Karen Carpenter was a once-in-a-generation talent whose voice will not be replicated anytime soon. Her vocal control and her ability to reproduce her studio songs with absolute perfection during concerts without auto-tune was just unparalleled. She was a one of a kind. She was also considered one of the best drummers of her day. Her legacy should be respected and honored because nobody today compares to Karen. R.I.P. Karen. We will always love you and miss you!!!
Richard Carpenter was a big reason she could shine the way she did. His arrangements are tailored just for her voice. He set them in the perfect key for her voice.... Listen at the end of the song, the harmonies he set up.......just brilliant. They were a great team.
Don't worry that you got emotional....I'm 6'5", 270lbs and Karen always reduces me to a blubbering wreck! She's got that emotion tone in her singing arsenal, which tugs at the heart strings....gets us every time!!!
You must be from San Francisco man.he!he!he!he!he! Just kidding. I know what you mean.Whether you arenig and fat or skinny and short. If you wouldn't feel a thing you might as well be dead.
I swear Karen can make any man cry and puts you in a different mood than other singers can and maybe some of it has to do with her mystique that she's not here with us today physically, but you can feel her spirit come through here as it's like an angel singing.
I’d like to ask you to please see my post, more recent than yours by a month and click the link in it. Dani did a recent reaction to the singer. This is a cover of this song. Second only to Kacie. IMHO. This 20 year old woman is a Carpenters super-fan, too. ❤️ Feel free to tell me what you thought. I already know.
In 1944, 18 year old Frank Pooler wrote the words to this song as a Christmas love letter to his girlfriend. Pooler later became a choirmaster at Long Beach State and in 1966 an 18 year old student of his, Richard Carpenter, took the words and wrote the music to them. In 1970, 20 year old Karen Carpenter got to sing them.
The lyrics were written in 1944 by an 18 year old Frank Pooler, which, according to him, were about a love interest he had at the time. 22 years later in 1966, when he was choral director at California State University, Long Beach, two of his aspiring music students, Karen and Richard Carpenter, who were beginning to have success as a local band, asked him (their favorite professor) if he had any ideas for holiday songs. According to Pooler, they had become tired of the standard holiday songs they were singing. Pooler gave them the lyrics of the song he had written from years before, and told them he didn't think much of the original melody. According to Pooler, Richard wrote a new tune for the lyrics-the tune currently used-in 15 minutes. Four years later, in 1970, the Carpenters first recorded and released it as a single.
Karen Carpenter is my all-time favorite female singer. Love her. "Merry Christmas Darling" is a Christmas classic and such a beautiful song. The lyrics really capture the warm. loving, spirit of the holidays. Dani, your genuinely heartfelt reaction was wonderful. There's no need to apologize for displaying honest emotions.
mine as well, always has been, and always will be... the ultimate vocalist (more than just a singer) who sang TO YOU NOT AT YOU..... purest, richest, most warm, intimate movingly beautiful voice.... also she had the most perfect diction and enunciation i've ever heard from anyone, male or female.... her voice and storytelling ability of any and every song she ever sang makes her voice romance, love and christmas.
Amen. It’s Karen Carpenter. That’s what she does. I grew up watching, and she’s been gone from this world almost 40 years now, and her beautiful pure voice still has that same emotional effect on me.
I think Karen like anyone wanted to find her true love. She wanted children and a family of her own. Unfortunately the man she married was not able to give her children he failed to tell her of his vasectomy. He was cruel to her because she was thin. He called her a bag of bones. This affected her causing her anorexia. She passed away as the divorce was finalized. She was a beautiful person inside and out. Karen you are loved and missed ❤
My favorite Christmas song ever...the way Karen performs it really brings out the special emotions that surround us during the Holiday Season. She always touches my heart with her singing with such perfection....
Karen Carpenter had such a beautiful voice so very distinctive . It was just so sad the problems she had in her personal life and tragic early death, but we are fortunate we still have her music
A woman from Australia and I heard this song two weeks before Christmas 2021 as we were waiting in line at our local post office in Arizona. We both teared up. She said it was such a shame that Ms. Carpenter lived in the decades previous to ours - she said, "If only she had lived in our time, she would have gotten the help she needed; she would have lived and we would have been able to cherish her for far longer than we did."
"I'm already getting emotional ?!!" She's had that effect on me... and many others.... since the early 70s. Everything she sang... had feeling. She is soooo missed. St. Karen.
