Lijie, that is indeed Richard Carpenter on the keyboard. Richard is a brilliant musician and arranger who created the Carpenters' magical sound. Karen's voice is ethereal. Thank you for your insightful analysis of "Superstar" and Karen's timeless artistry.
Karen's beauty and ANGELIC voice can easily overshadow Richards immense talents and musical genius. The reason you hear so many instruments not seen on the video is due to his conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and adding it to this video performance years later. His composing, arrangements, vocal stacking abilities created some masterpieces. Also very gifted on the keys. Very talented duo. Rest in peace Karen.
They stacked their voices to 39 voices in the I'll Never Fall In Love Again number on the 1970 Close To You album.....she had a gorgeous contralto voice spanning 4 octaves. Carpenters, Karen and Richard did their own vocals, lead and background....in concert they used the guys that you see in the background....to create a LIVE song
First time on your channel, and I have to say I enjoyed your thoughtful reaction to this beautiful song as performed by Carpenters!! I never got to see them live, sadly, though I certainly enjoyed their music growing up. There is a YT channel called Wings of Pegasus, and there a chap named Fil uses technology to show how good or not good musical performances were. His videos about Karen say it all. She sang so pitch perfect she actually has been recorded live even better than her studio recordings!! Looking forward to enjoying more of your reactions!!
What an amazing voice I got my first pocket radio when I was 12 years old The first song I heard on it was superstar by Karen Carpenter from that point on there was no turning back I became a huge fan I'm now 64 years old
The instrumental codas, at the beginning and following the first verse, start with an Oboe (for the first 4 and 3/4 bars). French Horns play out the codas final 4 1/4 bars. Making for an unusual 9 bar coda. It sounds as beautiful and sounds seamless. Brilliant. Lovely reaction young lady, RNB
"Superstar" is a 1969 song written by Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell, and Delaney Bramlett. Its original title was "Groupie (Superstar)". The first recording of it was in December 1969 as the B-side of the Delaney & Bonnie single "Comin' Home". This version was recorded in 1971 with just their band, in 2019 Richard Carpenter took that master for "Yesterday Once More" "Hurting Each Other" "Touch Me When We're Dancing" For All We Know" "I Need to Be in Love" "I Believe You "I Just Fall in Love Again" "Merry Christmas, Darling" "Baby It's You" "(They Long to Be) Close to You" "Superstar" "Rainy Days and Mondays" "This Masquerade" "Ticket to Ride" "Goodbye to Love" "Top of the World" "We've Only Just Begun to England and recorded the album Carpenters with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios with his arrangement and him directing over the original. So this version was made 36 years after Karen Died. If you do a search on Carpenters Superstar Royal Philharmonic there is a vid of him doing it. All of the background on this album (and all their others except one) was done by Karen and Richard. They sang it from 3 or 4 times on most songs, but 33 times on one and then stacked them on the master. It was a trick Richard learned from Les Paul & Mary Ford. The first time I saw them Karen was around 15 (1965) and was the drummer in the Dick Carpenter Jazz Trio. Her hero was Joe Morello who was the drummer in the Dave Brubeck Quartet. She could play the drum part of "Take Five". SHE WAS A FANTASTIC DRUMMER.
When they toured England in 1972 Paul McCartney invited her and her brother to his studios where Paul was recording an Album for his brother( I had no idea PM had a brother). Paul told her she was his favorite female singer…..4 hours later Karen was doing press for their tour and was asked by reporter to respond to reviewers saying she had big hips. Yea, she had some pain.
long time no check your channel lij...it turns out you reacted to my favorite band THE CARPENTERS..i love karen's voice, thanks for the reaction ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Ah, The Carpenters were all over the radio back in the 70's. Loved listening to them. They were so good! Thank you for sharing this one. Another song you might enjoy, Lijie, is by the singer Billy Vera, a live performance at The Roxy from 1981 of his song At This Moment. Wonderful lyrics (Billy wrote it) wonderful, heartfelt singing, and a great horn section as well. Good stuff. JB
My favourite song by the wonderful Carpenters ! .. You did an excellent reaction, Lijie, with some great observations about Karen's voice, the lyrics, and the music .. Wishing you the best with your own singing and songwriting .. Thanks, Wayne
I get the impression by watching closely that this video is actually a live performance that someone laid the studio version of the track over, and not a lip sync performance. If that's correct, you might be able to also find it with the original audio. You can definitely find live versions of Carpenters songs on RUclips. The song is basically about a woman that had some sort of relationship with a member of a band when they were in town, but now can only hear their songs playing on the radio while hoping he will come back to see her again.
