The Carpenters
 Clean-cut siblings Richard and Karen Carpenter hit upon a
wholesome boy-and-girl-next-door image to counter the wave of
heavy rock of the late 60s.
Karen's pin-sharp contralto voice was the ideal instrument for
the duo's run of chart hits, beginning with 1970's US Number
1 (They Long To Be) Close To You.
While frequently critically vilified for their
middle-of-the-road soft pop, Karen Carpenter's ethereal, often
wounded tone was always immaculate.
Despite Karen's much-publicised anorexia and Richard's
prescription drug addiction, The Carpenters seemed as American as
apple pie in the 70s.
Even Richard Nixon approved of their twee
image and gentle MOR pop, inviting them to play at the White House
in 1973.
 Three years later, their Japanese tour became the largest
grossing the country had seen up to that point.
On 4 February 1983 - less than a month before she would have
reached her 33rd birthday - Karen Carpenter was found
unconscious at her parents home in Downey, California.
She was rushed to hospital but never regained consciousness.
The coroner in Los Angeles who conducted the post mortem gave
the cause of death as 'heartbeat irregularities brought on by
chemical imbalances associated with anorexia'.
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