The Carpenters were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings; singer and drummer Karen (born 1950) and musician, record producer, songwriter, and music arranger Richard Carpenter (born 1946). The combination of Richard’s arranging and composing skills, together with Karen’s smooth, expressive contralto vocals lead them to become one of the biggest-selling American musical acts of all time.
A contralto is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range is the lowest female voice type. Karen received much praise and admiration for her 3-octave contralto vocal range, and was listed among the American Rolling Stone magazine’s 100 greatest singers of all time.
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