Karen Carpenter - Rainy Days and Mondays

Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950 – February 4, 1983) was an American singer and drummer. She and her brother, Richard, formed the 1970s duo The Carpenters. She was a drummer of exceptional skill, but she is best remembered for her vocal performances.

She suffered from anorexia nervosa, a little known eating disorder at the time, and died at the age of 32 from heart failure, later attributed to complications related to her illness.

From 1965 to 1968, Karen, her brother Richard and his college friend Wes Jacobs, a bassist and tuba player, formed The Richard Carpenter Trio. The band played jazz at numerous nightclubs and recorded many demo which were constantly rejected.

Finally, in April 1969 A&M Records signed the Carpenters to a recording contract. Karen Carpenter sang most of the songs on the band's first album, Offering (later retitled Ticket to Ride). The issued single (later the title track), which was a cover of a Beatles song, became their first single: it reached #54 on the Billboard Hot 100 Charts. Their next album, 1970's Close to You, featured two massive hit singles: "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and "We've Only Just Begun." They peaked at #1 and #2, respectively, on the Hot 100.

Karen Carpenter started out as both the group's drummer and lead singer, and she originally sang all her vocals from behind the drum set. Eventually, she was persuaded to stand at the microphone to sing the band's hits while another musician played the drums, although she still did some drumming.

After the release of Now & Then in 1973, the albums tended to have Karen singing more and drumming less. Karen rarely selected the songs she would sing, and often felt she had very little control over her life. She dieted obsessively and developed anorexia nervosa. At the same time, her brother Richard developed an addiction to Quaaludes.

The Carpenters frequently cancelled tour dates, and they stopped touring altogether after their September 4, 1978, concert at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. In 1981, after the release of the Made in America album (which turned out to be their last), the Carpenters returned to the stage and did some tour dates, including their final live performance in Brazil.

"Rainy Days and Mondays" is a 1971 song by The Carpenters that went to #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was certified Gold by the RIAA. It was also the duo's fourth #1 song on the Adult Contemporary singles chart . The song was composed in 1971 by then fairly unknown composers Roger Nichols and Paul Williams. It was released as the first track on the album Carpenters. The B-side on the single is "Saturday." Olivia Newton-John, one of Karen's best friends, recorded a cover version of this song in her album Indigo: Women of Song as a tribute to Karen.

" The above text is a mashup from Wikipedia."