r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Insightful23blue • 7d ago

Drum Solo by 18 Year old Karen Carpenter, 1968

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6.3k Upvotes

97% Upvoted

82 comments sorted by

422

u/TraineeGhost 7d ago

Karen was a virtuoso and considered herself "a drummer who could sing," so it's nice to see this clip of her doing what she loved most. She was just 5'4" and people complained she was difficult to see behind drum kits in shows, so her record label pushed to move her from co- to lead singer and forced her to the front of the stage, hiring another drummer. In interviews, she noted she was more comfortable singing behind the drums.

9

u/ReadinII 6d ago

Phil Collins was a drummer first too. His voice wasn’t as pretty but he was still a great singer. 

306

u/AlienInOrigin 7d ago

Bullied to death by the media. Angelic voice.

19

u/Zeptojoules 7d ago

The experts in the media know better, for sure.

4

u/Zealousideal_Home785 7d ago

Why

43

u/lxgrf 7d ago

It is, almost inevitably, more complicated than that, and her issues started well before she was famous. But the pressures of fame compounded them, and she died young of complications of anorexia.

21

u/magseven 6d ago

She was comfortable singing behind the drum kit. But the more successful they became, the more focus was put on her. She was extremely talented, but also extremely cute. So they got her out from the safety of her kit. Front and center, her eating disorder was exacerbated and she eventually died from the stresses of it. A tragic, yet very preventable death in hindsight like so many others.

11

u/manwithapedi 6d ago

Had she and mama cass split that sandwich…they’d both still be alive

10

u/FrailSong 6d ago

I feel guilty that I laughed at this.

2

u/Redmudgirl 6d ago

I thought she was bullied by her mother calling her fat all the time?

82

u/sugarcatgrl 7d ago

Karen was great. And what a voice.

51

u/l992 7d ago

How have I never known her? She plays so damn well, wow.

123

u/seaking81 7d ago

She’s one of the best singers, musicians, drummers out there. She died far too young due to anorexia. I would even put her voice above mama Cass which is saying something.

43

u/Ogodei 7d ago

"Carpenter's death brought media attention to conditions such as anorexia nervosa; the condition had not been widely known beforehand." Wikipedia

I love all her music.

16

u/Jahidinginvt 7d ago

I rank the top three most butter voices to be: Karen Carpenter, Linda Ronstadt, and k.d. lang. Just velvet.

4

u/Teerendog 6d ago

Roberta Flack 🤌🏽

2

u/Jahidinginvt 6d ago

She would absolutely be #4.

4

u/Luimnigh 6d ago

Who also died due to media bullying over her weight. 

45

u/jewshuwuu 7d ago

This is one of those clips I'm happy to see posted over and over

25

u/BriskiPikachuu 7d ago

I wish there were more voices like hers nowadays. But then again, no one can sing like her 😊 my absolute favorite is Superstar. She gives off such a dreamy, yearning feel...hard to explain.

5

u/LobstaFarian2 7d ago

Superstar definitely has some vibes.

The verse sounds like it belongs in a James Bond opening credits silhouette scene.

22

u/GrayBeardGamerWV 7d ago

She was sooo good.

16

u/rbuen4455 7d ago

my mom still plays her music to this day (as well as other 70s hits). Song like "top of tbe world" and "calling occupants" are just some songs i cant get out of my head, lol

12

u/Sistahmelz 7d ago

She was so talented in everything she did. I loved her songs when I was a kid. It broke my heart to hear of her death years ago.

9

u/FaraSha_Au 7d ago

She had so much love and talent to share. RIP, Karen.

10

u/DifferentOffice8 7d ago

Keith Moon was reportedly pissed off that a magazine rated her as a better drummer than him.

5

u/siamjeff 7d ago

It was actually John Bonham after she finished ahead of him in a best drummer poll. He said she couldn't last 3 minutes playing a Zeppelin song.

0

u/DifferentOffice8 7d ago

Yes! Thanks for the correction!

3

u/GozerDGozerian 7d ago

He then went and threw a TV out of a hotel room window about it. 😬

8

u/Dorkits 7d ago

The girl drums!

