Carpenters

A 1989 TV movie, The Karen Carpenter Story, produced with Richard's cooperation, gained favorable notices and reached a wide audience. Costello released another album in July of that year: "The Delivery Man", a rock album recorded in Oxford, Miss. Although numerous critics found Karen's portrayal to be sympathetic, the film depicted the Carpenter family in an unflattering light, and Richard prevailed in pulling the film from distribution on the basis that Carpenters tracks were used on the soundtrack without permission. It was released on CD in October by Deutsche Grammophon. In 1987 he intervened to limit the distribution of the Todd Haynes short film Superstar - The Karen Carpenter Story (using Barbie dolls to relate a perspective on Karen's untimely death). A range of musical moods and styles are used to represent the different elements of the cast - satyrical pomp for the courtiers, jazz for the faeries, and for Bottom a deliberately intrusive "brass band" motif. His dedication to protecting the Carpenters' image and recording legacy has sparked criticism from some quarters, as Richard has insisted on substantial project oversight as the price for his cooperation in any documentary or drama focusing on them. Whilst composing it, Costello deliberately avoided listening to the previous interpretations by Mendelssohn and Britten in order to ensure his own originality.

Following Karen's death, Richard Carpenter has continued to produce recordings of the duo's music, including several albums of previously unreleased material and numerous compilation albums. The work, a ballet after Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream, was commissioned by Italian dance troupe Aterballeto, and received critical acclaim. The years of dieting and abuse proved too much strain on her heart, however, and on February 4, 1983, Karen suffered cardiac arrest at her parents' home in Downey and was pronounced dead at Downey Memorial Hospital at the age of only 32. In July 2004 Costello's first full-scale orchestral work, Il Sogno, was performed in New York. In 1982, Karen sought therapy with noted psychotherapist Steven Levenkron in New York City for her disorder and returned to California later that year determined to regain her professional career. In 2004, the song "Scarlet Tide" (co-written by Costello and T-Bone Burnett and used in the film Cold Mountain) was nominated for an Academy Award. Personal troubles, however, dimmed the prospects of this modest return to the charts, as Karen suffered a failed marriage and the ongoing effects of her anorexia. In December, Costello and Krall married at the London estate of Elton John.

(The solo LP remained unreleased until 1996.) Their LP Made in America, released in 1981, spawned a final top 20 hit single, "Touch Me When We're Dancing". September saw the release of North, an album of piano-based ballads. The resulting product, however, met a tepid response from Richard and A&M executives in early 1980, and Karen wavered in her dedication to the project. Ultimately, she abandoned the solo effort in favor of launching a new LP with her brother, now fully recovered from his addiction. In May, his engagement to Canadian jazz singer and pianist Diana Krall was announced. Her choice of more adult-oriented and dance-tempo material represented an effort to retool their image. In March 2003, Elvis Costello & The Attractions were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Karen, meanwhile, decided to pursue a solo album project with renowned producer Phil Ramone in New York. In 2002 he released a new album, When I Was Cruel, and toured with a new band, the Imposters (the Attractions with a different bass player, Davey Farragher, formerly of Cracker).

Richard sought treatment for his addiction at a Topeka, Kansas, facility in early 1979. He produced and appeared on an album of songs for opera singer Anne Sofie von Otter, For The Stars. and Japan. Richard, meanwhile, developed an addiction to Quaaludes, which began to affect his performance in the late 1970s and led to the end of the duo's live concert appearances in 1978. In 2001, Costello began teaching music at UCLA and wrote the music for a new ballet. Karen dieted obsessively and developed the disorder anorexia nervosa, which first manifested itself in 1975, when an exhausted and emaciated Karen was forced to cancel concert tours in the U.K. For the 25th anniversary of Saturday Night Live, Costello was invited to the program, where he re-enacted his abrupt song-switch: This time, however, he interrupted the Beastie Boys' "Sabotage", and they acted as his backing group for "Radio, Radio". By the mid-1970s, extensive touring and lengthy recording sessions had begun to take their toll on the duo and contributed to their professional difficulties during the latter half of the decade. That collaboration led the pair to write and record an album together, Painted From Memory, released in 1998 under his new contract with Mercury Records.

