Synopses & Reviews
Little Girl Blue is an intimate profile of Karen Carpenter, a girl from a modest Connecticut upbringing who became a Southern California superstar. Karen was the instantly recognizable lead singer of the Carpenters. The top-selling American musical act of the 1970s, they delivered the love songs that defined a generation. Karen's velvety voice on a string of 16 consecutive Top 20 hits from 1970 to 1976including Close to You,” We've Only Just Begun,” Rainy Days and Mondays,” Superstar,” and Hurting Each Other”propelled the duo to worldwide stardom and record sales of more than 100 million. During their short musical career, the Carpenters released ten studio albums, toured more than 200 days a year, taped five television specials, and won three Grammys and an American Music Award.
But that's only a part of Karen's story. Little Girl Blue reveals Karen's heartbreaking struggles with her mother, brother, and husband; the intimate disclosures she made to her closest friends; her love for playing drums and her frustrated quest for solo stardom; and the ups and downs of her treatment for anorexia nervosa. After her shocking death at 32 years of age in 1983, she became the proverbial poster child for that disorder; but the other causes of her decline are laid bare for the first time in this moving account.
Little Girl Blue is Karen Carpenter's definitive biography, based on exclusive interviews with her innermost circle of girlfriends and nearly 100 others, including professional associates, childhood friends, and lovers. It tells a story as touching, warm, and involving as any of Karen's greatest songs.
Review
"Karen Carpenter was a great, natural singer who made things sound beautifully simple, and her story deserves to be told." Burt Bacharach
Review
"[A] heart-rending biography . . . The author relates Karens story in writing as fluid and affectless as her singing . . . As Schmidt details Karens unstoppable fall, Little Girl Blue becomes one of the saddest tales in pop . . . This compassionate book gives a tortured waif the third dimension she deserved." —New York Times Book Review
Review
“Heartbreaking. . . . Schmidt succeeds in bringing a gifted, troubled musician to vivid life.” —People
Review
Told with compassion and understanding, this poignant and richly fascinating story of Karen Carpenter reads more like a novel you cant put down than the extensively and impeccably researched biography it actually is.” David Kaufman, author of Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door
Synopsis
An intimate profile of one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century, this first full-length biography of Karen Carpenter details every aspect of her life, from her modest Connecticut upbringing and her rise to stardom in southern California to the real story of her tragic, untimely death. This illuminating depiction of a 1970s icon covers her time as lead singer of the Carpenters the top-selling American musical act of the decade and provides insight into their string of 16 consecutive top-20 hits, including "Close to You," "We've Only Just Begun," "Top of the World," and "Superstar," as well as a critical review of her aborted solo career.
A behind-the-scenes look into the life of a superstar, from the prolific recordings and the relentless touring to the awards, fame, and fortune, this history also chronicles her struggle with anorexia nervosa and gives important new details from her autopsy that shed new light on her death at age 32. Groups such as Sonic Youth and the Corrs and artists including k. d. lang and Madonna have cited Karen Carpenter among their major influences, and this definitive biography, based on exclusive interviews with nearly 100 of her friends and associates, is a testament to her brief yet remarkable life.
About the Author
"Karen Carpenter was a great, natural singer who made things sound beautifully simple, and her story deserves to be told." Burt Bacharach
"[A] heart-rending biography . . . The author relates Karens story in writing as fluid and affectless as her singing . . . As Schmidt details Karens unstoppable fall, Little Girl Blue becomes one of the saddest tales in pop . . . This compassionate book gives a tortured waif the third dimension she deserved." New York Times Book Review"I've always been a fan of Karen Carpenter because, beneath her seemingly simple and pristinely pure voice lay a complex and heavy heart in search of salvation. . . . Little Girl Blue celebrates and mourns one of America's greatest musical treasures and tragedies." Sam Harris, singer and actor
"Randy Schmidt captures and shares the moving story of Karen's life. This biography of a true artist will touch the hearts of all her many fans, just as she herself embraced mine." Phil Ramone, Grammy-award winning record producer"Heartbreaking. . . . Schmidt succeeds in bringing a gifted, troubled musician to vivid life." People"Told with compassion and understanding, this poignant and richly fascinating story of Karen Carpenter reads more like a novel you cant put down than the extensively and impeccably researched biography it actually is." David Kaufman, author of Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door
"The copious research and quick-moving narration make this a volume that die-hard Carpenters fans and casual listeners alike will find interesting." Publishers Weekly
"A fascinating, and at times harrowing, read . . . Schmidt adds vital new information to our understanding of this contradictory and conflicted artist . . .We know how her story ends, but Schmidt has made it as absorbing as it is deeply humane." Blurt