The Carpenters

by Ray Coleman

We've Only Just Begun, Close To You, Top Of The World: these are just a few of the bestselling hits that rocketed the Carpenters to the top of the charts. Karen and Richard typified the best of America's golden youth, selling nearly a hundred million recordings and leaving an indelible mark on the landscape of popular music. Written with the cooperation of Richard Carpenter and with a foreword by Herb Alpert, this definitive biography traces the story of the Carpenters from their white-picket-fence upbringing in Connecticut through their move to California and struggle for recognition. It portrays Richard as the brain and architect behind a winning musical collaboration with Karen its heart and voice; and it explores the pressures of their meteoric rise. Here, also, for the first time, in detail, is the graphic, heartrending story of a brother and sister's personal battles: while Karen dieted incessantly, Richard fought an addiction to pills. Bestselling author Ray Coleman, who has kno