How much is Richard Carpenter worth?
| Net Worth: | $15 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional pianist |
| Date of Birth: | October 15, 1946 |
| Country: | United States of America |
| Height: | 1.83 m |
About Richard Carpenter
Karen, Carpenter’s younger sister, used to play baseball outside while Carpenter would play the piano. He and Karen enjoyed listening to the kid-friendly records their father had purchased for them when they were small. Richard was exposed to various artists through his father’s record collection, including Perry Como and Ella Fitzgerald, and at the age of 12, he knew he wanted to be in the music industry.
At the age of 16, he made his debut as a musician in New Haven. They established a group with two older buddies and played at a nearby pizza joint. To make money for a car purchase, Richard joined the business. In June 1963, the Carpenter family relocated to Downey, California, from New Haven. The family was sick of the chilly New England winters and wanted Richard to advance his musical career.
In 1965, Carpenter, his sister Karen, and friend Wes Jacobs formed the Richard Carpenter Trio. Wes played the tuba and bass, Richard played the keyboard, Karen played the drums. On April 22, 1969, Richard and Karen secured a contract with A&M Records. Herb Alpert said to the two, “Let’s hope we have some hits.” Richard claims that Alpert gave them creative freedom in the recording studios, but after Offering, their debut album, was released and received mixed reviews, it was rumored that some A&M employees asked Alpert to let the Carpenters go. However, Alpert insisted on giving them another chance because he recognized their talent.
Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s 1963 song “(They Long to Be) Close to You” is one that Alpert suggested the Carpenters record.
Richard and Karen formed the Long Beach State sextet Spectrum in the late 1960s together with four other student musicians. Even though Spectrum routinely performed at LA-area nightclubs like Whisky a Go Go, their performances were met with a lackluster reception; the band’s lack of rock ‘n’ roll and wide-ranging harmonies hampered their commercial potential.
When Karen was afflicted with the anorexia nervosa that ultimately caused her death in 1983, it was in the late 1970s. In Rock Obituaries – Knocking on Heaven’s Door (2010), Nick Talevski notes: “Both Karen and Richard Carpenter were experiencing health issues by the end of 1975 after doing their Vegas-style show nonstop since 1970. A tour had to be postponed since Karen’s weight had dropped below 80 pounds. Richard, on the other hand, was dependent on the pharmaceutical medication Quaalude.”
Eight months after Karen Carpenter passed away, on October 12, 1983, the Carpenter family celebrated the inauguration of the band’s new star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Richard Carpenter: Pianist, Arranger, Composer, Conductor, which featured reworkings of many Carpenters favorites, including hits and album tracks, was recorded and released in 1996 at the suggestion of music critic Daniel Levitin. It concludes with “Karen’s Theme,” which Carpenter wrote for the television film The Karen Carpenter Story (1989).
Carpenter contributed to the creation of the documentaries Only Yesterday: The Carpenters Story and Close to You: Remembering the Carpenters (both 1997). The Carpenters: The Musical Legacy, based on interviews with Richard Carpenter, was released in 2021 by veteran Carpenters historian Chris May and Associated Press entertainment journalist Mike Cidoni Lennox.
Carpenter provides funding for the Thousand Oaks Civic Center’s annual scholarship/talent event for those with artistic ability.
