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It's 'Yesterday Once More' as Richard Carpenter Recalls 1970s Pop Duo

Musician and song writer Richard Carpenter poses for a portrait at his home in Westlake Village, California, US, September 10, 2021. Picture taken September 10, 2021. (Reuters)
Musician and song writer Richard Carpenter poses for a portrait at his home in Westlake Village, California, US, September 10, 2021. Picture taken September 10, 2021. (Reuters)
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It's 'Yesterday Once More' as Richard Carpenter Recalls 1970s Pop Duo

Musician and song writer Richard Carpenter poses for a portrait at his home in Westlake Village, California, US, September 10, 2021. Picture taken September 10, 2021. (Reuters)
Musician and song writer Richard Carpenter poses for a portrait at his home in Westlake Village, California, US, September 10, 2021. Picture taken September 10, 2021. (Reuters)

More than 50 years after "We've Only Just Begun" and "Yesterday Once More," Richard Carpenter is looking back on the California soft pop duo with his sister Karen that ruled the charts but got a rough ride from music critics.

Now he is telling the story his way for the first time in "Carpenters: The Musical Legacy," a book based on hundreds of hours of interviews Richard gave to authors Mike Cidoni Lennox and Chris May. Crammed with photos, posters, programs, reviews and work schedules, it is intended as the definitive story of the 1970s recording stars.

"It covers really from our childhood all the way through our years together, Karen and I, making music, and the legacy. It concentrates more on the music that we made than the personal," said Carpenter from his home near Los Angeles that is packed with gold discs and Carpenters memorabilia.

"Many times, right from the time that Karen and I first hit with 'Close to You,' there was so many beyond nasty, vicious things written about us," said Carpenter, 75, recalling how the music press derided their mellow ballads as square at a time when rock was the dominant force.

After their breakout single "(They Long to Be) Close to You" in 1970, the Carpenters had a run of hits including "Top of the World" and "Rainy Days and Mondays," won three Grammy Awards and had their own TV show. They turned out 10 albums, winning fans as far afield as Japan, Norway and Zimbabwe.

Their career came to a tragic end when Karen died in 1983 of heart failure attributed to complications from anorexia nervosa. She was 32.

Richard Carpenter, who did all the musical arrangements and harmonies, is reluctant to dwell on Karen's death and prefers to focus on her talent.

"She just had a timeless voice, ... Karen was a natural. She didn't have to practice, ... she just sang instantly, impeccably whether it was live or on record," he said. "She was my sister, she was my professional partner, and she was my best friend."

The book will be published on Nov. 16.

It will be followed in January by a new album, "Richard Carpenter's Piano Songbook" in which Carpenter plays classical arrangements on solo piano of some of the duo's hits.

Carpenter, who once had dreams of being a concert pianist but hated practicing, said he was "immensely flattered" to be asked to make the record.

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‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Tops the US Box Office

This image released by Universal Pictures shows Mason Thames, as Hiccup, riding Night Fury dragon, Toothless in a scene from "How to Train Your Dragon", (Universal Pictures via AP)
This image released by Universal Pictures shows Mason Thames, as Hiccup, riding Night Fury dragon, Toothless in a scene from "How to Train Your Dragon", (Universal Pictures via AP)
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‘How to Train Your Dragon’ Tops the US Box Office

This image released by Universal Pictures shows Mason Thames, as Hiccup, riding Night Fury dragon, Toothless in a scene from "How to Train Your Dragon", (Universal Pictures via AP)
This image released by Universal Pictures shows Mason Thames, as Hiccup, riding Night Fury dragon, Toothless in a scene from "How to Train Your Dragon", (Universal Pictures via AP)

Neither Pixar nor zombies were enough to topple “How to Train Your Dragon" from the No. 1 slot at North American box offices over the weekend. The Universal Pictures live-action remake remained the top film, bringing in $37 million in ticket sales in its second weekend, despite the sizeable new releases of “Elio” and “28 Years Later” , according to studio estimates Sunday. “How To Train Your Dragon” has rapidly amassed $358.2 million worldwide, The Associated Press reported.

Six years after its last entry, the Dean DeBlois-directed “How To Train Your Dragon” has proven a potent revival of the DreamWorks Animation franchise. A sequel is already in the works for the $150 million production, which remakes the 2010 animated tale about a Viking boy and his dragon.

Pixar's “Elio” had a particularly tough weekend. The Walt Disney Co. animation studio has often launched some of its biggest titles in June, including “Cars,” “WALL-E” and “Toy Story 4.” But “Elio,” a science fiction adventure about a boy who dreams of meeting aliens, notched a modest $21 million, the lowest opening ever for Pixar.

“This is a weak opening for a new Pixar movie,” said David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm FranchiseRe. “These would be solid numbers for another original animation film, but this is Pixar, and by Pixar’s remarkable standard, the opening is well below average.”

“Elio,” originally set for release in early 2024, had a bumpy road to the screen. Adrian Molina — co-director of “Coco” — was replaced mid-production by Domee Shi (“Turning Red”) and Madeline Sharafian. Back at Disney’s D23 conference in 2022, America Ferrera appeared to announce her role as Elio’s mother, but the character doesn’t even exist in the revamped film.

Disney and Pixar spent at least $150 million making “Elio,” which didn’t fare any better internationally than it did in North America, bringing in just $14 million from 43 territories. Pixar stumbled coming out of the pandemic before stabilizing performance with 2023’s “Elemental” ($496.4 million worldwide) and 2024’s “Inside Out 2” ($1.7 billion), which was the company's biggest box office hit.

“Elemental” was Pixar's previously lowest earning film, launching with $29.6 million. It rallied in later weeks to collect nearly half a billion dollars at the box office. The company's first movie, “Toy Story,” opened with $29.1 million in 1995, or $60 when adjusted for inflation. It remains to be seen whether “Elio's” decent reviews and “A” from CinemaScore audiences can lead it to repeat “Elemental's” trajectory.

With most schools on summer break, the competition for family audiences was stiff. Disney’s own “Lilo & Stitch,” another live-action remake, continued to pull in young moviegoers. It grossed $9.7 million in its fifth weekend, bringing its global tally to $910.3 million.

“28 Years Later” signaled the return of another, far gorier franchise. Director Danny Boyle reunited with screenwriter Alex Garland to resume their pandemic apocalypse thriller 25 years after “28 Days Later” and 18 years after its sequel, “28 Weeks Later.”

The Sony Pictures release opened with $30 million. That was good enough to give Boyle, the filmmaker of “Slumdog Millionaire” and “Trainspotting,” the biggest opening weekend of his career. The film, which cost $60 million to make, jumps ahead nearly three decades from the outbreak of the so-called rage virus for a coming-of-age story about a 12-year-old (Alfie Williams) venturing out of his family’s protected village. Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Jodie Comer and Ralph Fiennes co-star.

Reviews have been good (90% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) for “28 Years Later,” though audience reaction (a “B” CinemaScore) is mixed. Boyle has more plans for the zombie franchise, which will next see the release of “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” next year from director Nia DaCosta.

“28 Years Later” added another $30 million in 59 overseas markets.

After its strong start last weekend with $12 million, A24’s “Materialists” held well with $5.8 million in its second weekend. The romantic drama by writer-director Celine Song and starring Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal and Chris Evans has collected $24 million so far.

Next weekend should also be a competitive one in movie theaters, with both “F1,” from Apple and Warner Bros., and Universal’s “Megan 2.0” launching in cinemas.