In my own studies regarding the band, Carpenters, I have made it my mission in many ways to read up on them as much as possible. This includes finding rare magazines and articles, and digging through footage and newspaper archives for hours on end. Throughout the years, it has been referenced time and time again that Karen not only beat out Led Zeppelin’s drummer, John Bonham, in a February 1975 Playboy reader’s rock drummer poll, but that she also came in first place; However, there has never been a source attached to this claim. This said “fact” had passed through several music forums before more popular music sites got their hands on it. The seemingly copied and pasted article reads as follows:
“Playboy Reader’s Poll
1 …. Karen Carpenter
2 …. John Bonham
3 …. Ringo Starr
4 …. Keith Moon
5 …. Mick Fleetwood
True Story
Karen ‘KC’ Carpenter, after seeing that she won a Reader’s Poll as being named
Playboy’s 1975 Best Rock Drummer of the Year:
“I am both humbled and embarrassed by being named as the Best Rock Drummer.
There are many talented drummers out there, and to even be considered ‘good’
is a tremendous recognition.”
“I heard that John Bonham (of Led Zeppelin) is quite upset. I hope he is not
mad at me, as I had nothing to do with the poll. But, he said that I couldn’t last
10-Minutes with Led Zeppelin.”
“Well I just want him to know, that I love Led Zeppelin, and I can play a decent
set of songs that they recorded. Just watch me now.”
Karen then jumped behind the ‘Drum Kit’, and handled herself quite well while
banging out “Babe, I’m Going to Leave You” while also singing the song and
not missing a beat.“
Though it’s a great story to tell, there is absolutely no evidence to support that she said any of this. It’s also easy for me to see that Karen wasn’t one to even talk like that. I just can’t imagine Karen even saying half of this quote, knowing how she really spoke. Some sites say that these quotes are from a television appearance. It has never been documented what show, and there are no videos of it on the web. There are very few unseen television appearances of their’s at this point.
I was actually able to find and purchase a copy of the February 1975 issue of Playboy Magazine, featuring their set annual pop-rock polls. To my initial surprise, Karen did not, in fact, come in first in the ‘Drumming’ poll. She came in 10th place. Carpenters also came in 12th place for their ‘Vocal Group’ poll, beating Led Zeppelin by two placements. Although Karen didn’t win the poll completely, she still managed to come out ahead of John Bonham, who was in 11th place. This may have been where wires crossed. There’s no doubt that Bonham could’ve been offended by Karen beating him in this poll, but again, it’s not confirmed. After posting about my findings on my Karen Carpenter Fans Tik Tok this week, some seemed to think it was almost a Mandela Effect that Karen had won. It is also possible that the poll results being referenced in these articles was actually from a different year or different magazine.
If it’s true that Bonham said these things about how Karen Carpenter “couldn’t last 10 minutes with Led Zeppelin,” my question is, could John Bonham really last 10 minutes in a Carpenters’ set? Let’s not get caught up on genre here. Carpenters and Led Zeppelin obviously had some drastic music style differences– but in my personal opinion, the loudness and intensity of Led Zeppelin’s music does not equate to them being more talented or coordinated. Though Bonham was obviously a great drummer and played his way through many very difficult songs, both Karen and Richard have often been praised for their extreme precision and musical complexities. Plus, Karen was playing these complicated beats and solos while she was singing perfectly.
If you played or sung with the Carpenters, there was no room for mistakes. This is why music critics of the early 1970s made such a huge fuss about their concerts sounding exactly like the record.
Richard Carpenter once said in a 1972 interview, “That’s the big thing we always wanted to do, is sound like our records in person. We really worked at it, and there was a period of time where we all sat behind our instruments and just played and talked, but none of us got up, and that’s what the critics didn’t like. [They said] “you know, they sound like the record, but who cares? In that case you can just sit at home and listen to the record. They don’t get up and perform.””
But just like she didn’t need to do any vocal gymnastics, Karen didn’t need to do somersaults off of her snare drum to be great. Her singing, as well as her playing, was an art form from day one. She took her craft seriously even when others did not.
After visiting a local antique store a few weeks back, I found another copy of Playboy magazine from December of 1978. I bought it because Farrah Fawcett was on the cover, but immediately after her interview was yet another Playboy Jazz and Pop Poll. This time, Karen Carpenter came in 5th place, but John Bonham came in 2nd.
I have since tried to broaden my research by asking around online sellers of issues featuring the polls. With this, I have found that Karen wasn’t even on the list in 1972. This implies she was added to the list of choices most likely around 1973 or 1974 when she, ironically, starting gaining more recognition even though she was no longer the main stage drummer.
