Carpenters - DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR? (1984)

[1991doomsday]

This song was also in a song too. And also White Laces in the movie "Room 1408"

[sweenykim]

Karen's voice always gives me chills. A gifted talent, never be replicated & gone WAY too soon.

[JacobHillproductions]

lol the first time i saw this you automatically knew it was from the 80s

[arfies]

@JacobHillproductions Richard's part is from the 1980s, but Karen's from the 1970s (as are the videos).

[Melodyhome1]

Thank you for your work on this fine video editing work. I am working on singing this song tonight and using it to help me.

[OceanKingNY]

@Melodyhome1 Good luck with your performance!

[klforrey]

I so much enjoy the history you provide to the songs you upload. Thank you so much for sharing these with us.

I also can't help but comment that Karen looks terrible -- especially in the white gown -- and I wish so much that those on starvation diets (before going into full-blown anorexia nervosa) could take a look at Karen's before and after photos and read or hear her story. A few extra pounds is not the worst thing in the world!

[OceanKingNY]

@klforrey Karen's 'green jumpsuit' video was shot around Fall 1977, and the 'white gown' video was done around Spring 1978 (a span of 6-7 months). And yes, you can see a marked difference in appearance, sadly. But in that time, she & Richard released the "Passage" album to stores, shot the "Carpenters at Christmas" TV special, went back into the studio to record enough Christmas songs to fill 2 albums, and shot the "Space Encounters" TV special. It must have been a very grueling schedule.

[afilteredview]

@klforrey IIRC not a whole lot was known about eating disorders at that time and a few extra pounds IS the worst thing in the world to someone with an ED. Karen's death was very tragic but I think it brought attention to eating disorders

[ajb1776]

Great Heaven's Angel Voice you will always be, beloved Karen Carpenter. Ten million years from now, you will still be singing. If we know the Earth is to be destroyed, we will build a rocket ship JUST to store your voice and send it into the heaven's knowing one day alien life on another planet will find the ship and hear your voice. The aliens will declare, "Surely, her voice tells us she is an angel who has sent her voice to us in this machine." They will build monuments to you in worship!

[RaikenXion]

Beautifully sung by Karen here, but I still cant help thinking of Gremlins wenever I hear this song lol

[xoomgal]

Please check out DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR by LINDA EDER at you tube.

[Rishtonian]

WOW What a beautifull rendition of this Carol R I P Karen, What a legacy to leave us1

[flyingbat2]

Забавно:)

[northern056]

Perfect!

[brightphoebus]

It's a bit hard to watch being so out of sync with the audio...

[ajb1776]

@brightphoebus The video and song don't match because they are from two separate sources edited together. The actual images you are seeing are from The Carpenter's video of "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft." The person who did this perhaps did so because of the celestial background of the video and the celestial quality of the song, i.e., "a star, a star, shining in the night with a tail as big as a kite."

[OceanKingNY]

@brightphoebus There is no video of Karen singing this song, as it was not released until the year after she passed. This effort is my attempt to suggest what a video for the song might have looked like.

[SupernalOne]

his voice is silvery and hers is golden - truly lovely

[kentonjkobza]

@SupernalOne looks like they gave the child sleeping in the cold what they wanted to give them then as that i mean Him:silver Her:gold

[rocco24a]

OMG i luv her voice..the best female voice of the 20th century hands down...can u imagine all the hits she would have had to date...She would be up there wirh madonna, mariah and celine dion...in fame and success.

[carps1000]

@rocco24a Shed already surpassed all of em

[liarsclub75]

I really like hearing both of them doing leads on this.

[OceanKingNY]

100,000 views!

Thanks to everyone for supporting this song, and my little fan video.

A Happy Christmas Season to all!

[buffguy4]

What a voice! Beautiful!!!

[Tom6093]

A true Angelic voice. Love and miss u Karen. Merry Christmas

[randlbp]

Karen has the greatest voice in music history bar none.

[BlushingBride818]

Miles and miles better than Whitney Houston's over-the-top version. I can't believe her version gets more airtime than this one. So much more powerful and beautiful.

[miguelanyeluzzz15]

IGUAL DE GRANDIOSO QUE BIG CROSBY

[SchoolBSue]

What a wonderful version of this classic Christmas song! Karen left us too young.

[OceanKingNY]

@SchoolBSue Yes, it is wonderful, isn't it? It's one of the best versions of this song that I've ever heard. And yet, it's not very well-known, probably because it was released posthumously. Richard really did a fantastic production job on this track. I love how they sped up the tempo slightly, into a marching band rhythm; I think it works much better than the slow tempo that most singers use.

[crazyflamingoc]

Beautiful song. But the video is totally out of sync.

