Why is it I’m hearing the music of Karen and Richard Carpenter going on inside my head.
Yep Dave, that’s our fraternity brother Doug Strawn in the middle back.
He played base, keyboard, the clarinet, the sax and sang.
Doug passed away according to A&M records in 2013
What an easy-going, always smiling kid, I’ll never forget that about him.
Doug is rumored to have died after a long bout of fighting cancer, this announced by his daughter. He was survived by his wife and four grown kids.
You know, “We’ve only just begun.”
This guy is incapable of telling the truth, this particular shorty was one of his better ones.
Tragically, Karen’s self-image was not in sync with reality.
She died of bulimia, an eating disorder characterized with forced vomiting each time the bulimic eats.
One on the best soft rock groups of the seventies.
JCscuba
Jim Campbell's 
The Carpenter’s grew up in Downey California next door to my wife’s grand parents. We all attended Long Beach State during the 1960’s but never really knew each other.
Very sad about Karen and her battle with self image.
I always enjoyed their music and Doug Strawn was a good guy who was very talented.
Sorry to hear of his passing away.
As we get older our peer group keeps fading away before our eyes.
God’s Speed to Doug!
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That is certainly the truth my friend. I promise to be nicer to you.
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A trully beautiful voice and musician. ( a wonderful group too)
Leslie
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Wow that’s weird, it didn’t really post it, I sent it to and wrote if for one of my fraternity brothers. We both knew Doug well, and Dave grew up with the Carpenters on the same block in Downy, CA. I will post it. Jim
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A book called “Little Girl Blue” came out a few years ago which claims that Karen suffered from her eating disorders as a result of her often stormy relationship with her brother Richard, and her mother, Agnes, who was very cold emotionally and controlling towards her daughter. Karen was briefly wed to a man named Tom Burris, however, the only thing he was really interested in was spending her money.
I remember the night I heard on the news that she had died. Karen and Richard Carpenter were part of my childhood years. I grew up listening to their beautiful songs, which were such an anomaly in the rock world of the late 1960’s and early 1970’s.
This is one of my favorite Carpenters songs!
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I used to listen to them when we would go camping in San Felipe down in Baja, you might say my wife and I grew up with them and are two year old daughter, thanks for your added insight as usual Pamela. xoxo Me.
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