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American singer and drummer (1950–1983)

Musical artist

Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950 – February 4, 1983) was an American singer and drummer who formed half of the highly successful duo Carpenters with her older brother Richard.^[1] With a distinctive three-octavecontralto range, she was praised by her peers for her vocal skills.^[2][3][4][5] Carpenter's work continues to attract praise, including appearing on Rolling Stone's 2010 list of the 100 greatest singers of all time.

Carpenter was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and moved to Downey, California, in 1963 with her family. She began to study the drums in high school and joined the Long Beach State choir after graduating. After several years of touring and recording, the Carpenters were signed to A&M Records in 1969, achieving enormous commercial and critical success throughout the 1970s.

Initially, Carpenter was the band's full-time drummer,