Day #29 of the 30 Day Song Challenge
Sep. 1st, 2020 09:08 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatIt's Day #29 of the 30 Day Song Challenge - a song you remember from your childhood. (As opposed to one from your pre-teen years? Honestly, maybe it's just me but some of these feel like repeats. Also, since my childhood was basically the 1970s, it also fits a song from the 70s..)
I don't tend to remember the titles of most songs I listen to or the artists - unless they hit an emotional memory or historical note, then yes, I remember them.
I had a music box as a child that played this SONG. I think I got it from one of my Aunts, most likely Aunt K. It was a small music box with a Degas painting of a ballerina on the front, gold trim and legs, and when you opened it, a little ballerina would dance to the song linked above and below. I had that music box until I was in my twenties. I think it finally fell apart. I'd put little earrings in it.
A note on the song and the musicians, they aren't known as well now.
The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (b. 1946).[a] They produced a distinct soft musical style, combining Karen's contralto vocals with Richard's harmonizing, arranging and composition skills. During their 14-year career, the Carpenters recorded ten albums, along with numerous singles and several television specials.
The siblings were born in New Haven, Connecticut, and moved to Downey, California, in 1963. Richard took piano lessons as a child, progressing to California State University, Long Beach, while Karen learned the drums. They first performed together as a duo in 1965 and formed the jazz-oriented Richard Carpenter Trio followed by the middle-of-the-road group Spectrum. Signing as Carpenters to A&M Records in 1969, they achieved major success the following year with the hit singles "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and "We've Only Just Begun". Subsequently, the duo's brand of melodic pop produced a record-breaking run of hit recordings on the American Top 40 and Adult Contemporary charts, and they became leading sellers in the soft rock, easy listening and adult contemporary music genres. The Carpenters had three number-one singles and five number-two singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and fifteen number-one hits on the Adult Contemporary chart, in addition to twelve top-10 singles. They have sold more than 90 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time. The duo toured continually during the 1970s, which put them under increased strain; Richard took a year off in 1979 after he had become addicted to Quaalude, while Karen suffered from anorexia nervosa.
Their career together ended in 1983 when Karen died from heart failure brought on by complications of anorexia. Extensive news coverage surrounding these circumstances increased public awareness of eating disorders. Though the Carpenters were criticized for their clean-cut and wholesome conservative image in the 1970s, their music has since been re-evaluated, attracting critical acclaim and continued commercial success.
But as a child, I had all their albums. I listened to them endlessly on the radio. As did my friends. I think we were all 6-9 years of age at the time.
My Aunts loved them as well - my Aunts or father's youngest sisters (he only had three sisters) - were all about 12-15 years older than I was. They were teenagers when I was a child, and babysat us frequently. I was closest to my Aunt K.
We were small and hopeful back then. Like the song.
Now, I'm big and cynical...and scared...and hope...sigh, hope feels like a light at the end of a very very long tunnel sometimes. So this song, you see, holds a special place in my heart.
I don't tend to remember the titles of most songs I listen to or the artists - unless they hit an emotional memory or historical note, then yes, I remember them.
I had a music box as a child that played this SONG. I think I got it from one of my Aunts, most likely Aunt K. It was a small music box with a Degas painting of a ballerina on the front, gold trim and legs, and when you opened it, a little ballerina would dance to the song linked above and below. I had that music box until I was in my twenties. I think it finally fell apart. I'd put little earrings in it.
A note on the song and the musicians, they aren't known as well now.
The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (b. 1946).[a] They produced a distinct soft musical style, combining Karen's contralto vocals with Richard's harmonizing, arranging and composition skills. During their 14-year career, the Carpenters recorded ten albums, along with numerous singles and several television specials.
The siblings were born in New Haven, Connecticut, and moved to Downey, California, in 1963. Richard took piano lessons as a child, progressing to California State University, Long Beach, while Karen learned the drums. They first performed together as a duo in 1965 and formed the jazz-oriented Richard Carpenter Trio followed by the middle-of-the-road group Spectrum. Signing as Carpenters to A&M Records in 1969, they achieved major success the following year with the hit singles "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and "We've Only Just Begun". Subsequently, the duo's brand of melodic pop produced a record-breaking run of hit recordings on the American Top 40 and Adult Contemporary charts, and they became leading sellers in the soft rock, easy listening and adult contemporary music genres. The Carpenters had three number-one singles and five number-two singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and fifteen number-one hits on the Adult Contemporary chart, in addition to twelve top-10 singles. They have sold more than 90 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling music artists of all time. The duo toured continually during the 1970s, which put them under increased strain; Richard took a year off in 1979 after he had become addicted to Quaalude, while Karen suffered from anorexia nervosa.
Their career together ended in 1983 when Karen died from heart failure brought on by complications of anorexia. Extensive news coverage surrounding these circumstances increased public awareness of eating disorders. Though the Carpenters were criticized for their clean-cut and wholesome conservative image in the 1970s, their music has since been re-evaluated, attracting critical acclaim and continued commercial success.
But as a child, I had all their albums. I listened to them endlessly on the radio. As did my friends. I think we were all 6-9 years of age at the time.
My Aunts loved them as well - my Aunts or father's youngest sisters (he only had three sisters) - were all about 12-15 years older than I was. They were teenagers when I was a child, and babysat us frequently. I was closest to my Aunt K.
We were small and hopeful back then. Like the song.
Now, I'm big and cynical...and scared...and hope...sigh, hope feels like a light at the end of a very very long tunnel sometimes. So this song, you see, holds a special place in my heart.
no subject
Date: 2020-09-02 02:10 am (UTC)Yep, it's odd the the 1960s touted "do your own thing," but by the mid 1970s it was conform again. Hell, for a while I had no choice but to wear bellbottoms (which I've hated since I was little) and platform shoes (which I thought were just silly). Couldn't buy anything else.
And speaking of conforming, sadly, what was Karen Carpenter's anorexia, but an attempt to conform to an unreasonable body image that eventually killed her.
no subject
Date: 2020-09-02 02:35 am (UTC)When I was a boy, I spent a lot of weekends watching football. And when I wasn't watching the actual games, I watched football highlights, put together by the folks at NFL Films. What made "This Week in the NFL" stand out was its score, which featured themes burned into the brains of every young viewer. These were not subtle, delicate melodies; they were musical powerhouses designed for combat. Listening to composer Sam Spence's music, you weren't watching highlights of Pittsburgh vs. Dallas; you were watching Spartans v. Persians at Thermypolae.
"This Week in the NFL" went off the air in the 1980s, and I thought the music was lost to time. But then, SpongeBob SquarePants brought back one of Sam Spence's greatest hits; and the next generation of kids discovered his music in a whole new way.....
https://youtu.be/zo9ZS-6O5ww
no subject
Date: 2020-09-02 05:07 am (UTC)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSW-LJJHH3U
The clip above has the best audio quality of the ones I searched, but just a very blurry picture of the Captain and Mr. Green Jeans.
This one is a newer re-imagining of the tune, apparently called "Puffin' Billy", that was originally written in 1934 and later used for the show. Thos version is interesting, but there's also lots of pics and some trivia to go with the tune.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lo_Rs62Not4
One could make a good case that Bob Keeshan was the Mr. Rogers of the time.
For alla you young'uns out there, here be wiki:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Keeshan