Karen Carpenter Was A Monster Drummer
I didn’t first come to appreciate The Carpenters until I saw Todd Hayne’s cult film, Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story while in college. At the time, the movie was something of underground culture and to have heard about it was almost as rare scoring a copy. I was fortunate enough to borrow a VHS copy from my film mentor that had already been dubbed down many generations. Using Barbie dolls as stand-ins for actors, the dramatic rise and fall of Karen Carpenter was detailed on super-8 film. Something about this evocative approach to storytelling truly allowed me to hear the music of The Carpenters with fresh open ears. I guess I’ll always think of their cheery AM music second to the sort of ironic dark underbelly that existed. What I had no idea of though until recently, was that Karen was an amazing drummer.
Here Karen sings and drums Dancing In the Street, complete with a hot little solo. And here, Karen shows off her rhythm skills with only a snare and kick drum.