Hi Lijie, You have most of it but I can fine tune a couple it things. The backup singers for the vast majority of Carpenters songs were ONLY Richard and Karen. They multitracked their vocals like Les Paul and Mary Ford did, Richard’s inspiration. Under We’ve Only Just Begun, I suggested a cover that would visually illustrate what was going on. As for the guitarist, the original title of the song was; Groupie (Superstar). Written by Leon Russell and Bonnie Bramlett, in 1969. Richard saw Bette Midler perform Groupie on The Tonight Show and thought it would be great for them but toned down. He changed one word of the lyrics and made the title Superstar. Sleep with you became Be with you. Then add Karen’s vocal, which became the legend of One Take Karen, as in the studio, she did a practice run and the booth came back with “we have it.” What you heard was that take, this was a lipsync video. Richard did the arrangement and orchestration. It was brilliant. I stand by my recommendation from the previous Carpenters reaction and will offer a non-Carpenters song alternative. The singer is Tori Holub. The song is “It’s Impossible“ by Perry Como. It was his huge hit from 1970. What inspired this collaboration was the Carpenters appearing in a 1974 Perry Como TV special. Karen wound up singing one verse of the song. Dan Wesley wondered what it would have been like if Karen had sung the entire song. He reached out to Tori and sometimes magic happens. Dan is in the UK, Tori is in Minnesota. Tori never uses pitch correction or autotune. ruclips.net/video/WTKqF0rgK5g/видео.htmlsi=b5wXSVjiFfW98L2r I’m also going to give you a Carpenters recommendation to get Karen on the drums and link you to a repository of restored and remastered Carpenters videos. My friend Harvey has been saving videos for the past two years. Some are truly miraculous. This is the song Mr. Guder. It’s from the same album as We’ve Only Just Begun. It’s the story of Richard and John Bettis’ boss at Disneyland. John was RC’s writing partner. The video is from an appearance on The Tonight Show in 1973, they performed live. ruclips.net/video/WN6y7RJoYv4/видео.htmlsi=rbu0Bdjb9fL2U2N_ I hope you enjoy your Carpenters journey. I am an OG Carpenters fan. I regret never getting to see them in person. There are full concerts on RUclips including the iconic Budokan show. A crash course in Carpenters or a lot of spoilers. On the other hand I did get to see Tori perform live at the Carpenters 55th Anniversary last April. Only her second live so far. Joe
Karen’s gorgeous and haunting voice and Richard’s beautiful arrangements! Leon Russell wrote this. Carpenter’s sang first and Luther Vandross covered. ❤❤
Yes, your instinct is right. The affair is all in her head. She is a crazed fanatic fan. You now at the end of a concert, the band will tell the audience they love them and they will come back soon. She took the I love you seriously and felt it was directed directly at her. It's a really haunting story. Although nothing compares to this version, you should listen to the Sonic Youth cover version where the vocals and music matches the haunting theme of the song.
Many of these "live" tv performances were actually lip synched. It was common back then. Actual live performances are usually concert clips, but on occasion few tv performances.
Not live. A performance to the studio track. Many, if not most, 60's and 70's TV appearances were performances to their studio tracks. This is for all bands, and not just the Carpenters.
