Karen Carpenter had a magical voice with so much feeling. She displayed great control over her vocals and perfect pitch throughout her career. It came to her naturally and when you hear her sing, you can feel the sadness in her voice. The honesty.

While still in high school, Karen was encouraged to keep interest in singing by Richard. He would bring her to voice lessons with Frank Pooler on Saturdays. Richard saw the talent in Karen. Bruce Gifford, the Downey High School band instructor, saw changes in Karen's talent with her brother molding her. He said "She was never a solo singer here in school, but Richard saw the talent that was in her and brought it out of her. After Richard encouraged her, she sang with our group periodically. She was not really impressive at first, but Richard saw her potential and she'd do everything he said. And that's what Richard needed....someone to do what he wanted them to do."

By 1966, The Richard Carpenter Trio worked at weddings and dances while polishing their sound. Jacobs said, "Karen could sing and play drums at the same time, quite remarkably." She had always regarded herself as a drummer who sang.

In May of 1966, Karen just 16 years old, went to Joe Osborn's garage studio with Richard. As the night went on, Karen sang. Everyone fell in love with that voice. She recorded so well and her voice was said to be "wonderful from that first moment I (Joe Osborn) heard her."

In 1969, Herb Alpert with A & M Records heard their demo and fell in love. He said he had felt as if she were singing right to him. As Herb Albert said, "Karen's magical God-given voice gave the world a sound that will always be remembered." They were then signed with A & M and the rest is history.

Her good friend Olivia Newton-John states, "There's a kind of loneliness in her voice." "There's a warmth there, but also a kind of longing in it."

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