Hello Friends,
At long last here is Newsletter #87. Here's what's new. Believe it or not, Richard is nearing completion of his album. It is to be called Time and will be released in June. Time contains eleven selections, nine of which are original compositions. The project is produced and arranged by Richard who also handles seven of the albums lead vocals, as well as all background singing. Guest artist appearing on the album are Dusty Springfield, Dionne Warwick, and Herb Alpert who plays flugel horn on a song Richard wrote in Karen's memory entitled When Time Was All We Had. This selection is 95% a cappella. Richard feels that his and Karen's overdubbed harmonies were an integral part of the Carpenters' "sound" and thusly wanted the tribute song to be almost purely vocal. The cover, which features Richard with his 1962 Thunderbird Factory Sports Roadster, was photographed by Larry Williams, who also photographed Richard for the back of the Voice Of The Heart LP. A photograph from this "shoot" will be available through the Fan Club in the fall of this year. The album will be released simultaneously in long play, Compact Disc and cassette format.
On October 11th, over thirty friends and family members surprised Richard with a "40th" Birthday Party. The event was personally coordinated by Mary, who made sure there were many black balloons in addition to a delicious catered dinner.
Richard was asked to be Grand Marshall in the Downey Christmas Parade on December 7th. Mary appeared with him. Five of Richard's convertibles were used for the event including Harold's pride and joy, the 1965 Plymouth Satellite which was purchased by the family in February of that year. He of course piloted the automobile, with Agnes along for the ride.
Richard, Agnes, and Harold wish to thank all those fans who sent Christmas greeting. The Carpenters spent their Christmas holidays in Baltimore, Maryland visiting family. They were hoping for a white Christmas but unfortunately, Christmas 1986 in Baltimore was just wet.
For the third time in as many years, Richard performed with the United States Air Force orchestra at Constitution Hall in Washington DC The concert took place on February 8th. In addition to his own program, Richard was asked to narrate an extensive retrospective entitled "Those Nifty Fifties". Richard will also perform with the same organization at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California, on April 14th.
In all likelihood, Richard will again be appearing on the Children's Miracle Network Telethon. The show will air from 6:00 p.m. Pacific Time, Saturday May 30, until 3.00 p.m. on Sunday May 31. This year the show originates live from Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
The TV movie based on the Carpenters is still in the works with a third draft having been recently completed. We will keep you up-to-date on it's progress.
The Carpenters' Christmas Portrait song book is now being offered for sale through the Fan Club.
COMPACT DISC UP-DATE
The Carpenters' catalog in it's entirety has been released (with the exception of Carpenters) in Compact Disc format. Titles are as follows:
Major portions of Christmas Portrait and An Old Fashioned Christmas were combined into one Compact Disc entitled Christmas Portrait. The disc's playing time is approximately 70 minutes.
In celebration of A&M's 25th Anniversary the company is releasing a series of anthologies, 25 volumes, in Compact Disc format only. The Series is called "Classics". The Carpenters' "Classics" release is the Yesterday Once More album repackaged featuring a photograph of Karen and Richard taken in 1980 by Norman Seeff. This same photograph is being offered through the Fan Club.
A&M's affiliate in Japan, Canyon Records, is offering the entire Carpenters' catalog in Compact Disc format. Canyon Records has also released a "Gold Series" compilation package offered in all three formats (album, cassette, and Compact Disc) for Japan only in two volumes.
Honolulu City Lights, previously available only in the limited edition Anthology (Japan), has been released domestically as a single in A&M's "Memories" series (AM-8667) Flip side is I Just Fall In Love Again. The single has received extensive "AC" airplay.
The Carpenter family wishes to thank all those who continue to remember Karen with flowers and letters. Your thoughtfulness is appreciated. Until next time, EV.
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Last changed: Sun Sep 25 18:58:33 EDT 2005