Yes Karen was said to have the perfect vocal range...her combination with interpretation of the lyrics and Richards musical arrangement will always leaves you... well crying...sometimes through the whole song! No shame girl let it flow...that’s what songs should do...my fav pop Christmas song!
My favorite singer. One thing you never had to do was look for the lyrics to see what she was saying....perfect voice. Her and Elvis, the two best ever.
Here is one of that shows another side of Carpenters. It is a version of the old standard I Can Dream, Can't I. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-UeTXNAyCQAQ.html
Frank Pooler wrote the lyrics in 1946. I believe Frank was one of Richard's Professors and Frank gave Richard the lyrics and Richard added music and arraingement. Yes it is a beautiful song.
This is actually a re-recording from the 1970 original. Karen had a cold in the that session and was unhappy with it so they went back into the studio and tweaked it.
I'm a 48 year old man, & this song, as it has for years, still makes me emotional. It always will. My all time favorite Christmas song sung by one of the greatest female vocalists to ever live. ❤️
@@DaniAtkinson I relate to the emotional response you had listening to this her voice affects me the same way there is something I have always felt melancholy in it. It stirs up a lot inside. 🎄
I just keep thinking how many more incredible songs she would have sung .she reminds me of my older sister who loved Xmas time and she past away at 40 of a brain aneurysm.and loved Karen 🌷🙏
She had that type of voice that you knew who it was just by the sound and Angelina Jordon does me the same way...Karen left us way too soon but she left her mark on the world...Her sweet voice...
It is absolutely incredible that Karen thought of herself as a drummer first, not a vocalist. Her voice could move even the coldest of hearts!! Your reaction to her was priceless. Thanks.
My favorite female singer of all time. I would listen to Karen Carpenter sing the phone book. I loved your reaction, Dani. Getting emotional to Karen Carpenter's music, especially this gem, is almost impossible to avoid.
I believe this was the last song they made before Karen started her obsession with weight loss. I still remember hearing of her passing and was so upset to think that the world would never hear new material from that voice. Never be afraid to show yo emotions on camera, it's what makes you human!
I am crying too, I'm a senior now and my family is sadly gone, lots of great memories but just the 2 of us now, so yeah, I hear you, I am happy for the season but feel melancholy too. Thanks for your real reaction Dani, happy holidays to you, you and Karen got me tonight, You are a wonderful lady and human being! XO Merry Xmas! XO
Back in may 2010 My mom passed away from Breast cancer and when I hear this song and sing it I always miss her and think about how much I miss her and I will always remember her she was always a big part of my life and still will be a big part of my life in spirit!
I loved this song. I spent several years in the US navy and spent a few of those years away for the holidays. This song is about being away from your real home as well as you homework and not being able to just celebrate with friends. Thank you for this reaction!!
When this song came out it almost instantly became a holiday classic. The warm, velvety voice of one of pop's greatest female voices brings both joy and wistful sentimentality. I have the sheet music and play it on the keyboard every Christmas season. Thank you for showcasing and reacting to this awesome, talented brother and sister duo; their timeless music is being appreciated by another generation.
Wow, I see what you meant! You made it through without a break and you spoke from your heart.... Dani, when we're in our cars during the Holidays and the station we're listening to is playing Christmas Songs there are certain songs which really touch us. Karen's versions are in that group for sure. You know, it's crazy but she was a drummer in her brother's band and only after insisting she began to sing solo's with the band. With song, her spirit will always be with us during the Christmas Holiday every year.
very much enjoyed your reaction video to Karen Carpenter's "Merry Christmas, Darling"....and by the way, Dani, your emotional reactions to these songs are part of what makes your work so endearing to your fans. I'm hoping that as the Holiday Season progresses you will treat us to more of The Carpenters, as they gave us so many beautiful treats to enjoy over the years. Wishing you the best. Yours Truly, Bill P.
Hi Bill! Thank you so much, I will definitely be getting to more Carpenters this holiday season! I am glad I can be myself with you all, it is truly amazing!
Yes, we really waited eagerly for the Christmas card from that special person. This is such a classic holiday song and you are like the rest of us when listening to this song.😊
It’s not unusual to have those feelings while listening to Karen sing. I find myself feeling the same way. Another beautiful Christmas song she sings,that I love is “Have Yourself a Merry LittleChristmas”. I don’t know what it is, but when she sings that last “highest bough” its a real tear jerker.