Lijie, I just discovered your channel and I greatly enjoyed your reaction and analysis to this awesome song by The Carpenters. I messaged my friend Joe, who is a huge Carpenters fan, and to no surprise, he said he has requested you react to Tori Holub, as well as more from The Carpenters. I never did see The Carpenters live, but hope to see Tori Holub. I have another artist to suggest, Angelina Jordan, a self-taught jazz singer. Angelina is 18 now, and won Norway's Got Talent at age 8, covering Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. Here is a link to her audition. ruclips.net/video/d3gSho9yf88/видео.htmlsi=4hpMTWcxjkM7Hh1T
Love this tune, but whenever I hear it I am reminded of an even better rendition - one that predates the Carpenters. It is by Aussie artist, Colleen Hewitt. I prefer the 1971 live TV version (though sound/pic quality is poor). Here it is: ruclips.net/video/H-gB_wWvDHI/видео.html She also notably recorded (arguably) superior versions of: Wind Beneath My Wings, Day By Day, ,,,,,
Singles from Colleen Hewett "Superstar" / "More Today Than Yesterday" Released: June 1971 "Day By Day" / "By My Side" Released: November 1971 "Carry That Weight" / "Danny Boy" Released: July 1972 "Waltzing Matilda" / "Mother" Released: 1973 "A Wish to Wish" / "I've Got Love" Released: 1973 Carpenters released "Superstar" in May 1971 on the album Carpenters, and then released as a single in August 1971. SO Carpenters released it the month before Colleen Hewett but the single of it 2 months after her. It is hard to see how anyone could mention Colleen version in the same breath as Carpenters version unless they are Australian and rooting for the home team. Her version is a shrill mess compared to Carpenters.
This audio sounds like the studio version, common for performers to lip sync live (contractually sometimes) in the 1960's & 70's. IIRC, Carpenters never really had a disco tune. I suspect the girl in this tune never met her guitarist, it's so easy for teens to fall in love with an idealized fantasy. Two suggestions: The Guitar Man performed by David Gates. Also, anything by Nat King Cole - possibly the only voice as smooth as Karen's. Nat was a top jazz pianist... until the day he stepped in front of a microphone.
Nobody I hung out with in the 70s admitted they liked the Carpenters but we all did. Now I can finally admit it.
Another great song from The Carpenters is Solitaire it is mind blowing and soul touching
Lijie, that is indeed Richard Carpenter on the keyboard. Richard is a brilliant musician and arranger who created the Carpenters' magical sound. Karen's voice is ethereal. Thank you for your insightful analysis of "Superstar" and Karen's timeless artistry.
The Carpenters sold millions of records and one of the best bands in the 70s the music is timeless rip Karen Carpenter
Yes and they sold well over 100 million records. Their work remains unsurpassed as a whole & Karen is beyond words.
The Wrecking Crew did a lot of their sessions and backup vocals. All of them had the same college vocal teacher that emphasized harmonizing.
Karen's beauty and ANGELIC voice can easily overshadow Richards immense talents and musical genius. The reason you hear so many instruments not seen on the video is due to his conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and adding it to this video performance years later. His composing, arrangements, vocal stacking abilities created some masterpieces. Also very gifted on the keys.
Very talented duo. Rest in peace Karen.
They stacked their voices to 39 voices in the I'll Never Fall In Love Again number on the 1970 Close To You album.....she had a gorgeous contralto voice spanning 4 octaves. Carpenters, Karen and Richard did their own vocals, lead and background....in concert they used the guys that you see in the background....to create a LIVE song
First time on your channel, and I have to say I enjoyed your thoughtful reaction to this beautiful song as performed by Carpenters!! I never got to see them live, sadly, though I certainly enjoyed their music growing up. There is a YT channel called Wings of Pegasus, and there a chap named Fil uses technology to show how good or not good musical performances were. His videos about Karen say it all. She sang so pitch perfect she actually has been recorded live even better than her studio recordings!! Looking forward to enjoying more of your reactions!!
LOVE that channel, i watch Wings of Pegasus on a regular basis! He does a great job with the technical analysis!!
👍👍Outstanding performance, great reaction. 🖖❤
What an amazing voice I got my first pocket radio when I was 12 years old The first song I heard on it was superstar by Karen Carpenter from that point on there was no turning back I became a huge fan I'm now 64 years old
The instrumental codas, at the beginning and following the first verse, start with an Oboe (for the first 4 and 3/4 bars). French Horns play out the codas final 4 1/4 bars. Making for an unusual 9 bar coda. It sounds as beautiful and sounds seamless. Brilliant. Lovely reaction young lady, RNB
"Superstar" is a 1969 song written by Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell, and Delaney Bramlett. Its original title was "Groupie (Superstar)". The first recording of it was in December 1969 as the B-side of the Delaney & Bonnie single "Comin' Home". This version was recorded in 1971 with just their band, in 2019 Richard Carpenter took that master for "Yesterday Once More" "Hurting Each Other" "Touch Me When We're Dancing" For All We Know" "I Need to Be in Love" "I Believe You "I Just Fall in Love Again" "Merry Christmas, Darling" "Baby It's You" "(They Long to Be) Close to You" "Superstar" "Rainy Days and Mondays" "This Masquerade" "Ticket to Ride" "Goodbye to Love" "Top of the World" "We've Only Just Begun to England and recorded the album Carpenters with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios with his arrangement and him directing over the original. So this version was made 36 years after Karen Died. If you do a search on Carpenters Superstar Royal Philharmonic there is a vid of him doing it. All of the background on this album (and all their others except one) was done by Karen and Richard. They sang it from 3 or 4 times on most songs, but 33 times on one and then stacked them on the master. It was a trick Richard learned from Les Paul & Mary Ford. The first time I saw them Karen was around 15 (1965) and was the drummer in the Dick Carpenter Jazz Trio. Her hero was Joe Morello who was the drummer in the Dave Brubeck Quartet. She could play the drum part of "Take Five". SHE WAS A FANTASTIC DRUMMER.
