Carpenters - Heather

"Heather" is an instrumental tune from Karen and Richard's 5th album "Now & Then." The clip at the end of the video is taken from a television ad for the "Voice Of The Heart" album.

The tune was originally written in the early Seventies as background music for a Geritol commercial. Richard contacted the composer John Pearson and requested permission to record the song. Pearson agreed and also told Richard the name of the tune - "Autumn Reverie." He gave Richard permission to retitle the song and it was John Bettis (lyricist for the Carpenters) who thought of the name "Heather."

The house on the cover of the album is the house Karen and Richard bought for their parents in the early Seventies. The Carpenter House, at 9828 Newville Ave., was the longtime home of the Carpenter family, and where Karen Carpenter collapsed Feb. 4, 1983. She was rushed to Downey Community Hospital where she died of cardiac arrest.

Following the deaths of Agnes and Harold Carpenter, the house fell into disrepair. Richard finally sold the house in the late '90's. Several years ago, the current owner announced that the home next door (9821 Newville) was on track to be torn down, and the actual Carpenter House would soon follow. City Hall records revealed an application to demolish the house at 9821 Newville, but none for 9828. Records listed Manuel Parra as the property owner of 9821 Newville. When contacted, language barriers made it difficult to ask him about the demolition.

Carpenter fans who consider the house to be their "Graceland" were horrified to learn of the impending demolition. "A few of us Carpenters fans went to the sale and were horrified at the condition of the house and the grounds," Rod Reynolds, a fan who attended an estate sale at the house, said. "When Richard and Karen lived there, they had a magnificent Japanese garden in the backyard. This garden has crumbled into disrepair and most of the foliage is dead. The fountains and river-let are completely dried up."

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I have heard that an annex which housed a recording studio where Richard composed most of his songs has already been torn down. I don't know about the rest of the house.