One of my favorite acts growing up was Carpenters. (Yes, that is what they wanted to be known as. Not “The” Carpenters.” Check their logo.) I was into much wilder stuff. But then I saw Karen Carpenter sitting at her drum kit and singing this beautiful song. She wasn’t doing anything except keeping time with her hi hat. That was incredible to me! I’d never seen a woman play the drums before. I never knew she played drums. I never knew she had such a beautiful voice. I never knew how pretty she was! That was it. I was hooked…And still am!
Now, drumming to me is everything. Not necessarily solos. I usually leave that to the guitars. But good drumming is essential to any song and by “good drumming” I mean playing what’s needed and being in the moment. The same is true of all instruments, but it’s the drums that keep it running smoothly.
A couple of months ago, I ran across Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster in Rolling Stone magazine making fun of “Ticket to Ride” by The Carpenters (Logo or not, it just sounds more natural with “The” in front of it.). He compared the experience to being in a nightmare where you can’t run fast enough when you’re being chased. Well, the drumming on that song is rather reserved but that’s the arrangement. In other words, he hadn’t done his homework. Well, someone put together a GREAT clip of Karen Carpenter doing what she loved to do most. There’s some incredible playing in this montage!
If you were paying attention in the drumming clips, there were some sequences where you also saw Richard Carpenter at his best, too. The two were both immensely talented. Richard did most of the arranging for the group and co-wrote many of their hits, but here is a little video that gave him a chance to show off his classical influence.
And I just couldn’t resist putting this early clip of both Richard & Karen rocking out on “Dancing in the Streets”:
