Hi Fans!

November brought another honor to our famous duo. A telegram from Jack Haley and Danny Thomas, informed them they had been voted MUSICAL GROUP OF THE YEAR by the American Guide of Variety Artists. The award will be presented on a major T.V. Special on CBS, hosted by Ed Sullivan on Saturday, December 11th.

Sunday, December 5th, Richard and Karen will be Grand Marshalls of the Downey Christmas Parade. Two days hence will be Carpenter Day in Downey, with a full schedule planned for the popular Carpenters. There will be a visit to a local hospital, signing autographs for sick patients, a tree planting ceremony in a local park, a tour of the Work Training Center, a luncheon hosted by the Downey Rotary Club, and a tour of the Downey Theater where a reception will be given in their honor. At the theater they will initiate a "Wall of Fame" by presenting two Gold Records to the City of Downey. Sounds exciting doesn't it? Richard and Karen are extremely pleased and share feeling of humble pride to have this great honor bestowed upon them.

They look forward to taping their second show as guests of Carol Burnett during the first week of January. Check your T.V. Guide for airing date.

Although the November tour has ended, Richard and Karen are still back East visiting aunts and uncles. By the time you read this newsletter, they will be winging their way home to cut another album.

Here is a brief question and answer session which may interest you.

Q. Is Carpenter their real name? A: Yes. Richard Lynn and Karen Anne Carpenter.

Q: Do they have any brothers or sisters? A: NO

Q: Do either of them have any nick names? A: Believe it nor not - NO. Karen sometimes refers to Richard as Rich.

Q: What type of clothes do they prefer? A: Casual-Neat-Clean.

Q: Who is their favorite group? A: The Beatles.

Q: How did the Carpenters get started in show biz? A: By making home-made tapes in Joe Osborne's garage, and sending or taking them to various recording companies. They were turned away many times because their music was 'too pretty.

Q: Did they ever take voice lessons? A: They both took choir at Long Beach State College.

Q: What made Karen decide to play drums? A: It was an inborn talent she was unaware she possessed until she played snare drum in the high school marching band to avoid taking gym classes.

Q: Do they ever play for high school proms? A: No. They are not a dance band. They are entertainers.

Q: Do they play any high school performances? A: No. Most high school budgets do not allow for big name entertainers.

Q: Will Merry Christmas Darling be released again this year? A: It is on the market now. Have you local music store manager order it for you if you don't see it in the stores.

That's about it for this time. Let us know if you would like another question and answer session next year.

Richard and Karen join their family in wishing each and every one of you a VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS, AND VERY HAPPY 1972.

That goes for me too.

EV.

Last changed: Mon May 23 22:32:33 EDT 2005