Her Voice Was Pure Sunshine. Watch Karen Carpenter Sing the Song That Took Them to No. 1

Few voices have ever sounded as warm as Karen Carpenter’s.

Karen was born in New Haven, Connecticut, in 1950. She started out as the drummer in a band with her older brother, Richard. Soon everyone realized she was something special as a singer too.

As the Carpenters, the brother and sister became one of the biggest acts of the 1970s.

In 1972, Richard and his songwriting partner, John Bettis, wrote a cheerful little song called “Top of the World.” It went on the Carpenters’ album “A Song for You,” but it wasn’t released as a single.

Then country singer Lynn Anderson recorded her own version, and it climbed to No. 2 on the country chart.

That got the Carpenters thinking. They went back into the studio, Karen recorded her vocal again, and in September 1973 they released “Top of the World” as a single.

By December, it was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It stayed there for two weeks and became their second No. 1 hit.

In this video, filmed live in Amsterdam in February 1974, Karen sings it in a pale blue gown, with Richard close by.

Her smile says it all.

Sadly, Karen passed away in February 1983, at only 32, from heart failure caused by anorexia. Her death opened the eyes of millions to an illness few people talked about at the time.

But her voice is still here, and it still sounds like sunshine.

What is your favorite Carpenters song? Tell us in the comments.