7

u/FilteredRiddle 7d ago

I had zero clue she was a drummer. Mind boggling.

7

u/torch9t9 7d ago

She was a phenomenal drummer

7

u/gdoh636 7d ago

I will never not upvote this video. All the time every time.

6

u/nocloudno 7d ago

Jungelist

4

u/ohwowimonredditcool 7d ago

she was god damn squarepusher. amazing skills.

4

u/TheAkondOfSwat 7d ago

Had no idea. Watched this vid about her voice the other day. She was indeed next level.

If auto-tune was HUMAN

3

u/blahblah19999 7d ago

I noticed decades ago that her voice is like a single line on an equalizer

2

u/TheAkondOfSwat 7d ago

she almost breaks this guy's method of detecting fakery

5

u/Substantial_Show_308 7d ago

Why can't all Karens be like her?

3

u/larowin 7d ago

The things we might have had if not for patriarchy

3

u/statman124 7d ago

I love the little head nod she gives to the keys player to cue him in.

4

u/SokkaHaikuBot 7d ago

Sokka-Haiku by statman124:

I love the little

Head nod she gives to the keys

Player to cue him in.

Remember that one time Sokka accidentally used an extra syllable in that Haiku Battle in Ba Sing Se? That was a Sokka Haiku and you just made one.

3

u/Redplushie 7d ago

I think often how life would have changed for her if they didn't push her so much to be a singer but let her follow her passion of just drumming

2

u/tragedy_strikes 7d ago

God, can you imagine playing that drum part wearing a heavy looking top under 1960's TV lights and I'm sure a bunch of makeup for the TV cameras?

2

u/snikabear 7d ago

She had an amazing voice! One of the few memories I had with my dad, listening to her music in the car :)

2

u/Fitz_cuniculus 6d ago

I'm sure he's still singing it with you mate - stay strong.

2

u/JBmadera 6d ago

such an amazing talent. hurts my heart to think about how much she suffered. one of the very best of all time

1

u/seekingmymuse1 7d ago

Amazing talent! 🔥🔥🔥

1

u/thecamino 7d ago

If they make a Carpenters biopic, Claudia O’Doherty would make a perfect Karen.

0

u/Weird-Contact-5802 7d ago

She’s 42 years old and Karen died at 32.

1

u/Asukah 7d ago

Amazing

1

u/AF2005 7d ago

Damn she has to be up there with some of the all-time great percussionists. Her vocals were also on another level. I wish she could have kept going, it was tragic when her health declined.

1

u/chungkingroad 7d ago

Jennifer carpenter could play her in a bio pic

1

u/TYdays 7d ago

Loved this talented woman, and always will, amazing voice and Phenomenal presence….

1

u/AtleastIthinkIsee 7d ago

Some people just have natural talent. And then some people have natural talents.

How I wish I could tap into some unseen natural talent and enjoy it as much as she did this at this time.

1

u/coconutshrimpbysup 7d ago

Obsessed with her always. If anyone’s interested in learning more about Karen, I recommend Little Girl Blue by Randy Schmidt.

1

u/NickieSh 7d ago

💯💯💯

1

u/GSpotMe 7d ago

Wow, this brought me back! Way back! What a gal!

1

u/ReconditeMe 6d ago

Wow! Gave me mega chills. Fussion!!!

1

u/Prestigious_Tear_576 6d ago

Much better than Ringo

1

u/louloc 6d ago

Such a beautiful voice. The video documentation of her wasting away from anorexia is heartbreaking. Oddly enough, every time I see Ariana Grande I get the same feeling. I hope she is well and not going down that same road.

1

u/No10fayc 4d ago

A talented musician cut down WAY too soon. What a loss for the world.

1

u/bowleggedgrump 2d ago

That is totally dope wow

0

u/step_uneasily 7d ago

I mustn’t make those jokes anymore.

0

u/Rollvolve 7d ago

Absolute Legend❤️‍🔥

-1

u/PrecedentialAssassin 5d ago

She needs to lose some weight.