Richard Lynn Carpenter (born October 15, 1946) 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.

Richard Lynn Carpenter was born at Grace-New Haven Hospital (now called Yale New Haven Hospital) in New Haven, Connecticut, the same hospital where his sister, Karen, was later born. His parents were Agnes Reuwer Tatum (a housewife) (March 5, 1915 – November 10, 1996) and Harold Bertram Carpenter (November 8, 1908 – October 15, 1988). Harold was born in China, where his own parents were missionaries, and was educated at boarding schools in England, before working in the printing business. Carpenter was named after his father's younger brother, Richard Lynn Carpenter. Carpenter and his uncle both married women named Mary. Richard and his sister were baptized into the United Methodist Church and as children were part of the Methodist Youth Ministry.

Carpenter frequently played the piano while his younger sister, Karen, played baseball outside. He and Karen also liked to listen to the children's records their father bought for them when they were young. Richard was introduced to Perry Como and Ella Fitzgerald, among many others through his father's record collection, and by age 12, he knew he wanted to be in the music business. His first public appearance as a musician was at age 16 in New Haven. Along with two older friends, a group was formed and they played at a local pizza parlor. Richard joined the venture to earn money to buy a car. The Carpenter family moved from New Haven to Downey, California, in June 1963. They wanted Richard to further his music career, and the family was tired of the cold New England winters.

After graduating from Downey High School in 1964, Carpenter studied music at California State College at Long Beach (now known as California State University, Long Beach). There, he met Frank Pooler, a conductor and composer who wrote the lyrics to the Christmas classic "Merry Christmas Darling" in 1968. Richard also met his good friend John Bettis, who co-wrote songs with Richard. At Long Beach, Richard also met Gary Sims, Dan Woodhams, and Doug Strawn, who later became members of the Carpenters’ live band.

Carpenter created the Richard Carpenter Trio in 1965 with sister Karen and friend Wes Jacobs. Richard played the piano, Karen played the drums, and Wes played the tuba and bass.

In 1966, the Richard Carpenter Trio played "Iced Tea" and "The Girl from Ipanema" at the Hollywood Bowl Battle of the Bands. They won the competition, and shortly afterward recorded three songs at RCA Studios: "Every Little Thing", "Strangers in the Night", and the Carpenter original, "Iced Tea". "Iced Tea" is the only recording that was officially released to the public.

Around 1967, Richard and Karen joined four other student musicians from Long Beach State to form a sextet, Spectrum, consisting of: Richard Carpenter; Karen Carpenter; John Bettis; Leslie Johnston; Gary Sims; Danny Woodhams. ...

Source: Article "Richard Carpenter (musician)" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Richard Lynn Carpenter, né le 15 octobre 1946 à New Haven (Connecticut), est un musicien de musique pop américain, surtout connu comme étant l'un des deux membres du duo formé avec sa sœur Karen Carpenter et nommé the Carpenters. Il fut producteur de disque, arrangeur, pianiste et joueur de clavier, et par intermittence chanteur, compositeur et se joignit pour les harmonies vocales à sa sœur Karen.

Après la mort de sa sœur Karen, il a enregistré un album solo, intitulé Time, et a dédicacé la chanson When Time Was All We Had à sa sœur Karen.

Richard Lynn Carpenter est né de Agnes Reuwer Tatum et de Harold Bertram Carpenter au Grace-New Haven Hospital (maintenant nommé «Yale-New Haven Hospital») à New Haven (Connecticut), dans le même hôpital où naîtra Karen en 1950. Il reçut le prénom du frère cadet de son père, Richard Lynn Carpenter. Lui et son oncle ont tous deux épousé des femmes prénommées Mary.

Richard et Karen aimaient écouter les disques d'enfants que leur père leur rapportait. Richard jouait fréquemment du piano pendant que sa sœur jouait dehors au baseball. Il fut initié à la chanson à travers Perry Como et Ella Fitzgerald, parmi d'autres; dès l'âge de 12 ans, il savait qu'il voulait travailler dans la musique.

La famille Carpenter quitta New Haven pour Downey en Californie, en juin 1963. Ils voulaient que Richard y menât une carrière musicale, et la famille était fatiguée des hivers froids de la Nouvelle-Angleterre. Richard avait alors 16 ans, il étudia la musique à l'université d'État de Californie à Long Beach, en Californie. Là, il rencontra Frank Pooler, un chef d'orchestre et compositeur qui écrivit les chants du classique de Noël Merry Christmas Darling en 1968. Il y rencontra aussi John Bettis, avec qui il écrivit des chansons.

Carpenter créa le Trio Richard Carpenter en 1965 avec sa sœur Karen et son ami Wes Jacobs. Richard jouait du piano, Karen de la batterie et Wes du tuba et de la basse.

En 1966, le Trio Richard Carpenter joua Iced Tea et The Girl from Ipanema à la coupe "Hollywood Bowl" "Battle of the Bands". Ils gagnèrent la compétition et peu de temps après enregistrèrent trois chansons dans les studios de RCA: Every Little Thing, Strangers in the Night, et la chanson originale des Carpenters, Iced Tea. Iced Tea est le seul enregistrement qui fut publié. Vers 1967, Richard et Karen s'adjoignirent quatre autres étudiants musiciens de l'université d'État de Californie, de Long Beach, pour former un sextet, Spectrum, composé de: John Bettis; Richard Carpenter; Karen Carpenter; Leslie Johnston; Gary Sims; Danny Goodhams.

Bien que le groupe Spectrum jouât fréquemment dans des nightclubs tels que le "Whisky A Go-Go", il ne rencontra pas une réponse très enthousiaste - leurs harmonies larges et leur tendance au rock'n'roll limitaient le potentiel commercial de leur groupe. Néanmoins, le groupe Spectrum fut très utile d'une autre manière, fournissant la matière de base pour leurs succès futurs: Bettis devint un chanteur pour les compositions originales de Richard et tous les autres membres à l'exception de Leslie Johnston devinrent membres des Carpenters. ...

Source: Article "Richard Lynn Carpenter" de Wikipédia en français, soumis à la licence CC-BY-SA 3.0.