Richard Carpenter (musician) - Post-Carpenters

Post-Carpenters

On October 12, 1983, eight months after Karen's death, the Carpenter family celebrated the unveiling of the Carpenters' new star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Richard said in his speech, "This is a sad day, but at the same time a very special and beautiful day to my family and I. My only regret is that Karen is not physically here to share it with us, but I know that she is very much alive in our minds, and in our hearts."

He started recording a solo album on June 26, 1985, and finished the album on July 5, 1987. The album was called Time. It featured Dusty Springfield and Dionne Warwick. Springfield sang "Something in Your Eyes", and Warwick sang "In Love Alone". Richard created a song dedicated to Karen called "When Time Was All We Had". It starts off as an a cappella, but then Richard's piano fades in, as well as Herb Alpert's flugelhorn. Lyrics included:

Our hearts were filled with music and laughter,

Your voice will be the sweetest sound I'll ever hear and yet,

We knew somehow the song would never end,

When time was all we had to spend.

In 1996, at the suggestion of music writer Daniel Levitin, Carpenter recorded and released Richard Carpenter: Pianist, Arranger, Composer, Conductor, which included reworkings of many Carpenters favorites, including hits and album tracks, and ends with "Karen's Theme", which Carpenter composed for the 1989 made for TV movie, The Karen Carpenter Story.

In 1984, Richard married his first cousin Mary Rudolph (daughter of his mother's sister Bernice). Contrary to popular belief, Mary and Richard are not biologically related, since Rudolph is adopted. Her brother, Mark Rudolph, was the Carpenters' road manager, as well as the radio call-in "contestant" in the "Medley" on the 1973 album, Now & Then. The couple had been dating since the late 1970s. A young Mary made a cameo appearance in the Carpenters' promotional video for the song "I Need to Be in Love". It should be noted that when Karen learned of the relationship, she was completely mortified and shared her feelings with her brother on a number of occasions, leading to a final argument where Richard told his sister "We have had the tests done, there will be no problem if we have children in the future. So let it drop!" Richard and Mary have five children: Kristi Lynn, Traci Tatum, Mindi Karen (named after his late sister), Colin Paul and Taylor Mary. The children and Richard sometimes perform music together at various Carpenter-related events. The family today resides in Thousand Oaks, California. He also funds an annual scholarship/talent show for people with artistic abilities that is held at the Thousand Oaks Civic Center.

Recently, Richard helped in the productions of the documentaries Close to You: Remembering the Carpenters (1997) and Only Yesterday: The Carpenters Story (2007). He released the DVDs Gold: Greatest Hits and Interpretations. Carpenter is also mastering a new Christmas album.