When they toured England in 1972 Paul McCartney invited her and her brother to his studios where Paul was recording an Album for his brother( I had no idea PM had a brother). Paul told her she was his favorite female singer…..4 hours later Karen was doing press for their tour and was asked by reporter to respond to reviewers saying she had big hips. Yea, she had some pain.
Karen is GOAT. Carpenters are the top selling american group of the 70's. They tore up the music charts. Karen is also regarded as a top tier drummer.
Hard to name a more beautiful NATURAL voice than KC❤
Jeff hiii!! YES she is the REAL DEAL 🫶
long time no check your channel lij...it turns out you reacted to my favorite band THE CARPENTERS..i love karen's voice, thanks for the reaction ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Ah, The Carpenters were all over the radio back in the 70's. Loved listening to them. They were so good! Thank you for sharing this one. Another song you might enjoy, Lijie, is by the singer Billy Vera, a live performance at The Roxy from 1981 of his song At This Moment. Wonderful lyrics (Billy wrote it) wonderful, heartfelt singing, and a great horn section as well. Good stuff. JB
G.O.A.T.
My favourite song by the wonderful Carpenters ! .. You did an excellent reaction, Lijie, with some great observations about Karen's voice, the lyrics, and the music .. Wishing you the best with your own singing and songwriting .. Thanks, Wayne
Keep goin with Karen! Youll be very popular!!!❤❤
I get the impression by watching closely that this video is actually a live performance that someone laid the studio version of the track over, and not a lip sync performance. If that's correct, you might be able to also find it with the original audio. You can definitely find live versions of Carpenters songs on RUclips.
The song is basically about a woman that had some sort of relationship with a member of a band when they were in town, but now can only hear their songs playing on the radio while hoping he will come back to see her again.
Hi Lijie,
You have most of it but I can fine tune a couple it things. The backup singers for the vast majority of Carpenters songs were ONLY Richard and Karen. They multitracked their vocals like Les Paul and Mary Ford did, Richard’s inspiration. Under We’ve Only Just Begun, I suggested a cover that would visually illustrate what was going on. As for the guitarist, the original title of the song was; Groupie (Superstar). Written by Leon Russell and Bonnie Bramlett, in 1969. Richard saw Bette Midler perform Groupie on The Tonight Show and thought it would be great for them but toned down. He changed one word of the lyrics and made the title Superstar. Sleep with you became Be with you. Then add Karen’s vocal, which became the legend of One Take Karen, as in the studio, she did a practice run and the booth came back with “we have it.” What you heard was that take, this was a lipsync video. Richard did the arrangement and orchestration. It was brilliant.
I stand by my recommendation from the previous Carpenters reaction and will offer a non-Carpenters song alternative. The singer is Tori Holub. The song is “It’s Impossible“ by Perry Como. It was his huge hit from 1970. What inspired this collaboration was the Carpenters appearing in a 1974 Perry Como TV special. Karen wound up singing one verse of the song. Dan Wesley wondered what it would have been like if Karen had sung the entire song. He reached out to Tori and sometimes magic happens. Dan is in the UK, Tori is in Minnesota. Tori never uses pitch correction or autotune.
ruclips.net/video/WTKqF0rgK5g/видео.htmlsi=b5wXSVjiFfW98L2r
I’m also going to give you a Carpenters recommendation to get Karen on the drums and link you to a repository of restored and remastered Carpenters videos. My friend Harvey has been saving videos for the past two years. Some are truly miraculous. This is the song Mr. Guder. It’s from the same album as We’ve Only Just Begun. It’s the story of Richard and John Bettis’ boss at Disneyland. John was RC’s writing partner.
