Tonight at the Hollywood Bowl

There’s something magical about listening to music under the stars…and even more so, when that music is performed live. For me, there is no better venue for that experience than at the Hollywood Bowl. Tonight, however, was particularly special for me because it marked the induction into the Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame for my musical mentors, Karen and Richard Carpenter. The Carpenters, along with another childhood favorite of mine, Donna Summer, as well as the gifted pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet were recipients of this year’s prestigious Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame award. It’s difficult to imagine that just ten years ago, I attended the very first Hollywood Bowl Hall of Fame ceremony honoring John Williams and Garth Brooks. I remember thinking back then, how nice it would be if that award were granted to the Carpenters, after all, it’s where the Carpenter’s began their career in 1966 when they won for Outstanding Musical Group at the “Hollywood Bowl Battle of the Bands.” Ironically, they won it without Karen ever singing a note. Karen Carpenter was just 16 years old at the time, and she played the drums while Richard played the piano, and their friend Wes Jacobs played Tuba! They were known as The Richard Carpenter Trio and they took home the Grand Prize. I’m sure Richard never imagined back then, that some 44 years later, he’d stand upon that stage to accept an award that would bare such bittersweet success. After all, this time around he would have to accept the award without his sister Karen. The evening began with a presentation and performance by the first inductee, Jean-Yves Thibaudet. Then the co-founder of A&M Records, the gifted musician Herb Alpert, was introduced andhe began to tell us of how he first heard the Carpenters back in 1969. Herb said that someone gave him a tape and told him “to check it out.” He was in his office, listening through Altec 604 speakers about 12 feet away from his couch, when he closed his eyes and heard Karen’s voice for the first time. When he finished his story, a video “package” began with Karen singing, “Children, it was more fun to be children…we just took life as it happened…Run through the days, don’t look behind.” Suddenly, for the first time since her voice was silenced in 1983, I actually felt the presence of Karen Carpenter as her miraculous vocals caressed the audience under a darkened Southern California sky. The collective emotion from every listener was palpable. That’s when I noticed people around me slowly wiping runaway tears. I found myself getting caught up in the melancholy sentiment until Karen started to sing the upbeat hit, “Top of the World.” So many emotions raced through my head. I thought about my first meeting with her, as a 12 year old boy…and then suddenly, I was a 22 year old student at the University of Arizona…hearing (with shock and disbelief) the news of her untimely passing. Karen Carpenter was more than a singer to me. She was more than a gifted drummer, who could play in any time signature, and she was even more than a superstar or musical icon. To me, she was my youth. The Carpenters represent the path that brought me to where I am now, in this very moment as I type these words. Therefore, tonight was more of a cathartic journey for me, rather than the musical tribute I had expected to witness.

Richard took to the stage, after Herb Alpert introduced him, and he conducted the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra in a familiar medley of Carpenters Hits. Following that performance Richard recreated (sans Karen on drums) his original song, “Iced Tea,” which helped the Richard Carpenter Trio take home their trophy back in 1966. Then, reminiscent of the famous duet between the late, great Nat King Cole and his beautiful and talented daughter Natalie, Karen appeared on the giant screen and sang, “For All We Know” while Richard played piano with the accompanying orchestra. It was nothing shy of breathtaking for everyone who witnessed it. The highlight of tonight’s wonderful Hollywood Bowl Experience, however, came when I least expected it.

After a short break, Donna Summer received her award via David Foster, and then gave us brilliant performances of a few of her wonderful hits. It was like perusing through a childhood photo album as Donna belted out “On the Radio” and “No More Tears (Enough is Enough)" but in an unexpected moment, she began to talk about how much she loved the Carpenters. She explained that she knew all of the background parts and would sing the songs of Karen and Richard Carpenter whenever she was in her car or on a road trip with her family. Then she explained how it was a dream of hers to perform with them…and that’s when she brought back to the stage, Richard Carpenter. In a surprise performance with Richard at the piano, and the backing of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, Donna Summer sang the Carpenters version of “Superstar” with extraordinary grace and reserve…as well as with a vocal tenderness that was captivating. It appeared that she was fighting back her own cathartic moment…as it seemed that during the line, “Long ago and oh so far away,” Donna Summer may have had a couple tears of her own. She wasn’t alone. I fought back several as well.

Tonight was an evening that  I had only half expected. I was not prepared for the other half… that which I am now so grateful for. Congratulations to the Carpenters, Donna Summer and Jean-Yves Thibaudet. Karen Carpenter, wherever you are… you are remembered with profound love and gratitude and your legacy is clearly alive and well…as it illuminated a packed house tonight, at the Hollywood Bowl.