With her on drums, her older brother Richard Carpenter on the piano and their friend Wes Jacobs on the bass and tuba, the trio won a battle of the bands at The Hollywood Bowl in 1966. 4, 1983.īorn on March 2, 1950, in New Haven, Connecticut, Karen Carpenter moved with her family to Downey, California in 1963.
However, stardom came at a steep price as she struggled with body image issues and eating disorders which caused her premature death on Feb. Playing the drums as one half of The Carpenters and possessing what Paul McCartney called “the best female voice in the world,” Karen Carpenter’s smooth, melodic voice and heartfelt lyrics made The Carpenters one of the most successful groups of the early 1970s. From the outside, Karen Carpenter looked like a rockstar. This year marks the 40th anniversary of Karen Carpenter’s death at the age of 32, a result of complications from anorexia nervosa.
