Karen Carpenter, a singer who long suffered under the burden of the expectations that came with pop stardom, died on February 4, 1983, succumbing to heart failure brought on by her long, unpublicized struggle with anorexia.
Carpenter had a fixation with her weight from her earliest days performing with her brother, Richard, in and around their hometown of Downey, California. As a teenager, she dropped at least 25 pounds on a popular and severe weight-loss program known as “the Water Diet,” so that by the time she and Richard burst on the pop scene with their smash hit “Close To You” in the summer of 1970, she was a thin but healthy 20-year-old carrying 120 lbs. on a 5′ 5″ frame. She maintained that weight through the early years of the Carpenters’ success, yet it appears that Karen’s insecurities about her appearance only grew, even as she was becoming one of the biggest pop stars of her era.
In pictures printed in Rolling Stone magazine in late 1974, when the Carpenters were one of the most successful acts in all of pop music, Karen looks healthy. Yet by mid-1975, the Carpenters were forced to cancel tours of Japan and Europe after Karen collapsed on stage in Las Vegas. Her weight had plummeted to only 90 lbs., and though it would rebound somewhat after a brief hospitalization, the next seven years were a repeating cycle of dramatic weight loss, collapse and then hospitalization. The name of Karen’s condition was virtually unknown to the public at this time, but all that was about to change. Early on the morning of February 4, 1983, while staying in her parents home in Downey, Karen suffered a deadly heart attack, brought on by the physiological stresses placed on her system by the disease whose name soon entered the public consciousness: anorexia nervosa. She was only 32 years old.
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A truly amazing talent. Her voice is one of perfection in tone and range. At least we have recordings to enjoy today.
She was also one of the only singers in her time who had perfect pitch and five-octave range. There is one alive today who has this kind of voice: Mariah Carey.
They say Adele also has perfect pitch, but I don’t know, I mean, it seems she has a powerful, dusky voice, sort of like Shirley Bassey, but to me Adele doesn’t have that real standout voice, it’s unremarkable.
You know, like when you hear Karen Carpenter, you know that’s her, nobody else ever had or will have a voice like hers again. She was one-in-a-million.
One of the most talented singers ever….A real shame she had demons she could not conquer.
Anorexia occurs in people who feel they have no control over their own lives.
Self denial of food is the only thing they feel power over.
Why did Karen Carpenter have trouble selling her home? Because it didn’t have a kitchen!
If Mama Cass had given her that hamburger, both would still be alive
I thought it was a ham sandwich.
Either way, good point.
Food is a double edged sword…but lonely broken hearted pain is suicidal razor sharp…and you can also choke to death on it.
Karen Carpenter on the drums ! Solo starts @ 2:40
It has been said that Karen’s real love was the drums, but the studio execs felt it best to have her only sing in order to succeed. Could it be that her forced decision led to her slow downfall? Such a loss.
Karen Carpenter was truly one of a kind.
Her loss was our loss.
Here’s my favorite song by her.
I think it fits her…
I say this when women talk about how impossible weight standards are. ” When I was 5’9″ I weighed 98#. Of course that was 6th grade.
That’s balanced by how many 4’6″ 6-year-olds I see these days that are a good 50+ pounds overweight …
I loved her voice and songs…and I have them all…for a long time.
Not long before she died she showed up at a baseball/softball field in downtown Metuchen NJ playing catcher for a charity I can’t remember.
She was on a field I had played on many times in my magic (injury filled) softball career that lasted into my early 50’s ending with a groin (OUCH) pull…but this was well before that rude ‘aging awakening’.
I was there for a short time to meet a friend…for a reason I can’t remember…but I clearly remember seeing her making a successful play as a catcher…I think chasing and catching a foul pop fly…with a big round of applause after.
The crowd roared for her doing that!!!
I remember thinking how super skinny she looked…
I researched her life some…seems she married a leach who broke her delicate heart, her brother got lost in speed…and she wandered alone and unprotected into a sad…sad end.