Free Little Girl Blue by Randy L. Schmidt Page B

Show
. Produced by radio legend Wendell Niles and sponsored by the Colgate-Palmolive Corporation, the program gathered top musical talent from college campuses across the country. Along with new recruit Bill Sissoyev on bass, their act was well received during auditions, and they ultimately advanced to the televised portion of the competition. Wearing showy white go-go boots and a wide white headband, Karen tore through their Mamas and the Papas–inspired “Dancing in the Street” with much energy and gusto. Her drumming was intense and her singing strong and deliberate. They appeared as a trio several times during that year, and the group won $3,500.
    The publicity alone was enough to keep the trio excited about
Your All-American College Show
, but Wendell Niles and his organization also expressed interest in representing them. Everyone was surprised when celebrity judge John Wayne wanted Karen to audition for the role of young frontier girl Mattie Ross in his upcoming film
True Grit
. The part ultimately went to actress Kim Darby, and Karen continued to explore various musical opportunities. With Richard’s blessing, she auditioned for the girl singer spot in Kenny Rogers’s group the First Edition. The position had been vacated after vocalist Thelma Camacho was fired for missing too many rehearsals and performances. Surprisingly, Karen was overlooked, most likely due to the fact that it was not a recording audition, and much of Karen’s appeal was facilitated by a microphone. The spot was filled by Camacho’s roommate MaryArnold, an Iowa-born singer who later married Roger “King of the Road” Miller.
    With the ongoing assistance of Ed Sulzer, Karen and Richard continued their mission to get their demo tape around to each and every record label in Hollywood. But Columbia Records had hits with Gary Puckett and the Union Gap’s “Young Girl” and Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe” and were looking for soundalike acts. Similarly, Warner Brothers Records asked the Carpenters if they could sound like Harper’s Bizarre, but they had no interest in emulating others. Richard was convinced that their overdubbed sound and Karen’s vocals were commercially viable and that it would only be a matter of time before they would be recognized. Karen felt strongly that A&M Records, a label known for its attention to artistry, would give their music a fair listen, but even the guard at the gate turned them away. Not to worry, Ed Sulzer assured them. He had a friend who knew a trumpet player named Jack Daugherty who might possibly deliver their demo to A&M’s cofounder Herb Alpert. It seemed like a circuitous route, but Karen and Richard gave their approval.
    In the meantime, a call came in from brothers John and Tom Bähler, well-known jingle singers in Los Angeles. The Bählers had caught one of the Carpenters’ appearances on
Your All-American College Show
and invited the duo to audition for a campaign called “The Going Thing,” which was in development by the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency for the Ford Motor Company. The brothers auditioned approximately two hundred acts in New York and another two hundred at Sunset Sound in Hollywood, where Karen and Richard were ultimately selected. Visiting the agency, they signed individual contracts and were informed the group would assist in premiering the new 1970 Ford Maverick. It was not a recording contract as they desired, but the contracts came with the promise of fifty thousand dollars each and a new Ford automobile of their choice.

4
SPRINKLED MOONDUST
    A & M R ECORDS was unlike any other record label on the West Coast. Capitol, Warner Brothers, and others had undergone numerous reorganizations and were starting to be seen as enormous, impersonal conglomerates. A&M was a “family” label, founded precariously in 1962 by trumpet player Herb Alpert and Jerry Moss, his partner in