A Brief History
Though she was not an anti-feminist like some claim, Karen said she “didn’t get into women’s lib much,” simply because she did not believe her success in the Carpenters was either hindered nor benefited by the fact that she was a woman. She felt the same way about drumming. She once said that everyone looked at her like she was crazy for picking up the drums, but she simply didn’t care. At age 16, she was already making history, becoming the first female drummer in Downey High School’s marching band. No label of gender was about to stop her from doing what she loved– She then went on to become the first successful female drummer worldwide.
Karen was first inspired to play the drums by her high school friend, Frankie Chavez, who played the drums in the marching band while she played the glockenspiel. One day, she asked if she could play his drums at the end of class. she one said that “picking up a pair of drum sticks was one of the most natural feeling things [she’d] ever done.” From then on, she became inspired by Frankie’s biggest idol, Buddy Rich, as well as Ringo Starr of The Beatles. They would often get together outside of school to discuss different drumming techniques and grips (Karen ended up opting for a traditional grip in her more advanced years). Karen started off drumming with chopsticks on bar stools, and was finally able to convince her parents, Agnes and Harold Carpenter, to buy her a real Ludwig kit. She started drumming everyday, and taking lessons at Drum City on Santa Monica Boulevard. In six months time, she was convinced she had outgrown her kit. She now asked for a $300 silver sparkle Ludwig kit, which is the near-modern equivalent to a $2,000 Ludwig kit today. Her parents were hesitant, but decided to get it for her, even paying monthly fees in order to afford it.
Before the brother-sister duo came to be, Karen and Richard Carpenter were in other bands, playing in some of the top night clubs across Hollywood. They were shunned from certain places for their offbeat sound. Their group, Spectrum (initially called the Summerchimes), was practically banned from ever playing at the famous Whisky A Go Go, after they opened for Evergreen Blue Shoes, on the account of “Nobody is dancing”; However, they still managed to get into places like the Troubadour–Karen even recalling waiting in line with Jackson Browne–as well as the Blue Law, opening for Steppenwolf. The Spectrum sound was just the beginning of the softer “Carpenters Sound” we know Karen and Richard for today. Spectrum was a sextet, featuring Karen on drums, and Richard of course on keyboards. Richard also did all of the vocal and instrumental arrangements, the picking of material, and writing with his good friend, Joshn Bettis, who would continue to write with Richard for the duration of the Carpenters’ career. Both siblings were lead singers.
Before Spectrum, however, Karen and Richard, along with tuba player, Wes Jacobs, formed the Carpenter Trio. The crowed audibly gasped when Karen sat behind the drums at performances such as the Hollywood Bowl Battle of the Bands in 1966, which the trio ended up winning not only for the pure shock factor of not only Karen’s drumming abilities, but a remarkable, yet nearly comical Tuba solo, and Richard’s advanced, complex piano playing. Richard explained in the new ‘Carpenters: The Musical Legacy’ book, that there was no clear star of the three of them to his eyes, but he was apparently regarded the star of the show according to the reviews written after their performance.
The Richard (Dick) Carpenter Trio also came back together to win the contest ‘Your All American College Show’ in 1968. A clip from their first television show appearance including a live performance of ‘Dancing in the Street’ has been going viral in the past year, resulting in Karen Carpenter being paid her due– she ended up trending on Twitter quite a few times this year, among other social media sites. More and more people are finally learning to respect the true genius of not only the Carpenters, but also, the true genius of Karen’s drumming.
Karen often referred to herself as “a drummer who sings,” even though countless respected musicians regard her to be the greatest female vocalist of all time. Even Paul McCartney referred to her as having the “most angelic voice” he’d ever heard. Several respected drummers have admired Karen’s chops throughout the years as well. Keith Moon of The Who (sometimes falsely reported as Neil Peart) even allegedly said when asked what it was like to be the greatest drummer of all time, “I don’t know. You’ll have to ask Karen Carpenter.” (It is, once again, difficult to find an exact source on that quote) It comes in to question if Moon was, in fact, mockingly quoting the Playboy Poll, or if he was stating that he actually believed Karen was the greatest drummer of all time. According to the articles claiming Karen won the poll, he came in 4th place, but my copy of the February 1975 issue of Playboy says that he came in 6th, thus placing higher than Karen. This is yet another flaw in the written article.
Karen continued to passionately play the drums in her free time, but it was very limited. She would sometimes arrive to the studio early just to play before recording sessions. This was especially noted around the making of her solo album in New York in 1979 and 1980.
Karen’s legacy as a drummer lives on to this day, and, regardless of a silly poll, she is often regarded the greatest that ever lived for a multitude of reasons. I am still, however, continuing my research on these Jazz and Pop Polls, and I will update this article as needed in the process. Make sure to subscribe to the site to receive new updates every time I post!
Karen and Richard Carpenter Fans 
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