[justtim]

@crazyflamingoc The author of this delightful offering already stated that the video was made with clips from various specials and other videos. I don't think his or her intent was to be in sync with the vocals.

[Kace50]

Thank you for this gorgeous upload. I know many female singers who can "scream" there lungs out and have a hit. But I don't know of anyone who can sing Karen's style. Her voice makes you stand still and appreciate live.

[yydmos]

Very beautiful.

[horarwgt]

The finest female singer of the 20th century.

[1000hhjjhh]

She was a gift sent from heaven and she could only be summed up in one word: ANGELIC!

[oporuy]

Magic!

[stillmatic117]

wow... karen would have been hot in her day

[xs4allbeenz]

Karen still send the shivers down Ur spine....

She's an Angel in the Sky....

Happy New Year 2011

dr.Bernard-the Netherlands

[omydel]

No one can replace Karen's magnificent voice.

[OceanKingNY]

50,000 views!

Thanks to everyone for supporting the Carpenters' song and my little video. Merry Christmas!

[mfnaushad]

@OceanKingNY thanks for uploading...

[dmtharpua]

my god, this lady has a unique spectacular voice, cant believe she left us at so young age. happy xmas to all !

[jwmellott]

Was Karen dead already?

[Sparroweye]

@jwmellott Yes, this must be pieced together as Karen died in 83.

[OceanKingNY]

@jwmellott Yes, this song was released by Richard the year after Karen's death on "An Old Fashioned Christmas." They had recorded too many songs in 1978 to fit on their "Christmas Portrait" record, so Richard finished production on the leftover songs and released a second Christmas album in 1984. The video is mine, pieced together from other videos and TV specials.

[magpie4321]

@jwmellott Yes, poor soul, she died of anorexia nervosa

[aynrandgirl]

Fix the audio sync?

[Sam45476]

Sayang si Karen Carpenter no? Pagakaganda ng boses.. gusto ko yong boses nya..sana meron pang mga sumusunod sa yapak n'ya..

[lam75wa1]

Susan Boyle cut this song on her new holiday CD "The Gift" and her version is a duet with Amber Stassi (winner of her Susan search contest).

[No1KCfan6]

omg...this is gorgeous. i have not heard this before.

[TheBoyCub]

Sublime, I could listen to Karen and Richard all day.

[Rena1934]

Karen is the one with the voice as big as the sea. I love this song. God bless Karen

[rubia70]

she is simply the best and will be forever the best singer ever! i'll love Karen with all my hart !!!

[seamusberen]

Very beautiful. I hadn't heard this before and it makes me remember what a wonderful voice she had. this was just great--thanks so much for posting.

[steveatl40]

I just love how she sings this directly, w/out trying any vocal acrobatics. So simple, so clean and pure.

[mus691]

Two great voices of Karen and Richard.

[Phil28168]

nice. The Carpenters are really good. I like to sing their version for karaoke.. :)

[forren6]

I miss you Karen

[omydel]

I'm a forever Karen Carpenter fan, RIP my idol.

[dubman75]

what a voice she had fantastic.real haunting.

[OceanKingNY]

@dubman75 Someone else on YouTube once posted that her voice is "so beautiful it's almost supernatural." I thought that was a great observation.

[78ColonyPark]

Karen had a great voice and she is missed!

She is the one "with a voice as big as the sea".

I love Karen's rendition of this song, and this is one song I can listen year round (not just at Christmas).

[pacnorthwesterner]

Definitely has to be my favorite Christmas song by the Carpenter's. You can hear the power and range in her vocalization, since she did the background vocals in her songs. I also love the use of the video clip from "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft". One song I wish Karen would have recorded, is "You Light Up My Life". I think she would have done it better than Debbie Boone.

[lostintimeline]

the carpenters did a fantastic job singing all those christmas classics.karen was a singer that sang with so much emotion and her voice was really unique..

a band like this simply doesnt exist in nowdays

[OceanKingNY]

@lostintimeline Yes, Karen is truly one of the Great Voices of Christmas. And in all these years since the Carpenters became pop stars, nobody else has come along who can quite compare to them musically or vocally.

[lovelines1989]

My favourite Carpenters Christmas song...a great one to listen to for those who beleive Karen lost that low end of her voice in later years...as the listener can hear she did not and all this only a worlk lead...pure talent.

[NostalgiaBob]

One of my top 10 favorite Karen performances ever! Absolute perfection, and it was a work lead (never intended for release, but recorded as a 'guide' for the musicians to learn the arrangement).

[wallytriathlete]

Is there anyone with a voice like Karen's?

My favorite Christmas song.

[OceanKingNY]

Nope. I don't expect to hear another voice like Karen's in my lifetime. She was truly one of a kind.

[Nautilus1972]

@wallytriathlete Actually yes, her name is Rumer.

