Karen Carpenter

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Karen Carpenter was the lead singer for the soft-rock duo the Carpenters, who scored a string of Top 10 hits in the early 70s, including (They Long to Be) Close to You, Weve Only Just Begun, Rainy Days and Mondays, and Yesterday Once More. Carpenter recorded one solo album in the late 70s, yet it was unreleased at the time. Following the recording of the record, she returned to the Carpenters, and they had one final Top 40 hit — Touch Me When Were Dancing — in 1981 before she tragically died of heart failure, brought on by anorexia nervosa, in February of 1983. Her unreleased solo album, titled Karen Carpenter, was finally released in the fall of 1996.