The video is from an appearance on The Tonight Show in 1973, they performed live.
ruclips.net/video/WN6y7RJoYv4/видео.htmlsi=rbu0Bdjb9fL2U2N_
I hope you enjoy your Carpenters journey. I am an OG Carpenters fan. I regret never getting to see them in person. There are full concerts on RUclips including the iconic Budokan show. A crash course in Carpenters or a lot of spoilers. On the other hand I did get to see Tori perform live at the Carpenters 55th Anniversary last April. Only her second live so far.
Joe
Joe wrote a book here again, LOL....Kidding. Hi Joe.
Karen’s gorgeous and haunting voice and Richard’s beautiful arrangements!
Leon Russell wrote this. Carpenter’s sang first and Luther Vandross covered.
❤❤
Ironically enough, she considered herself a drummer who could also sing rather than the other way around. Her brother had to push her to sing lead...
I think they did most of the backing vocals themselves.
They’re from Connecticut!
Nice to see you again - thanks for uploading these lovely reaction videos.
That outro sounded really pretty Lijie.
Thank you so much Martin, you stayed till the end!! 🫶
Yes, your instinct is right. The affair is all in her head. She is a crazed fanatic fan. You now at the end of a concert, the band will tell the audience they love them and they will come back soon. She took the I love you seriously and felt it was directed directly at her. It's a really haunting story. Although nothing compares to this version, you should listen to the Sonic Youth cover version where the vocals and music matches the haunting theme of the song.
From 1971.
Many of these "live" tv performances were actually lip synched. It was common back then. Actual live performances are usually concert clips, but on occasion few tv performances.
💐🌹🌺🌷🌸
Not live. A performance to the studio track. Many, if not most, 60's and 70's TV appearances were performances to their studio tracks. This is for all bands, and not just the Carpenters.
Lijie, I just discovered your channel and I greatly enjoyed your reaction and analysis to this awesome song by The Carpenters. I messaged my friend Joe, who is a huge Carpenters fan, and to no surprise, he said he has requested you react to Tori Holub, as well as more from The Carpenters. I never did see The Carpenters live, but hope to see Tori Holub. I have another artist to suggest, Angelina Jordan, a self-taught jazz singer. Angelina is 18 now, and won Norway's Got Talent at age 8, covering Billie Holiday and Ella Fitzgerald. Here is a link to her audition.
ruclips.net/video/d3gSho9yf88/видео.htmlsi=4hpMTWcxjkM7Hh1T
Love this tune, but whenever I hear it I am reminded of an even better rendition - one that predates the Carpenters. It is by Aussie artist, Colleen Hewitt.
I prefer the 1971 live TV version (though sound/pic quality is poor). Here it is: ruclips.net/video/H-gB_wWvDHI/видео.html
She also notably recorded (arguably) superior versions of: Wind Beneath My Wings, Day By Day, ,,,,,
Singles from Colleen Hewett "Superstar" / "More Today Than Yesterday" Released: June 1971 "Day By Day" / "By My Side" Released: November 1971 "Carry That Weight" / "Danny Boy" Released: July 1972 "Waltzing Matilda" / "Mother" Released: 1973 "A Wish to Wish" / "I've Got Love" Released: 1973
Carpenters released "Superstar" in May 1971 on the album Carpenters, and then released as a single in August 1971. SO Carpenters released it the month before Colleen Hewett but the single of it 2 months after her.
It is hard to see how anyone could mention Colleen version in the same breath as Carpenters version unless they are Australian and rooting for the home team. Her version is a shrill mess compared to Carpenters.
i've NEVER heard of you singer, songwriter. why is that?
This audio sounds like the studio version, common for performers to lip sync live (contractually sometimes) in the 1960's & 70's. IIRC, Carpenters never really had a disco tune. I suspect the girl in this tune never met her guitarist, it's so easy for teens to fall in love with an idealized fantasy.
Two suggestions: The Guitar Man performed by David Gates. Also, anything by Nat King Cole - possibly the only voice as smooth as Karen's. Nat was a top jazz pianist... until the day he stepped in front of a microphone.
Thank you for the suggestions!! 🫶