Little Girl Blue is an intimate profile of Karen Carpenter, a girl from a modest Connecticut upbringing who became a Southern California superstar.
Karen was the instantly recognizable lead singer of the Carpenters. The top-selling American musical act of the 1970s, they delivered the love songs that defined a generation. Little Girl Blue reveals Karen’s heartbreaking struggles with her mother, brother, and husband; the intimate disclosures she made to her closest friends; her love for playing drums and her frustrated quest for solo stardom; and the ups and downs of her treatment for anorexia nervosa. After her shocking death at 32 years of age in 1983, she became the proverbial poster child for that disorder; but the other causes of her decline are laid bare for the first time in this moving account.
Little Girl Blue is Karen Carpenter’s definitive biography, based on exclusive interviews with her innermost circle of girlfriends and nearly 100 others, including childhood friends, professional associates, and lovers.
Industry Reviews
"I've always been a fan of Karen Carpenter because, beneath her seemingly simple and pristinely pure voice lay a complex and heavy heart in search of salvation. . . . "Little Girl Blue" celebrates and mourns one of America's greatest musical treasures and tragedies." --Sam Harris, singer and actor "Karen Carpenter was a great, natural singer who made things sound beautifully simple, and her story deserves to be told." --Burt Bacharach "A fascinating, and at times harrowing, read . . . Schmidt adds vital new information to our understanding of this contradictory and conflicted artist . . .We know how her story ends, but Schmidt has made it as absorbing as it is deeply humane." "--Blurt" "Randy Schmidt captures and shares the moving story of Karen's life. This biography of a true artist will touch the hearts of all her many fans, just as she herself embraced mine." --Phil Ramone, Grammy-award winning record producer "Very comprehensive . . . heartbreaking." --"Minneapolis Star Tribune" Very comprehensive . . . heartbreaking. "Minneapolis Star Tribune"" "Like most of Karen Carpenter's songs, this book pulls you in and triggers more emotion than you bargained for. Finally, the story of this angelic voice is told." --Stephen Cox, author of The Munsters: A Trip Down Mockingbird Lane "The copious research and quick-moving narration make this a volume that die-hard Carpenters fans and casual listeners alike will find interesting." --Publishers Weekly "Very comprehensive . . . heartbreaking." --Minneapolis Star Tribune "[Schmidt's] fresh perspective reanimates the rise and fall of an American recording icon. . . . [A] dense, fact-filled treatment, which carefully skirts sensationalism while exposing new truths in this haunting tragedy." --Kirkus Reviews "A fascinating, and at times harrowing, read. . . . Schmidt adds vital new information to our understanding of this contradictory and conflicted artist. . . . We know how her story ends, but Schmidt has made it as absorbing as it is deeply humane." --Blurt "Told with compassion and understanding, this poignant and richly fascinating story of Karen Carpenter reads more like a novel you can't put down than the extensively and impeccably researched biography it actually is." --David Kaufman, author of Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door "Heartbreaking. . . . Schmidt succeeds in bringing a gifted, troubled musician to vivid life." --People "[A] heart-rending biography . . . The author relates Karen's story in writing as fluid and affectless as her singing . . . As Schmidt details Karen's unstoppable fall, Little Girl Blue becomes one of the saddest tales in pop . . . This compassionate book gives a tortured waif the third dimension she deserved." --New York Times Book Review Like most of Karen Carpenter s songs, this book pulls you in and triggers more emotion than you bargained for. Finally, the story of this angelic voice is told. Stephen Cox, author of The Munsters: A Trip Down Mockingbird Lane" Very comprehensive . . . heartbreaking. Minneapolis Star Tribune" [Schmidt s] fresh perspective reanimates the rise and fall of an American recording icon. . . . [A] dense, fact-filled treatment, which carefully skirts sensationalism while exposing new truths in this haunting tragedy. Kirkus Reviews" A fascinating, and at times harrowing, read. . . . Schmidt adds vital new information to our understanding of this contradictory and conflicted artist. . . . We know how her story ends, but Schmidt has made it as absorbing as it is deeply humane. Blurt" Told with compassion and understanding, this poignant and richly fascinating story of Karen Carpenter reads more like a novel you can t put down than the extensively and impeccably researched biography it actually is. David Kaufman, author of Doris Day: The Untold Story of the Girl Next Door" Heartbreaking. . . . Schmidt succeeds in bringing a gifted, troubled musician to vivid life. People"
