Disneybear: Remembering Karen Carpenter

23 years ago, on February 4th, 1983, Karen Carpenter suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed onto the floor of her parentsâ€™ home in Downey, California. She was 32.Â Years of dieting, laxatives, and thyroid pills had weakened poor Karen's heart.Â It is ironic to note that Karen had actually started to turn her life around and was coming to terms with the demons that caused her anorexia nervosa.Â Unfortunately for Karen, it was too late.

I was a huge Carpenters fan in the 70â€™s and early 80â€™s. My first album of theirs was A Kind of Hush.Â Karenâ€™s soulful voice was amazing! Listening to her recordings today, I swear you can hear her actual pain and anguish in such songs as Rainy Days and Mondays and Good-Bye. Even in her happy song, Sing, I hear a touch of sadness.Â The greatest sadness of all is that such a great talent has been silencedâ€¦ 23 years ago today.