The Carpenters didn't just record their own hits. They also did covers, with remakes of hits by the Beatles, Herman's Hermits, and a relatively unknown Canadian band, Klaatu, on their discography.
Klaatu? Who?
Klaatu had recorded "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" in 1976. That caught the Carpenters' attention, and Richard followed the necessary protocols to obtain the rights to record a cover a year later.
Guitarist Tony Peluso plays the DJ at the start of the video. I guess the Carpenters couldn't convince Casey Kasem to take the gig.
A few months later, the Carpenters included "Craft" in a primetime special for ABC that also featured Suzanne Somers (Three's Company), Charlie Callas (Switch), and John Davidson (ex-The Girl With Something Extra). We'll see if we can find that down the line.
The Carpenters didn't need Casey Kasem.
ReplyDeleteTony Peluso, who was one of their regular guitarists, did that DJ voice as part of their concert act; Richard and Karen did quite a few oldies in the show, including the medley "Yesterday Once More", using Peluso's DJ for the intros.
Which makes me think Peluso might've had experience as a DJ before joining the Carpenters.
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