History YMMV / Carpenters

** Their SignatureSong, "Close to You," was written by Music/BurtBacharach and Hal David about seven years earlier and recorded by several other artists[[note]]The first to record it was Creator/RichardChamberlain. Yes, [[HeAlsoDid the actor]].[[/note]] before they grabbed it and made it their own. (Bacharach praised their version, saying that his immediate reaction to hearing it was, "Man, this is just great! I completely blew it with Creator/RichardChamberlain, but now someone else has come along and made a record so much better than mine.")

* AdaptationDisplacement: For some reason, several of their covers are this in Asia. "Sing" is often credited to the ''Carpenters'' instead of Series/SesameStreet in parts of the region. Ditto for several Music/TheBeatles numbers like "Ticket to Ride" and "Help!"

** The Carpenters are the most famous cover of Joe Raposo's "Sing", which has been covered by dozens of artists over the decades.

* FaceOfTheBand: Karen. Yes, Richard was a great composer, but Karen's intimate singing style made her an ''icon.'' However, Karen hated being the face of the band, and preferred to be a drummer, but even though she was an extremely skilled drummer, her voice (and look) forced her into the limelight.

** Their SignatureSong, "Close to You," was written by Music/BurtBacharach and Hal David about seven years earlier and recorded by several other artists[[note]]The first to record it was Creator/RichardChamberlain. Yes, [[HeAlsoDid the actor]].[[/note]] before they grabbed it and made it their own.

** "Top of the World" had an interesting journey to the top of the charts. The song was popular in concert, and the original recorded version from the ''A Song for You'' album became a hit single in Japan, but Richard Carpenter wasn't convinced of the song's hit potential in the U.S. until a cover version by Lynn Anderson became a major country and minor pop hit. Thus, Karen and Richard re-recorded the song for their first greatest-hits album and released the new version as a single, and the rest is history. (and in another case of cover displacement, some know Music/ShonenKnife's cover better)

** In the album ''Passage'', Karen made a rendition of "Don't Cry for Me Argentina" (from ''Music/{{Evita}}''), a song that was sung from the viewpoint of Argentinian First Lady UsefulNotes/EvaPeron, who despite her initial goal of achieving fame and glory found her true calling to be the people of her country. Surprisingly, both women came down with diseases (Eva's cervical cancer, Karen's anorexia) at the peak of their fame, and both of them succumbed at a young age in their thirties (Eva was 33, Karen not yet 33).

** Would have been played straight if Karen had lived, as she did in fact consider pursuing an acting career, but never got the chance.

* DeadArtistsAreBetter: Admittedly it might be partially to thank for their vindication by history, as well as the general underlying tragedy of the siblings, especially for Karen.