CARPENTERS perform "Superstar" on "The Carol Burnett Show" 1971

[jjs499]

I never heard Karen hit a bad note, in all the live performances, never once.She was the best voice [ female] i ever heard ....that is until i heard Whitney Houston. Noone compares to to Whitney male or female, when she is on.....

[ShotX2]

Thank you, Richard, for always being there for Karen. You deserve much more credit than you receive. And God knows how much I miss Karen. "I really do". --S2

[nonfictionstory]

whoa.  im always sort of shocked when people can sing AND play drums at the same time.

[Poopaloo55]

From the first time I heard this, Karen's opening '...Long ago and oh so far away' made my heart skip.....and it still does.

[sookiestackhouse2u]

i can't believe she did this playing the drums ... too funny. i love you, karen. you're an angel for all seasons.

[markleyg]

@sookiestackhouse2u What do you mean? She was always a percussionist. Her drums are now on display at Cal State Long Beach at the Carpenter Theater.

[sookiestackhouse2u]

@markleyg ... i know she was but it still funny for me to see her playing those drums in that long gown.

[bennybellfan]

Always a joy to hear.

[BigWill1222]

One of the most sweetest voices we will ever hear; and so effortless too. She is still amazing to hear even 40 years later. Thanks for the post!

[ertrembau]

She was sick during this performance. I really salute her. No one has her beautiful voice.

[Yepprd]

They initiated and set the standard for the 70's soft rock era. I can't think of anyone before them who pioneered the Adult Contemporary genre.

[char4him99]

Voice of an angel. How I miss her and her timeless music

[daraseo]

Who actually wrote this song? Karen & Richard certainly did it best, but I was just curious as to who may have been the originator? Perhaps Burt Bach.? Perhaps one of the most beautiful songs Ever!!! Thanks to anyone who knows correct answer

[tbyrd2001]

@daraseo according to wiki..."Superstar" is a 1969 song written by Bonnie Bramlett and Leon Russell with a songwriting credit also given to Delaney Bramlett.

[darenunlimited]

damn--i totally forgot that she was also a drummer! one of a kind. 

[TeamJRob]

Too bad this is precorded from the album.

[padude64]

God, How I miss the Carpenters!

[Stephen7064]

No one can replicate her sound....

[JP5466]

What a wacky set up. It looks like a fire drill!

Karen's drum set should be more up front and the band guys should be behind her and Richard.

[akularn1]

this  talent will never be seen again..it is without peer.....

[video198712]

Actually, she was very reluctant to sing out front, she prefered singing while playing the drums. It was Richard who force her out front.

[Ariamaluum]

@video198712. Then move the drums up front. After a while, she will get out of them when she feels comfortable and let the session drummer from behind play.

[77pintoboy]

I loved her so much

[jekiwe]

no one could sing in such perfect pitch as Karen...brother Richard was among the best in the game of producers as well...perfect team!

[calilammy]

Love Karen drumming here!! My son is a drummer...and I love to play too...Karen looks so very happy here!

[calilammy]

love Karen behind the set here...looking great, and at ease...she was a drummer her whole life, singing just came...:) My son is a drummer in a band.. I play too....LOVE DRUMS!

[davidhertzberg]

What a place this world would be if we could not see priceless footage like this. Thank you for uploading this terrific video.

[OuroborosChoked]

Applause to the invisible clarinet, trumpets, violins, and harp...

[epsps]

@OuroborosChoked and French horns

[DameDisco78]

She was so talented, I didn't even realize she played the drums. Her voice was enough!

[jxgis]

effortless. How I miss these sorts of moments on tv now.

[VivaLePunk1307]

Looks like the drummer quit last minute.

[VivaLePunk1307]

@VivaLePunk1307 Or was late, VERY late.

[IsisDaughter1]

I remember this performance. I was a kid

[kcwranglrz]

Such a talent they both shared with the world. These days most artist are lucky if they can walk and chew gum at the same time. The Carol Burnett show also was so much fun to watch.

Thank you for posting this footage.

[wldavis523]

Nice



[jstisme]

Beautifuly person with a beautiful voice to top it off.

She died way too young.

But, the greats ones always die too soon.

[artman102]

Fortunately, her brother was a musical genius. Her created the special over dub sound we all love.

[CherubimandAngels]

So... Angels really do exist.

One is named Karen Carpenter.

[carpentersfan2010]

Karen makes it look so effortless... Singing and drumming at the same time... Such talent.. Can't believe we lost her almost 30 years ago.. However her voice continues to live on in videos and recordings like this. RIP Karen but you are very much alive and well in the hearts of your family, friends and fans alike..

[watertonrivers]

I hope when I die and go to heaven the Angels sing like this.

[putdownan8dude]

all the band needs is a palm tree and they could be castaways on a desert island

[MrMikeb1958]

1 person wishes that they were a 'superstar' instead of a idiot.

[micheal47comcastnet]

I needed this

[movalodh]

This is the singer who invented the phrase "hauntingly beautiful", a sweet but ultimately tortured voice with a vague sense of angst in every song she ever sung.

[JonKonLA]

Turn it up!

[Jupiter2able]

Good taste, gocartmotzart! This song is really great.

[gocartmotzart12345]

Karen Carpenter and Patsy Cline are the two best female singers , In my opinion. Yes there are other ladies that are quite good, Riba ,Carol, Stevy, oh the list goes on and on. but they touched my heart at a time when It needed it. Selfish thing I do to weep for their passing, guess its a human thing to do.

