Karen Carpenter’s Last Photo, Bio, Songs, Husband & Cause of Death – Karen Carpenter was an American singer and drummer, who formed half of the sibling duo the Carpenters alongside her older brother Richard. She had a distinctive three-octave contralto range and was praised by her peers for her vocal skills.
Karen Carpenter normally sang as a contralto, but she had the rare ability to transition from that more typical female register to a much lower range something she called her “basement.”
Karen Carpenter Biography
Karen Anne Carpenter born on March 2, 1950, and died on February 4, 1983, was an American singer and drummer, who formed half of the sibling duo the Carpenters alongside her older brother Richard. With a distinctive three-octave contralto range, she was praised by her peers for her vocal skills.
Karen Carpenter’s struggle with and eventual death of heart failure related to her years-long struggle with anorexia later raise attention and awareness of eating disorders and body dysmorphia and their possible causes.
After several years of touring and recording, the Carpenters were signed to A&M Records in 1969, achieving enormous commercial and critical success throughout the 1970s. Initially, Karen Carpenter was the band’s full-time drummer, but she gradually took the role of frontwoman as her drumming was reduced to a handful of live showcases or tracks on albums.
From then on she found her appearance under constant scrutiny and developed anorexia as a way to cope with the massive pressure to look slim on stage. The first public performance of Karen and Richard was in a local production of Frank Loesser’s musical Guys and Dolls. Her first band was Two Plus Two, an all-girl trio formed with friends from Downey High. They split up after one of the mothers refused to give her daughter permission to attend their first gig.
Karen Carpenter began dieting while in high school. Under a doctor’s guidance, she began the Stillman diet, eating lean foods, drinking eight glasses of water a day, and avoiding fatty foods. She reduced her weight to 120 pounds (54 kg) and stayed approximately at that weight until around 1973 when the Carpenters’ career reached its peak.
She lost about 20 pounds (9 kg) and intended to lose another five pounds (2.3 kg). Her eating habits also changed around this time; she would try to remove food from her plate by offering tastes to others with whom she was dining. By Karen September 1975, Carpenter weighed 91 pounds (41 kg).
By late 1981, Karen Carpenter was using thyroid replacement medication, which she obtained using the name of Karen Burris, to increase her metabolism. She used the medication in conjunction with increased consumption of the laxatives (up to 80–90 tablets per night) upon which she had long relied, which caused food to pass quickly through her digestive tract.
On December 17, 1982, Karen Carpenter gave her last singing performance in the multi-purpose room of the Buckley School in Sherman Oaks, California, singing Christmas carols for her godchildren, their classmates and other friends. On January 11, 1983, she made her last public appearance at a gathering of past Grammy Award winners, who were commemorating the awards show’s 25th anniversary. She seemed somewhat frail and worn out, but according to Dionne Warwick, was vibrant and outgoing, exclaiming, “Look at me! I’ve got an ass!”
On February 1, 1983, Karen Carpenter saw her brother for the last time and discussed new plans for the Carpenters and for resumed touring. 3 days later, on February 4, she was scheduled to sign final papers making her divorce official. Shortly after waking up on that day, she collapsed at her parents’ home in Downey. Paramedics found her heart beating once every 10 seconds (6 bpm). she was rushed by ambulance to Downey Community Hospital where she was pronounced dead at the age of 32.
Karen Carpenter died of heart failure due to complications from anorexia nervosa, which was little-known outside celebrity circles at the time, and her death led to increased visibility and awareness of eating disorders.
Karen Carpenter’s Last Photo
Karen Carpenter Album
- Close to You (1970)
- Karen Carpenter (1996)
- Carpenters (1971)
- Christmas Portrait (1978)
- Now & Then (1973)
- A Kind of Hush (1976)
- The Very Best of the Carpenters (1982)
- The Singles: 1969–1973 (1973)
Karen Carpenter Songs
Yesterday Once More
Now & Then · 1973
Close to You
Close to You · 1970
Top of the World
A Song for You · 1972
I Won’t Last a Day Without You
A Song for You · 1972
We’ve Only Just Begun
Close to You · 1970
I Need to Be in Love
A Kind of Hush · 1976
Rainy Days and Mondays
Carpenters · 1971
Love Me for What I Am
Horizon · 1975
I Have You
A Kind of Hush · 1976
There’s a Kind of Hush
A Kind of Hush · 1976
You
A Kind of Hush · 1976
Superstar
Carpenters · 1971
Jambalaya
Now & Then · 1973
Please Mr. Postman
Horizon · 1975
Only Yesterday
Horizon · 1975
Solitaire
Horizon · 1975
Goodbye to Love
A Song for You · 1972
A Song for You
A Song for You · 1972
For All We Know
Carpenters · 1971
Sing
Now & Then · 1973
Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft
The Carpenters Collection · 1976
Hurting Each Other
A Song for You · 1972
This Masquerade
Now & Then · 1973
Touch Me When We’re Dancing
Made in America · 1981
Merry Christmas Darling
Christmas Portrait · 1978
It’s Going to Take Some Time
A Song for You · 1972
Sweet Sweet Smile
The Carpenters Collection · 1976
The Rainbow Connection
Gold – Greatest Hits
I Just Fall in Love Again
The Carpenters Collection · 1976
All You Get From Love Is a Love Song
The Carpenters Collection · 1976
Now
Voice of the Heart
Those Good Old Dreams
Made in America · 1981
Karen Carpenter Husband
Karen Carpenter married real-estate developer Thomas James Burris who was 9 years older than her and a divorcee with an 18-year-old son on August 31, 1980, in the Crystal Room of The Beverly Hills Hotel.
Karen Carpenter cause of death
Karen Carpenter died of heart failure due to complications from anorexia nervosa at the age of 32.
Karen Carpenter net worth
Karen Carpenter is reported to be worth between $5–$10 million dollars at the time of her death and it’s equivalent to (between $15,000,000 and $30,000,000 in 2021).
Source: www.Ghgossip.com