(A second Christmas collection, An Old Fashioned Christmas, was released in 1984 after Karen's death.) Their television specials also garnered solid ratings and kept them before the public eye during the late 1970s. He collaborated with Burt Bacharach in 1996 on a song called "God Give Me Strength" for the movie Grace of My Heart. A second Singles album (covering the years 1974-1978) was released in the U.K., while in the States, their 1978 holiday album, A Christmas Portrait, proved an exception to their faltering career at home and became a seasonal favorite. This was the final album of his Warner Bros. contract. Despite their disappointing performance on domestic charts, the Carpenters continued to enjoy enormous popularity. An album of cover songs recorded 5 years previously was released in 1995, Kojak Variety, followed in 1996 by an album of songs he had originally written for other artists, All This Useless Beauty. charts, and the album failed to cross the gold threshold of 500,000 copies sold in the States. Costello would return to rock and roll the following year with a project that reunited him with The Attractions, Brutal Youth.

Although the single release of "Calling Occupants" became a top ten hit in the U.K., it stalled at number 32 on the U.S. In 1993, Costello tested the waters of classical music with a critically acclaimed collaboration with the Brodsky Quartet on The Juliet Letters. The most notable tracks included cover versions of "Don't Cry For Me, Argentina" (from the rock opera Evita), and Klaatu's "Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft", both complete with choral and orchestral accompaniment. In 1991 Costello released the aforementioned Mighty Like A Rose, during which time he infamously grew a long beard. The LP featured an unlikely mix of Latin rock, calypso, and pop, and included the Top 40 hit "All You Get From Love is a Love Song". In 1989, he appeared on the HBO special, Roy Orbison and Friends, A Black and White Night that featured his long-time idol, Roy Orbison and was invited back to Saturday Night Live for the first time since 1977. Their more experimental album, Passage, released in 1977, marked an attempt to broaden their appeal by venturing into other musical genres. They wrote a number of songs together including Costello's "Veronica" and "Pads, Paws and Claws" from Spike (1989), "So Like Candy" and "Playboy to a Man" from Mighty Like A Rose (1991) and McCartney's "My Brave Face", "Don't Be Careless Love", "That Day Is Done" and "You Want Her Too" from Flowers in the Dirt, and "The Lovers That Never Were" and "Mistress and Maid" from Off The Ground.

The follow-up single, the Carpenter-Bettis song "I Need to Be in Love" charted no higher than 25, while the novelty song "Goofus" failed to reach the Top 40 entirely. In 1987, Costello, with a new contract with Warner Bros., began a long running songwriting collaboration with Paul McCartney. The duo's highest charting single that year was a cover of Herman's Hermits' "There's a Kind of Hush", which peaked at number 12. It also marked the return of producer Nick Lowe, who had produced Costello's first five albums. Their singles releases in 1976 likewise followed a pattern of diminishing returns. Later that year, he returned to the studio with the Attractions and recorded Blood and Chocolate, heralded for a post-punk fervor not heard since 1978's This Year's Model. The LPs Horizon and A Kind of Hush, released in 1975 and 1976 respectively, achieved "gold" status but failed to peak as high as previous efforts. Around this time he legally changed his name back to Declan McManus, adding Aloysius as an extra middle name.

Both singles appeared on the LP Horizon, which also included covers of The Eagles' "Desperado" and Neil Sedaka's "Solitaire", which became a moderate hit for the duo that year. Working in the US with Burnett, a band containing a number of Elvis Presley's sidemen (including James Burton and Jerry Scheff) and minor input from the Attractions he produced King Of America, an acoustic guitar-driven album with a country sound, augmented by some of his best songs for some time. Later that spring the pair scored a final top five hit with the Carpenter-Bettis song "Only Yesterday". By 1986, Costello was preparing to make his comeback. charts in January 1975, becoming the duo's third and final number one single. In 1985, Costello teamed up with good friend T-Bone Burnett for a single called "The People's Limousine" under the moniker of The Coward Brothers. That year, Costello also produced Rum, Sodomy and the Lash for the punk/folk band the Pogues. Released in late 1974, the single soared to #1 on the U.S. The retirement, although short-lived, was accompanied by two compilations, Elvis Costello: The Man in the UK, Europe and Australia and The Best Of Elvis Costello in the USA.

