In 1973, Karen Carpenter left Johnny Carson's audience in awe with a virtuoso singing and drumming medley
The talk show appearance turned into a legendary Carpenter's jam session.
Karen Carpenter on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson.
Karen and Richard Carpenter were the king and queen of AM soft rock in the 1970s. They were billed as clean-cut, all-American kids, and their sound matched the vibe, with Karen's beautiful voice and Richard's lush arrangements. The duo had three number-one hits, and 12 top-ten singles in America, including "Top of the World," "We've Only Just Begun," and "(They Long to Be) Close to You."
The group was unique because Karen both played drums and sang. It was rare for a woman to play the drums back in the 1960s and '70s, and even rarer for a band to have its drummer as the lead singer. As we'll see in a moment, Karen was exceptional as both a singer and a drummer. Karen started drumming in 1965 at Downey High School near Los Angeles, initially to get out of class, but she soon fell in love with playing the drums.
"That is such an overused line, but I started anyway," she said. "I picked up a pair of sticks, and it was the most natural-feeling thing I've ever done."
The Carpenters' 1973 performance on The Tonight Show
In 1973, at the height of their career, the Carpenters appeared on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, where they performed a medley of hits, including "Superstar," "Rainy Days and Mondays," and "Goodbye to Love," with Karen standing and singing while a session drummer played behind the kit.
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After the performance, the duo sat down with Carson to discuss the perils of touring before teeing up their final song, "Mr. Guder," a tune about a Disneyland manager who fired the siblings in 1967.
Karen Carpenter was an incredible drummer
What's incredible is that, on top of singing the song, she also takes intricate jazz solos and makes them look effortless. From this performance, it's easy to see why the band initially began as a jazz ensemble.
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When the Carpenters became big in 1969, Karen played drums during their entire live set, but audiences and critics complained that they had a hard time seeing her on stage. In 1971, management pushed her to front the band standing up, like a traditional lead singer. "Well, they finally got the message across to me; they want me to get up," she told Carson.
In 1968, billed as the Richard Carpenter Trio, Karen showed off her skills behind the kit in a performance of "Dancing in the Street" with her brother and his Cal State Long Beach schoolmate, bassist Wes Jacobs. At 2:43, Karen pulls off an incredible solo:
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The Carpenters continued to have success through the '70s, but as the decade drew to a close, Richard struggled with substance abuse, and Karen began to suffer the effects of a long-term eating disorder. Karen died on February 4, 1983, due to complications from anorexia nervosa.