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The Carpenters were a 1970s vocal and instrumental duo, consisting of siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter. 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.
Born in New Haven, Connecticut, (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. Richard had developed his interest in music at an early age, becoming a piano prodigy. The move to southern California was intended in part to foster his budding musical career. Karen, meanwhile, did not manifest her musical talents until high school, when she joined the band and soon mastered the drums.
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. In May 1966 Karen joined Richard in attending a late night session in the garage studio of L.A. bassist Joe Osborn , where Richard was to accompany an auditioning vocalist. Asked to sing, Karen performed and landed a short-lived recording contract as a solo artist with Osborn's flegling label Magic Lamp. 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.
During this period, the pair, joined by bassist friend Wes Jacobs , formed the Richard Carpenter Trio, a jazz instrumental group. Winning the Hollywood Bowl "Battle of the Bands" in 1966, the trio was picked up by the RCA label. The label chose not to release their songs, however, and doubting their commercial potential, RCA soon dropped the trio. Richard and Karen next teamed with four other student musicians from Long Beach State to form the sextet Spectrum. Although the new group landed club dates at such venues as the Whisky A Go-Go, no record deal was forthcoming. Nevertheless, the experience proved rewarding for the siblings, as Richard found a lyricist for his original compositions in fellow Spectrum member John Bettis .
After Spectrum folded, the Carpenters decided to continue as a duo, with Richard on keyboards, Karen on drums, and both contributing vocals. They sent out demo tapes and eventually attracted the attention of Herb Alpert, who signed the duo to his label, A&M RecordsA&M Records is a record label formed in 1962 by Jerry Moss and Herb Alpert. It began its life as Carnival Records in 1961, but after problems with an existing record label of that name, Alpert and Moss changed the name to "A&M. A&M releases were issued in, in 1969. Their initial LP, titled Offering, featured numerous selections that Richard had written or co-written during their Spectrum period. The most significant track on the album, though, was a ballad rendition of The BeatlesThe Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 as part of their first tour of the United States, promoting their first hit single there, " I Want To Hold Your Hand". The Beatles were one of the most influential music groups of the rock era. Initially they affected the post' 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.