Postman". However, even though this is generally regarded as one his worst records, some songs such as "The Comedians" (which was quoted in Alan Moore's seminal comic series Watchmen) are very highly regarded. In early 1975 the Carpenters scaled the charts with a remake of the Marvelettes' hit "Please Mr. With a number of poor songs, and with even the better ones damaged by muddy production, the record was slated on release, an opinion which even many of Costello's most ardent fans still share. In late 1974 a Christmas single followed, a jazz-influenced rendition of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town". Costello would later say of this record that they had "got it as wrong as you can in terms of the execution". charts. Tensions within the band were beginning to tell, and with Costello starting to feel burnt out he announced his retirement and the disbandment of the group shortly before they were to record Goodbye Cruel World (1984).

Instead the pair chose for single release the Williams-Nichols composition, "I Won't Last a Day Without You." Originally recorded as an album track for 1972's Song for You LP, the single version became the fifth and final selection from that album project to chart in the Top 20, reaching #11 on the U.S. Punch the Clock also generated an international hit in the single "Everyday I Write the Book," aided by a prophetic music video featuring lookalikes of the Prince and Princess of Wales undergoing domestic strife in a suburban home. As a result, the Carpenters did not issue a new album in 1974. (The electorate were seemingly not swayed.). Extensive touring in 1973-74 left the duo with little time for recording new material. Equally political was "Pills And Soap" -- a UK hit for Costello himself under the pseudonym of "The Imposter" -- an attack on the changes in British society brought on by Thatcherism, released to coincide with the run-up to the 1983 UK general election. In 1973, the Carpenters were voted Best Band, Duo, or Group (Pop/Rock) at the first annual American Music Awards. (An affecting, emotive cover version of the song was a minor UK hit for former Soft Machine drummer and political activist, Robert Wyatt).

The recording industry, however, bestowed awards on the duo, who won three Grammy Awards during their career (including Best New Artist, and Best Pop Performance by a Duo, Group, or Chorus, for "Close to You" in 1970; and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group for the LP Carpenters in 1971). Clive Langer, who co-produced with Alan Winstanley, provided Costello with a melody which eventually became "Shipbuilding", an oblique and articulate look at the political contradictions of the Falklands War, with the military build-up providing jobs for the struggling shipyards of Britain; the song featured a striking solo by Chet Baker. With their output focused on ballads and mid-tempo pop, the duo's music was often dismissed by critics as bland and "saccharine". 1983 saw another sidetrack with the Pop-Soul of Punch the Clock, featuring female backing vocals courtesy of Afrodiziak and a four piece brass section, The TKO Horns, alongside The Attractions. The Carpenters' popularity often confounded critics. Featuring a superior set of songs - both musically and lyrically - it remains one of his most critically acclaimed records but again failed to produce any hit singles. In May 1973 the Carpenters accepted an invitation to perform at the White House for President Richard Nixon and visiting West German chancellor Willy Brandt. Imperial Bedroom (1982) marked a much darker, almost baroque sound for Costello, due in large part to the production of Geoff Emerick, famed for engineering several Beatles records.

