Hey Friend,
After a decidedly un-stellar day, by the time I got to sit down and unwind last night I was spent.
I just wanted to escape into something that didn’t require me to do anything but listen and enjoy.
One of my co-workers had been listening to John Denver at the office (very uncharacteristic for this guy - he’s more of a Seether, Avenged Sevenfold, Creed type of guy). That was still rattling around in my head, so I needed to hear a little " Rocky Mountain High.”
Any time you end up on Youtube, there’s a good chance you’ll be pulled in other directions, so after hearing John sing, I ended up on a page with a documentary about The Carpenters I haven’t seen yet.
Just what the doctor ordered!
This is a BBC produced documentary with a great deal of commentary from Richard Carpenter. What made this different is the input from the record company founders responsible for recognizing the talent of Richard and Karen.
I never realized Herb Alpert was a co-founder of A&M Records. I knew him from his band Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, but we can thank him for giving The Carpenters the opportunity.
One story I particularly enjoyed was how Richard “found” Karen’s voice. She undoubtedly had a talent, but they hadn’t discovered the key that best suited her voice.
I’ve talked about how artist will transpose a song to fit the best range for the singer, and this story really drove it home for me how important it is to record in a key that fits the singers natural range.
It’s like that moment you realize you’ve just met your soulmate. You can’t explain the feeling, but you just know every star in the universe has aligned, just for you.
I’m not going to belabor the point - you’ll have to watch it for yourself. There are many good insights into the music business and performing to be found in this short film.
And incredible music.
Peace~
Dave
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