The Carpenter family founded the Karen A. Carpenter Memorial Foundation after she passed in order to raise awareness about anorexia nervosa. The organization raises money that goes toward research and treatment. As the foundation has evolved, so has its name.
The name is now The Carpenter Family Foundation, and it funds a wide variety of initiatives that combat the wider issue of eating disorders. Programs include education, entertainment facilities, and even art programs.
The Carpenters Played the White House
With 11 gold records between them, the Carpenters were invited to perform at the White House annual State Dinner in May of 1973. President Richard Nixon appreciated the duo for more than just their music. Maybe he was drawn to them as Southern California neighbors, too, but he took the opportunity to have them as guests and praise them for their contributions to cancer research.
Karen, 22-years-old at the time, chaired the national youth American Cancer Society. It was a huge honor for the adorable sibling duo, but it didn’t help their goody-two-shoes reputation, or as Richard called it, “goody-four-shoes.”
Superstars Rarely Escape the Stress of Fame
The Carpenters experienced their fair share of celebrity’s dark underside. With Karen obsessing over her self-image and Richard struggling too, they toured all over the world and sold 100 million records.
All that success didn’t add up to peace of mind. Unfortunately for Karen, like so many other pop stars, it was deadly.
A Domineering Mother
Karen and Richard’s upbringing seemed perfect. They came from a wholesome, close-knit family with conservative values and traditional appearance. It looked very loving, but for some reason, Karen felt unloved. Agnes was a domineering matriarch who caused Karen frustration and emptiness where the love she craved should have been.
She was often described as being stressed-out, controlling, and uptight with an inability to express love to Karen. A new book by Randy Schmidt, 'Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter', claims the mother-daughter relationship led to Karen’s death.
Superstar
One of the Carpenters’ greatest hits, permeating the airwaves then and conjuring up nostalgia now, is 'Superstar'. The gentle ballad is about a girl falling for a rock star she rendezvouses with and never sees again but waits in hopeful delusion for his return. It was written by Leon Russell and Bonnie Bramlett who released it in 1969. They called it “Groupie (Superstar).” It didn’t catch Richard’s attention until Bette Midler performed it on 'The Tonight Show'. He altered lyrics like, “And I can hardly wait to sleep with you again” to “. . . be with you again.”
Karen, for her part, didn’t like the song at first. In a 1981 interview, she said, “For some reason, that tune didn’t hit me in the beginning,” adding, “It’s the only one. Richard looked at me like I had three heads. He said: ‘Are you out of your mind?’. Karen went on to say that once she'd heard Richard's arrangements, the song actually became one of her favorites.