In 1971 the duo appeared in a television special on the BBC in the United Kingdom and were the featured performers in a summer replacement series, Make Your Own Kind of Music, which aired on NBC-TV in the U.S. (Jazz Trumpeter Chet Baker would later perform and record a beautifully morose version of this song.). Among their numerous television credits were appearances on such popular series as American Bandstand, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson, and the Carol Burnett Show. Almost Blue did spawn a surprise UK hit single in a version of George Jones' "Good Year For The Roses." Although the album was entitled Almost Blue it didn't include the song by that name, which would appear on 1982's Imperial Bedroom release. To promote their recordings, the Carpenters maintained a staggering schedule of concert tours and television appearances during this period. Receiving mixed reviews, some of which accused Costello of growing soft, the record was released with a sticker bearing the message:. Several of his compositions with lyricist John Bettis became hit records, including "Goodbye to Love", "Yesterday Once More", and "Top of the World". Following the commercial disappointment of Trust, Costello took a break from songwriting and the band decamped to Nashville to record Almost Blue, an album of country music ballads written by the likes of Merle Haggard ("Tonight The Bottle Let Me Down") and Gram Parsons ("How Much I Lied").

To his role as vocalist, keyboardist, and arranger, Richard added that of composer on numerous tracks. Despite its eclecticism ("Different Finger" had a distinct country feel) and pop hooks, Trust was not a major success and the first album since his debut to generate no hit singles. The duo produced a distinctive sound featuring Karen's expressive contralto on lead vocals, with both siblings contributing background vocals that were overdubbed to create densely layered harmonies. 1981's Trust had a more pop sound, but the overall result was clearly affected by the growing tensions within the band, particularly between Bruce and Pete Thomas. During the first half of the 1970s, the Carpenters' music was a staple of Top 40 playlists. Lyrically, the songs are full of Costello's signature wordplay, to the point that he later felt he'd become something of a self-parody and toned it down on later releases. alone. The brevity of the songs (20 tracks in about 45 minutes) suited the band's new style (the Thomas' typically melodic rhythm section and Nieve's reasonable impersonation of Booker T) as well as the frantic and stressful conditions under which it was written and recorded, crammed between live dates and fuelled by excessive drinking.

and the United Kingdom and became one of the bestselling albums of the decade, ultimately selling more than 7,000,000 copies in the U.S. It would be the first, and - along with King Of America - possibly most successful, of Costello's many experiments with genres beyond those with which he is normally associated (the single, "I Can't Stand Up For Falling Down" was an old Sam and Dave song, though Costello increased the tempo considerably). A greatest hits LP, titled The Singles: 1969-1973, topped the charts in the U.S. Possibly as another statement of his oft-stated debt to black music, Costello and the Attractions' next album, Get Happy!! was an inventive pastiche of new wave pop and soul music. "Top of the World", an album selection on the Song for You LP, was covered by country artist Lynn Anderson, became a word-of-mouth hit and was re-recorded for single release in 1973, reaching number one on the Top 40 late that year. A contrite Costello apologised at a press conference, claiming that he had been drunk, and had said it only to annoy Bramlett (at which he was successful, since Bramlett punched him in the face). A string of hit singles and albums kept the Carpenters on the charts through the early 1970s, including "For All We Know", "Rainy Days and Mondays", and "Superstar" (all from the LP, Carpenters) in 1971; "Hurting Each Other", "It's Going to Take Some Time", and "Goodbye to Love" (from the LP, A Song for You) in 1972; "Sing" and "Yesterday Once More" (from the LP, Now and Then) in 1973. His success in the US was severely dented, however when Costello called Ray Charles a "blind, ignorant nigger" during an argument with Bonnie Bramlett in an Ohio bar (the comment being particularly odd, since Elvis worked extensively in Britain's "Rock Against Racism" campaign both before and after).

The single scored high on the holiday charts in 1970 and made repeat appearances on the charts in subsequent years. Costello also found time in 1979 to produce the debut album for ska band The Specials. The duo rounded out the year with a holiday release, "Merry Christmas Darling", which Richard co-wrote with Frank Pooler, who had been the duo's choral director at Long Beach State. Both the album and the single "Oliver's Army", with a piano hook self-admittedly borrowed from Abba's "Dancing Queen", went to No.2 in the UK. A follow-up recording, "We've Only Just Begun" (written by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols), reached #2 to become the duo's second major hit in the fall of 1970, and helped catapult the album featuring both hits (titled Close to You) to bestseller status. Inspired by the constant touring, the band were in fine form and Elvis had further honed his lyrical wit, tackling subjects both personal and political. The Carpenters achieved their breakthrough in 1970 with the release of the Burt Bacharach-Hal David song, "(They Long to Be) Close to You", which rose to #1 and stayed atop the charts for four weeks. 1979 would see the peak of Costello's commercial success with the release of the album Armed Forces (originally titled "Emotional Fascism").

