“My mother is a damn good woman, and like all of us she has her fortes and her shortcomings.”
“My father, Harold, loved music. The radio was on all the time at home, and he had lots of great pop and light classical 78s. Karen and I especially loved Les Paul and Mary Ford, and their overdubbed vocals on songs like 'How High the Moon' and 'The World is Waiting for the Sunrise.'”
“People are always trying to find a link between Karen's illness and a single heartbreak, but I don't associate it with anything. It definitely wasn't related to a tragic romance, as has been implied.”
“She just had a timeless voice... Karen was a natural. She didn't have to practice... she just sang instantly, impeccably whether it was live or on record. She was my sister, she was my professional partner, and she was my best friend.”
“My father was a pressman for the New Haven Board & Carton Co. He operated a large five-color press that stamped out flat corrugated panels for product packaging. When assembled, those panels became boxes for products such as Fab and Tide detergent.”
“So many writers hated us because we represented mainstream America. Forget the music, they just didn't like the idea of us.”
“My mom, Agnes, was a homemaker. She was particular about cleaning and wanted things done just so. Keeping our house tidy taught me to be organized and self-disciplined. Eventually, that attention to detail carried over to my recordings with Karen.”
“Before any auto-tuning or anything else, that's us - and so, really, especially Karen's voice. But the whole Carpenters sound is, I hope, appreciated for just how marvelous it is.”
“Karen and I were both born in New Haven, Conn. We enjoyed the same music and always seemed to know what the other was thinking. We were very close.”
“In this type of business of making pop records, or just in the artistic world, you hope you leave something that's going to be remembered and appreciated.”
“I know I'm talented.”
“No one's an angel; I've never met one.”
“Karen and I are public figures. We got into this business because we loved making music. And if an act happens to hit, in a sense you belong to the public.”
“The Carpenters songs had a lot of melody. And people have always liked a good melody.”
“Karen, she was gifted, and so she could not only sing beautifully while playing the drums, she did it all. So that's four things going on just with the drums, you know? Both feet and both hands, and then on top of it she was singing.”
“I could give you a list of songs that I heard on the radio that I went right out and bought and yet knew would not work for Karen and me. That we were brother and sister just had a whole lot to do with it.”
“We sold millions of albums.”
“There is always a market for a good song and a good melody.”
“While a therapist is working with an anorexic, it takes months, if not years, to overcome the illness.”
“The worst thing in my life was losing my sister.”