[irish89055]

@wallytriathlete she is my fav prob along with Maureen McGovern

[rajputgerry]

@wallytriathlete NO. Her voice was one in a trillion ! RIP Karen.

[starshiptrooper1981]

This video is from "Calling occupants of interplantetary craft"...FYI

[BabyBopRocks]

Did't see die. R.I.P. Karen Carpaenter

[OlosKalos]

KAREN I LOVE YOU!!!

[cd72]

Never cared for Judy Garland. She was an okay singer, but was never raised on her music. Karen and Sandi Patty are my favorite Holiday singers!!

[cd72]

Apparently when she was recording it, she kinda hummed a phrase, instead of singing it...probably forgot the words...so when RC went back and found it, he had to sing the first part which is what he does. Then Karen continues singing her portion. This would have been from the Christmas portrait sessions, but redone in 1984 and released on AN OLD FASHIONED CHRISTMAS.

[OceanKingNY]

Yes, that's right. Over on the right, I've pasted Richard's comments on this song from his website. He explains that when he listened to Karen's leftover vocal tapes after she was gone, he noticed that she had hummed a couple of words in this song's first verse. So, instead of scrapping the entire song (which would have been a shame), he simply recorded the first verse himself, then threw the rest of the song to Karen. Thanks to his great producing skills, we have this Christmas gem.

[SuliemanTheGreat]

Karen had a voice of an angel! She will always be missed. The Carpenter's were a great group! This is a tremendous version of this popular X-mas song (although my personal favorite was sung by Bing Cosby)! The background music video is from the Carpenter's song with the words "Calling occupants of interplanetary crafts" (I can't recall the name of the song off hand). You did a good job! Thank you for sharing it with everyone. Happy holidays and a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all!!

[OceanKingNY]

You're correct, the video clips are from both videos for "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" (both the official video and the version from the "Space Encounters" TV special). The opening clip of Richard in front of the tree is from a Christmas special.

Merry Christmas to you too!

[catmama54]

Thank you for this.I have always loved the Carpenters music and especially their Christmas songs.This is a beautiful version that brings tears to my eyes.She has the voice of an angel and her brother sounded so good too.Really enjoyed this.

[OceanKingNY]

Thank you. I really believe that this is one of the best versions of this song ever recorded, and I'm surprised that it doesn't get more airplay every Christmas. I'm happy that so many people seem to be enjoying the video.

[cheetaz49]

holy moly!! this is amazing!!! this song has always been my fave because my school principal, when i was in 3rd grade, got her guitar and sang this. i was mesmerized!! :D

[OceanKingNY]

How lucky for you that your principal had such good taste in music! :)

[RLP1972]

love it ....Christmas is not complete without listening to the Carpenters...

[OceanKingNY]

Yep... every December, I look forward to hearing Karen all over the radio. It won't be long now...

[Carpentersfan2003]

This is possibly my second most favorite Christmas song after " Merry Christmas Darling.." that Karen sang. This is a true duet between Richard and Karen. Richard was known for his backing vocals on most of the Carpenter's songs but here you get a chance to hear him singing up front with Karen... Thanks for the post...

[OceanKingNY]

Yes, I like how Richard opens the song and then tosses it to Karen. He has the orchestra shift into Karen's key and the choir hums an "entrance cue" to build anticipation as we know Karen is about to appear. It's great fun.

[ctbear26]

Nicely done. Congrats on a great video.

[OceanKingNY]

Thanks. It was fun to put it together. Glad you liked!

[eXtremeMohaz]

no doubt she is the only one, voice of the heart, Christmas will be incomplete without the voice of Karen, there is only 1 Karen Carpenters and there will never be another Karen after she was gone. there is no substitute for this angelic voice from heave, so sad bcoz she left so soon. Thanks much OceanKingNY for this ved, i loved it. god bless you too for posting such a beautiful gem.

[OceanKingNY]

You're welcome. I'm glad that you enjoyed watching!

[cd72]

It's a beautiful sung with Richard, but when you hear Karen sing at .54...it's sublime heaven. The essence of the Christmas season, cookies and milk, a fireplace, gifts, a dazzling green Christmas tree, family and friends...and her crystalline contralto voice of pure honey....

[OceanKingNY]

That is the best description of this recording that I've ever read! And I absolutely agree that Karen's voice is the very essence of Christmas. I would place her right up there with Bing Crosby and Nat King Cole in the "Great Voices of Christmas" club.

[Carpentersfan2003]

You forgot one other big name when it comes to Christmas.. Judy Garland.. Judy was the only other female singer that was in my opinon witch was on the same level as Karen was...

[htershane]

at .54 all the hairs on the back of my neck went up!

[OceanKingNY]

LOL, yes, Karen does have that effect on you sometimes, right?