The most significant track on the album, though, was a ballad rendition of The Beatles' hit "Ticket to Ride", which soon became a minor hit for the Carpenters, and the LP was subsequently retitled Ticket to Ride with somewhat improved sales. He was banned from Saturday Night Live for nearly fifteen years, and didn't appear on any American television programs for several years. Their initial LP, titled Offering, featured numerous selections that Richard had written or co-written during their Spectrum period. Costello has also stated that he thought "Less Than Zero" would not make much sense to American audiences. They sent out demo tapes and eventually attracted the attention of Herb Alpert, who signed the duo to his label, A&M Records, in 1969. During rehearsal, he and the Attractions played "Less Than Zero" but when the live performance came, Costello played the introduction for that song, then--to the shock of the program's producers--he stopped the song, apologized to the audience, then broke into a rendition of "Radio, Radio" depite being asked not to play the song because of its anti-corporate message. After Spectrum folded, the Carpenters decided to continue as a duo, with Richard on keyboards, Karen on drums, and both contributing vocals. In 1977, Costello appeared on Saturday Night Live.

Nevertheless, the experience proved rewarding for the siblings, as Richard found a lyricist for his original compositions in fellow Spectrum member John Bettis. A tour of the US and Canada also saw the release of the much bootlegged promo-only "Live At The El Mocambo" which finally saw an official release as part of the "2 1/2 Years" boxset in 1993. Although the new group landed club dates at such venues as the Whisky A Go-Go, no record deal was forthcoming. Following a whirlwind tour with other Stiff artists (captured on the Live Stiffs album, notable for Costello's recording of the Burt Bacharach standard "I Just Don't Know What To Do With Myself") the band recorded This Year's Model (1978), a frenetic record filled with raucous energy and Costello's barbed lyrics. Stand-out tracks include the British hit "(I Don't Want To Go To) Chelsea" and "Lipstick Vogue", on which the rhythm section excel. Richard and Karen next teamed with four other student musicians from Long Beach State to form the sextet Spectrum. He released his first major hit single, the cinematic "Watching The Detectives", recorded with Nieve, plus Steve Goulding (drums) & Andrew Bodnar (bass), both members of Graham Parker & The Rumour. The label chose not to release their songs, however, and doubting their commercial potential, RCA soon dropped the trio. The same year, Costello recruited his own band, The Attractions (Steve Nieve, born Steve Nason, piano; Bruce Thomas, bass guitar and Pete Thomas drums; the Thomases are unrelated).

Winning the Hollywood Bowl "Battle of the Bands" in 1966, the trio was picked up by the RCA label. 14 in the UK and Top 40 in the US) with Costello appearing on the cover in his trademark glasses bearing a striking resemblance to Buddy Holly. Its release saw Costello marketed by Stiff as a new wave artist or a punk, despite the fact that the album featured the ballad "Alison" (one of his most enduring songs). During this period, the pair, joined by bassist friend Wes Jacobs, formed the Richard Carpenter Trio, a jazz instrumental group. Costello's first album, My Aim Is True (1977) was a moderate commercial success (No. The resulting single included two of Richard's compositions, "Looking for Love" and "I'll Be Yours", but the label soon folded, bringing this promising start to a close. His manager at Stiff, Jake Riviera suggested a name change (using Presley's first name and his mother's maiden name to form "Elvis Costello") and teamed him with a country/soft rock band named "Clover" (who would later back Huey Lewis as 'The News'). Asked to sing, Karen performed and landed a short-lived recording contract as a solo artist with Osborn's flegling label Magic Lamp. On the basis of a demo tape, he was signed to Stiff Records.

