Synopsis
Space Encounters begins with Richard and Karen Carpenter performing "Sweet, Sweet Smile" in their recording studio, assisted by Charlie Callas. As they are performing, we see that they are being observed by the occupants of an alien spaceship (John Davidson and Suzanne Somers) who are on their way to Earth to meet The Carpenters. After Richard and Karen finish the song, the lights in the studio begin to flicker uncontrollably and musical instruments begin to move and play by themselves. At that moment, John teleports down to the studio and tells Richard and Karen how the people from his planet lack the ability to make music and he requests their help. Richard and Karen tell John about their earlier days in music and John uses his hi-tech pocket video screen to show The Carpenters performing "Fun Fun Fun" and "Dancing in the Street". After watching them, John tells them he wants to try singing himself and teleports to a more romantic setting to perform "Just the Way You Are".
The Carpenters continue to reminisce about their earlier recordings and they perform "Goofus" in an old garage, similar to the one in which they recorded their first record.
Richard, on piano, then performs the Space Encounters Medley, which includes the themes to Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Star Wars , on stage with a full orchestra, complete with laser and starlight effects.
Back in the recording studio, Karen and John continue to reminisce about her early days in music and she performs "Little Girl Blue". Afterwards, everybody teleports up to the spaceship's own nightclub, "The Galaxy Room", where Richard plays "Piano Picker", and Karen and Suzanne perform "Man Smart, Woman Smarter". Karen and John then perform "The Old-Fashioned Way" and then the whole cast (complete with dancers) perform a disco-medley including "The Hustle", "Boogie Nights" and "I Could Have Danced All Night".
The Carpenters then perform "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" and the show ends with an instrumental version of "We've Only Just Begun".
Karen Anne Carpenter was an American singer and drummer who formed half of the highly successful duo the Carpenters with her older brother Richard. With a distinctive three-octave contralto range, she was praised by her peers for her vocal skills. Carpenter's work continues to attract praise, including appearing on Rolling Stone's 2010 list of the 100 greatest singers of all time.
"Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" is a song by Canadian rock band Klaatu, originally released in 1976 on their first album 3:47 EST. The song was played to open night-time transmission of the pirate radio station Radio Caroline. The year following its release, American soft rock duo the Carpenters covered the song, using a crew of 160 musicians. The Carpenters' version reached the top 10 in the UK and Canada, and charted at number 1 in Ireland.
Close to You is the second studio album by the American music duo Carpenters, released on August 19, 1970. In 2003, the album was ranked #175 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time, maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list. The album contains the hit singles "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and "We've Only Just Begun". The success of the title track earned Carpenters an international reputation. The album topped the Canadian Albums Chart and peaked at #2 on the U.S. Billboard albums chart. It was also successful in the United Kingdom, entering the top 50 of the official chart for 76 weeks during the first half of the 1970s.
Richard Lynn Carpenter is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer, who formed half of the sibling duo the Carpenters alongside his younger sister Karen. He had numerous roles in the Carpenters, including record producer, arranger, pianist, keyboardist, and songwriter, as well as joining with Karen on harmony vocals.
Now & Then is the fifth studio album by the American music duo Carpenters, released on May 1, 1973. It reached No. 2 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart on July 21, 1973, and ranked No. 20 on the Cash Box year-end pop albums chart. The title, suggested by Karen and Richard's mother Agnes, was taken from a leftover song that did not appear on the album.
A Kind of Hush is the seventh studio album by the American music duo Carpenters. It was released on June 11, 1976.
Passage is the eighth studio album by the American music duo Carpenters. Released in 1977, it produced the hit singles "All You Get from Love Is a Love Song", "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" and "Sweet, Sweet Smile". The Carpenters' "Sweet, Sweet Smile" was picked up by Country radio and put the duo in the top ten of Billboard's Country chart in the spring of 1978.
The Carpenters: Music, Music, Music is a Carpenters television special from 1980. It included guest stars such as Ella Fitzgerald, John Davidson and Nelson Riddle and his orchestra.
The Carpenters' Very First Television Special was Richard and Karen Carpenter's first television special produced in the US, airing on December 8, 1976, and their second overall, following a special for BBC Television five years earlier.
The Essential Collection: 1965–1997 is a box-set compilation album from The Carpenters that, with the exception of a few track changes, is essentially the same as the 1991 From the Top set. Coming in at four discs and 73 songs, this album is one of the biggest of all Carpenters compilation sets. The songs from this box set are everything from the Richard Carpenter Trio recordings from 1965 to their biggest hits in the early 1970s to the last song ever recorded by the Carpenters, "Now".
From the Top is a box set by the Carpenters, released in 1991, containing everything from the Richard Carpenter Trio recordings from 1965 to the duo's biggest hits in the early 1970s through to the final song: "Now". This compilation was revised with The Essential Collection: 1965–1997 in 2002.
Yesterday Once More is a 2-disc compilation album by US pop group The Carpenters. It was released in 1985 and has been certified platinum in both the US and UK. The album was re-released in 1987 as Classics Volume 2 in the A&M 25th Anniversary Classics series. It was a simple repackage, reusing the 1985 glass CD masters, but with different artwork. It was re-released in 1998 with the addition of an extra track, "I Just Fall in Love Again," a revised track order, and remastered in 24-bit sound with new notes by Paul Grein.
"All You Get from Love Is a Love Song" is a song composed by Steve Eaton. Previously recorded by The Righteous Brothers in 1975, it was popularized by the Carpenters in 1977. It was released to the public on May 21, 1977. Its B-side was "I Have You", a song released on the A Kind of Hush album in 1976. The song was also included on their 1977 album, Passage.
The Ultimate Collection is a 3-CD set by the Carpenters released in 2006. It contains many of their popular songs, like "(They Long to Be) Close to You" and "Top of the World", and their album cuts, like "Desperado" and "Jambalaya ". All of the songs are taken directly from the original album. In the case of "Yesterday Once More", it fades into a motorcycle engine, which subsequently fades into the oldies medley on the Now & Then album.
The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter. They produced a distinctive soft musical style, combining Karen's contralto vocals with Richard's harmonizing, arranging, and composition skills. During their 14-year career, the Carpenters recorded 10 albums along with many singles and several television specials.
"Sweet, Sweet Smile" is a C&W song composed by Otha Young and Juice Newton introduced by the Carpenters on their 1977 album Passage. The track features drummer Ron Tutt who regularly backed Elvis Presley.
The discography of the American pop group the Carpenters consists of 14 studio albums, two Christmas albums, two live albums, 49 singles, and numerous compilation albums. The duo was made up of siblings Karen and Richard Carpenter.
"Let Me Be the One" is a song written in 1970 by Roger Nichols and Paul Williams. It was first recorded by Nanette Workman and released in 1970 as a single on Columbia Records. The Carpenters' version first appeared on their 1971 album Carpenters.
Anthony F. Peluso was an American guitarist and record producer. He was lead guitarist for pop duo Carpenters from 1972 to 1983.
Carpenters is the third studio album by American music duo The Carpenters. Released on May 14, 1971, it was their most successful studio album, reaching number two on the Billboard 200 chart and number 12 in the UK, as well as being certified 4× Platinum by the RIAA. The album contained the hit songs "For All We Know", "Rainy Days and Mondays" and "Superstar".
