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 By 1974, Karen was brought out in front on stage. Mostly
during the ballads. Everyone couldn't see Karen sitting behind
her set of Ludwigs so she reluntantly fronted the band. She
still considered herself as always, "the drummer who
sang". You can see in the beginning she was very nervous
and uncomfortable with her movements and stage presense.
With practice and experience she became more animated and
looked to be having fun, but I'm sure it was added pressure
on her.
Richard's birthday....family dinner at the
Newville Ave home.
The family first noticed Karen's disinterest in eating shortly
after she began to seriously diet. Using sugar substitutes,
sugar-free jelly. Karen then started to take over house
food tailoring to her diet. Autumn Marked the start of the
decline that later proved deadly. Karen walked into
A & M studio and everyone commented on how great she
looked. She smiled triumphantly. She then made
remarks of wanting to lose a few more pounds and received
replies from everyone that she did not need to lose any more
weight. Richard remembers vividly one conversation
showing her determination to continue to lose weight no matter
what. At this point she was 115 pounds and 5'4" tall
wanting to get down to 105 pounds.Evelyn Wallace voiced her
concern over Karen's
"diet" saying it may be an unheard of disease after
reading about a 12 year old girl who was dieting rigidly
with something called anorexia nervosa.
1974 was a very busy year for the Carpenters
with 203 concerts. Extensive touring in 1973-74 left the
duo with little time for recording new material. As a result,
the Carpenters did not issue a new album. The Carpenters
were also asked to perform at the White House in 1974 during
a state dinner. While Richard continued to play the piano
on their recordings, Karen's drum work became restricted
to their stage act.
In June of this year, Richard and Karen
decide to move into the Lubec Street house located in Downey,
Ca. This did not work out as great because the two of them
did not get along as well and Richard had mentioned that
Karen watched over him like their mother did while living
in the Newville house. Karen soon moved out and bought a
condo in which she did not move into until late 1976.
Lubec Street House
Newsletter #38 August 1974: Regretfully
we announce the passing at Lola Saunders,
the Carpenters Personal secretary. Lois drowned
in the Yosemite river on 23rd June. The Carpenter family,
colleagues at the fan club, and many prominent people connected
with the music world packed the chapel for the funeral service
of our dear friend Lois, who was a great
lady we will miss very much. I'm sure those of you who corresponded
with her will miss her cheerful letters. Our heartfelt sympathy
goes out to her husband Joe And their family. |