bassist Joe Osborn, where Richard was to accompany an auditioning vocalist. McManus worked a number of dead-end jobs, during which time he continued to write songs, and began aggressively looking for a solo recording contract, which led to an incident in which he was arrested while busking outside a conference of record executives. In May 1966 Karen joined Richard in attending a late night session in the garage studio of L.A. It was there that he formed his first band, Flip City, which had a style very much in the pub rock vein. They lasted until 1975–1976, by which time McManus was living in London with a wife and child. During the mid to late 1960s, the two attempted to launch a musical career but failed to gain a successful recording deal until the decade's end. Born into a musical family (his father, Ross McManus, sang with Joe Loss), McManus moved with his mother to Liverpool in 1971. Karen, meanwhile, did not manifest her musical talents until high school, when she joined the band and soon mastered the drums. His output has been wildly diverse: One critic has written that "Costello, the pop encyclopedia, can reinvent the past in his own image."[1] (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:ly09kect7q70~T1).

The move to southern California was intended in part to foster his budding musical career. He was an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s, and later became associated with the punk rock and new wave musical genres, before establishing himself as a unique and original voice in the 1980s. Richard had developed his interest in music at an early age, becoming a piano prodigy. Declan Patrick Aloysius McManus (born August 25, 1954), better known by his stage name, Elvis Costello, is a popular British musician, singer, and songwriter of Irish descent. Born in New Haven, Connecticut, USA, (Richard on October 15, 1946, and Karen on March 2, 1950), the Carpenter siblings moved with their parents to California in 1963 and settled in the Los Angeles suburb of Downey. 2003 Academy Award nomination for best original song The Scarlet Tide in Cold Mountain. With their brand of melodic pop, they charted a score of hit recordings on the American Top 40, becoming leading exponents of the "soft rock" or adult contemporary genre and ranking among the foremost recording artists of the decade. 2001 Prison Song, as a public defender and a teacher.

The Carpenters were a 1970s vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter. 1999 as himself in 200 Cigarettes. Ray Coleman; The Carpenters: The Untold Story; Harper Collins Publishers; ISBN 0-06-018345-4 (1st edition, paperback, 1994). 1999 as himself in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, performing with Burt Bacharach. 1997 as himself in Spice World. 1987 as 'Hives the Butler' in Alex Cox film Straight to Hell, starring Joe Strummer and Courtney Love.

1985 as inept magician 'Rosco de Ville' in Alan Bleasdale film No Surrender. 1984 as 'Henry Scully' in UK TV series Scully. 1979 film debut as 'The Earl of Manchester' in Americathon. 2004 - A Tribute to Elvis Costello - Patrik Tanner.

2003 - The Elvis Costello Songbook - Bonnie Brett. 2002 - Almost You: The Songs of Elvis Costello - (various artists). 1998 - Bespoke Songs, Lost Dogs, Detours & Rendezvous - (various artists). 2003 - Singles, Volume 3.

2003 - Singles, Volume 2. 2003 - Singles, Volume 1. 1993 - 2½ Years. 1987 - Out of Our Idiot.

1980 - Ten Bloody Marys & Ten How's Your Fathers. 1980 - Taking Liberties. 2004 - Il Sogno. 2004 - The Delivery Man.

2003 - North. 2002 - When I Was Cruel. 1998 - Painted from Memory, with Burt Bacharach. 1996 - Costello & Nieve.

1996 - All This Useless Beauty. 1995 - Kojak Variety. 1994 - Brutal Youth. 1993 - The Juliet Letters.

1991 - Mighty Like a Rose. 1989 - Spike. 1986 - Blood and Chocolate. 1986 - King of America.

1984 - Goodbye Cruel World. 1983 - Punch the Clock. 1982 - Imperial Bedroom. 1981 - Almost Blue.

1981 - Trust. 1980 - Get Happy!!. 1979 - Armed Forces. 1978 - This Year's Model.

1977 - My Aim Is True.