Biography of The Carpenters

The brother and sister duo, Karen and Richard Carpenter, were born March 2, 1950 and October 15, 1945, respectively, in New Haven, CT. Karen died in 1983. They started singing in a local band, Spectrum, in the '60s. Their debut as a duo came in late 1969 with "(They Long to Be) Close to You." Karen's full, unblemished alto characterized the duo's clean pop sound; however, in spite of some similarities, The Carpenters did not fall prey to the "self-righteous" tag that was put on The Osmonds. ~ Bil Carpenter