Karen Carpenter grew up in New Haven, Connecticut where she ended up forming the band, The Carpenters, with her brother. She has received mountains of praise for her three-octave contralto vocal range and her drumming skills, which are remembered to this day.

Karen Carpenter

Although most of her music was released as a member of the band, she did produce many solo works as well although they didn’t end up getting released until 1996. Legendary Paul McCartney even admitted that Karen had “the best female voice in the world: melodic, tuneful and distinctive.”