Only Yesterday: The Carpenters' Story

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Karen and Richard Carpenter looked like well-scrubbed youngsters from middle America

who've come up with a sound the public likes - lightning striking a fortunate pair.

# Don't you remember you told me you loved me, baby... #

There was something magical about the way Richard and Karen worked together.

That's the beginning.

# Sharing horizons that are new to us... #

Karen Carpenter could sing the phonebook and it would sound good!

Her voice was like a piece of silk.

Patsy Cline was the closest to me. Both of them shared the same emotion.

And it was struggle and depression.

# I'm on the top of the world... #

When she was forced out from behind the drums to the front,

she didn't enjoy it at all.

# ..I can find... #

I think that Richard and Karen both could have extremely viable careers today,

had some different decisions been reached then.

# Every... #

All of our success came from the records.

You don't forget the records and go touring around the world.

She was the most truthful person I think I've ever met.

But she lied like a trooper about the anorexia situation.

# Only yesterday... #

Every now and then, we throw that word around - "it". That person has it.

Well, she had the "it" whatever the "it" is! She had it.

# And it's the way Only yesterday... #

The story began in New Haven, Connecticut,

with Richard and Karen being born into a typical suburban middle-class family.

I was born with an interest in music.

By the time I was two-and-a-half or three, I was

interested in the records that my dad was playing.

He had quite an extensive and eclectic collection of 78s which I wanted to get at.

# Here's what a world

# Is waiting for this summer... #

Les Paul and Mary Ford probably had the biggest impact on me...

well, with anybody,

because of the over-dubbed sound.

With these four switches, I can take Mary's voice and multiply it.

And with this switch right here, I can take the one guitar and multiply it into an orchestra.

Right there, by the time I was four years old - left such an impression on me.

And I couldn't figure... I knew it was Mary Ford.

Mary's voice...

# All alone... #

Two voices...

# Of you I'm dreaming... #

So I asked my mother, "How do you do that?"

What's my mother going to say? Nobody knew, except at that time,

Les and Mary and a couple of people in the business!

So it was like, how do you get to Carnegie Hall?

Practice. My mother said, "She practises."

# All night long... #

So I'm going around the house at four or five years old going...

# Mm-mm-mm... # ..trying to get all these voices to come out.

And later I learned.

# All night long... #

Karen, when I think back on it, would be downstairs and she'd sing it.

And, boy, did we take to it - Karen and I! The whole multi-track thing.

# And all the stars there never were

# Are parking cars and pumping gas... #

My mom wanted me to have piano lessons and I just didn't like it!

So, after a year, it was mutually agreed between my folks and the teacher -

"He really doesn't seem to have much talent or interest in..."

But several years later, all of a sudden, I'm picking things up by ear and I found I could...

- PIANO FLOURISH

- ..do this kind of stuff

all on my own and play by ear. And so by now, my parents said, "We need to find him another teacher."

I think Agnes was a great mom. I think she knew what she wanted for her children.

I think she had insight for Richard.

And I think she loved her children dearly.

During the summer, the windows are open, everybody's outside playing in the street,

and Richard would be playing his musical scales up and down the piano.

At that time, I really didn't have any ideas of where I was going.

But he had always wanted to be exactly where he is.

He had ideas but I didn't know I could do anything.

I think Richard's parents, Agnes and Harold, were beginning to

feel that Richard really had talent, and there's two places you should go if you have musical talent -

either New York or California.

# If everybody had an ocean across the USA... #

So, in 1963, the Carpenter family took off in search

of the American dream...

# Californ-i-a... #

..to a land that was fast becoming a place of free spirits, open hearts and a vibrant music scene.

TV:
'Their parents brought them to California years ago to have them near the centre of show business.'

There, they saw it in him, like you'd imagine, but...

Cos...

- I didn't do anything!

- Till she got to California, two years after we got there.

The story is that they moved here to further my career,

but the number one reason was my Dad wanted to get the hell out of the cold.

And I was right with him!

# Everybody's gone surfin'... #

We never regretted making this move but Karen wasn't so happy.

She had a bunch of friends back there. It turned out there was a heatwave the first Christmas,

so she didn't like that.

But she got over it.

Richard soon established himself as a local talent,

and joined the college choir playing piano.

CHOIR SINGS:

It was in my first year of college, that I'd gotten to know a fella named Wes Jacobs,

who turns out to be a tuba major,

but I found out he could play upright bass.

I was just taken immediately by his talent.

And we got together shortly after that,

me with my bass, and Richard on the piano.

And we experimented to see what we could do together.

Karen was fascinated with the drumming,

cos I said, "You can get out of phys-ed if you're in the marching band."

Karen did not want to be in phys-ed.

And I wanted also to get out of geometry cos I just don't get it!

And when I got into marching band, I immediately fell in love with the drums.

Richard mentioned that his sister, who was still in high school at the time,

was learning to play the drums, and perhaps we could form a trio.

'The Carpenter Trio...'

The Richard Carpenter Trio went on to win the prestigious Battle Of The Bands Contest at the Hollywood Bowl.

And an RCA talent scout intrigued by their rock-tuba sound,

offered them a record deal.

I was a budding A&R man myself, and I knew damn well rock tuba was going nowhere!

And we cut the four sides and - a committee, you know, a committee listened to them,

and of course said, "Erhhh!"

And that was it for our deal with RCA.

# We'll be in Denver

# Dancin' in the street... #

Every now and again I'd ask Karen to sing.

And she'd do it almost under duress.

# Oh, it doesn't matter what you wear

# Just as long as you are there... #

Karen was a little hesitant actually about singing,

and I think for some period of time, she really wanted to play the drums.

The breakthrough, in a way, this is the key I wrote it in,

was one called You'll Love Me.

- The melody was...

- HE PLAYS

# They say we're too young to ever know a love... #

- It happens to be right...

- HE PLAYS A NOTE

And out came that sound.

# And I'll know you'll stay-ay-ay

# And I know you'll love me... #

And I heard it... Oh!

There's something here. There is something here!

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