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Karen Anne Carpenter (March 2, 1950 - February 4, 1983) was a highly successful American singer and drummer. She and her brother, Richard, formed the popular 1970s duo, The Carpenters. Carpenter was an accomplished drummer, placing first in Playboy's reader poll for Best Rock Drummer of 1975, thus pioneering the way for a plethora of female drummers to follow. She suffered from anorexia, a little known disease at the time, and eventually died from complications related to "recovering" from the illness at the age of 32, in 1983. In recent years, artists such as Madonna, Shania Twain, and kd Lang, among others, have cited her as a musical influence. If I Were A Carpenter is a tribute album to the Carpenters featuring several alternative rock bands covering the tunes performed by Richard and Karen Carpenter. (One of the most acclaimed songs on this album is Sonic Youth's cover of "Superstar.")
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