[runly1]

Hands down my favorite Carpenters song. I LOVE Karen. And I LOVE Carol Burnett. But the cheesy lip synching... where are the horn players? The woodwind? The strings? Karen has no mike. And look at those guys in tuxes not doing anything. Dude with a tambourine? Hilarious '70s fakery. This all equals a GREAT VIDEO!

[niwrad68]

@runly1 they were on the set of THE GONG SHOW.HA:}

[BUDDIESII]

I need to ask all out there ...she had a fantastic voice and will always live on and on ,I think she had a foxy look about her ,,,BUT who agrees that i think she was maybe Missing LOVE in her life ...... just my opinion ! any replies let me know ,,,Thx ALL :)

[PullSomeTuber]

@BUDDIESII It's no secret that she was missing love in her life. It's pretty well publicized. That's why I Need To Be In Love was her favorite song to sing after Richard and Bettis wrote it. They have books out about this. If you mean the way she sings this song, it's about a groupie which is the original title of the song and groupies tend to be lonely people and she sings it in character and can relate to it as well, I'm sure. Her marriage sham with Tom Burris sent her spiraling downward.

[tc1261]

I really miss Karen Carpenter. This is how I remember her most...singing and playing drums. I'll never forget how impressed I was the first time I saw her behind her drum set. I was about 8 or 9. Sweet memories.

[WeedVulva]

legal heroin

[Ezwider109]

some have said.. this tune was written or inspired by.. eric clapton... at the request of.. rita coolidge in 1969.. both are on the original song... with.. delaney & bonnie !!!

[magottyk]

I'd forgotten Karen played drums. She will be forever sorely missed thankfully we have these memories to remind us.

[dsfddsgh]

Wow i've hardly ever seen clips from the Carol Burnette show from 1971 or earlier so this is great. How did you find it?

[thatchevy101]

just so mellow and real, miss them so much, greart tribute to music.

[Prayingbear777]

I loved the Carpenters and all their songs. Thanks!

[IceBear711]

I still love this song....so beautiful.

[thatchevy101]

cant believe something so real is gone.

[thatchevy101]

beautiful song, wonderful, they were so talented.

[ecmjr]

I really love the beginning of this song. The brass is so mesmerizing.

[ecmjr]

@ecmjr Ops, I meant a clarinet, not brass.

[warmelody12g]

Beautiful Karen...I always like to see them singing "live" especially

[elhombreperdio]

She's great and the song is great. She is lip-synching it of course, so maybe the drum kit was a way to distract her and the viewers from this fact. 40 years ago...wowsers.

[kirbygene]

I was never a Carpenters fan "back in the day" but I always respected their awesome talent. BOTH of them were amazing musicians. Seeing a girl singing while playing drums was worth watching every time.

[Krichardvn94]

check out the Carpenters in Andy Williams show! at the end of the show, Andy also says: "the fabulous Carpenters"!!!

[marasu66]

Playing drums while still singing sweetness is awesome.

[anitabreakone]

She was so beautiful here before she became anorexic. Someone needed to pull her out from behind those drums. I know she loved them but please, this was such an emotional song, the drums didn't fit for her to play showing so much emotion. Loved it anyway, just saying. She pulled it off better than most people would have.

[improvguru]

@anitabreakone She should definitely have been out front for songs such as these, but to remove her from what she loved and felt natural doing was a cruel thing. It was the trigger for her illness.

What is so wrong with a girl drummer? Everybody had such a problem with it.

[anitabreakone]

@improvguru I'm not suggesting she be removed completely but definitely for this song. I don't think that's what triggered her illness.There were many songs if she had wanted,she could have still banged the drums on. I believe she was intelligent enough to know herself what worked best for her music. I believe it just had a lot to do with the life she had and not being prepared for that. She had a clean image and many people, idiots, looked down on that for some reason and gave her a hard time.

[improvguru]

@anitabreakone She was definitely intelligent (more so than the average person) but she was not given any choices when it came to her music. It wasn't up to her which songs she drummed on or not. Richard made every decision. Karen said in an interview that not playing the drums "almost killed her." If you look at videos, it's clear that the less she drummed, the thinner she got.

Even her music teacher told her that a girl playing the drums was "not natural." She pushed, got her way.

[Tracevidence1]

SO young to be SO great. KAREN and the CARPENTERS.

[entertainer106]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR POSTING THIS!!!

[jamaila123]

i cannot hear the song

[asianprincess21]

karen anne carpenter is truly a superstar. RIP

[jcoleman201045]

She was quite cute.

[CarpentersFanForLife]

@jcoleman201045 she was VERY cute;)

[joaoye23]

she died of anorexia..

[88cellardoors]

@joaoye23 I signed in just to say to you, no shit you idiot. I don't know if you are a troll or clueless, but pretty much anyone who's everyone knows this. The focus is her music and her voice. Period.

[steveatl40]

It's a shame she didn't do this live - she sounded GREAT live

[MANUELFARINELLI]

A perfect song for her,,,

[kcrcbest]

WOOOOOOOW WONDERFUL VIDEO THANX EVER SOOOOOO MUCH 

[quiltbee]

totally lovely...thank you.......

[thorwaldjorgensen]

Carpenters are cool!!!

What a great find, I never saw this clip before.