Beech Tree News Network

The final installment of my When I Discovered series ties in quite nicely with an event that occurred, or would’ve occurred, this past Monday.  Karen Carpenter would’ve turned 65 that day.  She passed away February 4, 1983 at age 32 from heart failure as result of anorexia.  I got acquainted with the heartbreaking story when I saw the movie The Karen Carpenter Story in high school,  Home Economics class I believe (or whatever they’re calling it now). 
Being a guy who’s always been enthralled with music biographies and autobiographies, both movies and books), I took to this like a fish to water-naturally.  I’d heard their music for years, as my mom is a huge fan.  It really didn’t register though, I guess, until I saw it on the movie.  I was wondering how such an angelic voice could come out of one individual.  That still marvels me. 
I have the Carpenters Gold-35th Anniversary Edition-on my Spotify album list.  They had so many good songs, a few of them in television and movies even a decade or more after Karen died.  In one of the earlier Friend’s episodes, when Phoebe led a sing-along with the rest of the gang, they sang “Top of the World”.  In the movie Tommy Boy when David Spade and Chris Farley’s characters were driving down the highway, fighting over what to listen to, they came upon a radio station playing the Carpenter’s’ “Superstar”.  Each guy was like “What is this? Change it”.  “No, you change it”.  Cut to a few minutes later and they’re singing duet on the song, crying as they’re singing it.  Funny stuff!
And now, to end my final column in this series, the controversial statement that I’ve oft repeated and has caused fiery debate, as any music opinion often does: Karen Carpenter has the best female singing voice of all time.  ( drops mic).