Richard Carpenter

Richard Carpenter (October 15, 1946) is an American singer, pianist and half of the popular singing duo The Carpenters. During the early 1970s the group scored hits like "(They Long To Be) Close To You", "We've Only Just Begun", "Goodbye To Love", "Yesterday Once More", "Top Of The World" and "Only Yesterday".

In June 1975 during Billboard Magazine's First International Talent Forum in Los Angeles Richard Carpenter had been invited to seak at the seminar. During his speech he mentioned to the crowd that het was personally responsible for every aspect of the Carpenters' song arrangements and repertoire. Then he asked the crowd how he could be considered so "straitlaced", when he and his sister owned every record by the Mothers of Invention? Frank Zappa was also in the audience that night.

“Frank was a talented fellow. I really liked the way he played the guitar, and I liked his take on certain cultural and sociological issues; he had a marvelously sardonic sense of humor. We saw each other very briefly in the 'Green Room' before going out to answer a few questions.” (Richard Carpenter in an Answers Archive on the Carpenters' fan page. (http://www.richardandkarencarpenter.com/fans_ask_Archive-All.htm)

See also

• COURRIER, Kevin, "Dangerous Kitchen: The Subversive World of Zappa",ECW Press, 2002, page 1-2.
• Wikipedia article about Richard Carpenter