@@DaniAtkinson I'll 2nd this recommendation - her recording of this great Christmas classic is the absolute best - and is right up there with Merry Christmas, Darling in terms of the wonderful arrangement and the gorgeous vocal...
Dani , I always get emotional with this song . It takes me back too 17 years old with so many happy memories , family , friends , my mom was still alive and felling such hope for my future. If I could just turn back time and be that young girl so full of hope and life , joy , adventurous! A time of innocent , before I knew sadness, disappointment, and little did I know I would have my mom only for 12 more years . Its , hard when your young too accept death so soon . Because , in your youth we still think “ time on our side” I would love too travel back just for one moment in time . When I hear this some yes I become emotional . All the what if’s, that never where. And, some dreams that I thought would never come true . Yes ,Merry Christmas “ I wish I was with you “( sorry I went on way too much)🤭 🤗❤️❤️
A musical genius and a tragic lack of knowing how special she truly was, and how many people were blessed by her voice. R I P Karen. Thank you Dani. You truly have every right to be emotional listening to that Angel sing. As do we all. The season is almost here again. May your holidays be blessed. And thanks for all you do. 👌🙂❤😊
Your reaction is what I feel every Christmas season when I see this video or hear this song...even after 40 years! Yes, sadness for those who we miss a lot during this season, and for Karen herself. It's good to have the "feeling", it's good for the heart!!
This song always evokes strong emotional reaction, especially for those who experience/(d) separation and loss from that special loved one. That was a unique characteristic in Karen's vocal presentation. She funneled her emotion straight into her songs, which hit you as if it was meant for you. Interesting to note how many men respond to her music. Many long time fans from the 70's to new ones just experiencing her magic. Music like this is missing from our lives today, and the void can't be filled by any amount of butt wiggling.
Dani: Thank you for this. This song touches my heart as well. I send this song to Susan every Christmas. She was my first real girlfriend from high school and my first kiss. We listened to this song together in 1972. And it is still special to send this song to her every year since then.
This song was originally released before the end of the Vietnam War. It gave the song more context. Yes, their Christmas CD is the best!! A Christmas Portrait
You're not the only one who feels that Karen's voice is so calming or that a sense of peacefulness rushes over you when you hear her sing - many reactors on RU-vid have said the same thing, or something similar, and you will see comments like that from many different people under most of their music videos - this calming or soothing effect combines with the resonant beauty of her vocal quality (timbre) to make her voice ultra compelling - in fact, irresistible - one simply cannot not listen to her with full attention when she is singing. FYI, her version of the great Christmas classic "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is unmatched in it's arrangement and her superb vocal performance.
Hey Dani, Robert Kitchens here, I absolutely loved the reaction you did for Karen Carpenters Merry Christmas Darling. I too absolutely love that song. If you would like to do another Christmas song reaction that might make you cry, do O Holy Night by Andy Williams. Love the songs you do and hope you can keep doing them, love always, Robert.
Hi Dani, loved the reaction of the carpenter,s merry Christmas darling. And you getting emotional hun is ok. It shows us as your loyal subscriber's that we are loving, caring, and emotional when we see something so beautiful as Karen singing that lovely Christmas song, and you response from seeing it im surprised you didn't have a box of kleenex next to you. It is a wonderful song indeed. Hey dani when you do the livestream on Friday I think all of us should share a big virtual hugs and kisses to show our love to you and your family and how awesome you are you and your channel have helped me and others with this pandemic from at times going stir crazy. As I told other reactor,s and you I will be glad when this pandemic is cured once and for all. Have a great rest of your day Bob and Teena .
Dani If you don't get a tear in your eyes and a lump in your throat while listening to this lady sing, check your pulse, because your probably no longer with us.
Beautiful song by a treasured talent. The visual contrast with the greyness of you and your setting becomes more stark. How about hanging a wreath behind you for the season 😉
Don't feel bad : if this song doesn't make you get emotional then you're not human - feelings and emotions come from the Soul - and You have a Very Beautiful Soul 💕
I agree with Stephen in his comment below. Yours was one of the most genuine "reactions" I have seen in RU-vid. I really admire you for having the willingness to be so open with your feelings of tenderness. For me, this is a sign of emotional maturity. I think it would be a much better world if we were all more capable of expressing easy affection and sentimental fondness in an appropriate way as you have. You have blessed us in this. May your holidays be all that you hope they will be... and with the people near and far who you love....
