Richard reflected on the first time he and Karen performed at The Bowl – nearly 44 years ago to the day – when they won a Battle of the Bands competition. He told the crowd that his sister, who played the drums in that appearance, always thought of herself as a drummer who could sing.

Pretty amazing considering she had one of the best voices in pop music history. But as she herself pointed out in archive clips shown, it was her brother who picked or wrote the songs, did the arrangements and was responsible for the Carpenters sound. to have that s0und at The Bowl last night was a treat I will never forget.

As for Donna Summer, she brought her best to last night’s show and her best is still superb. The 62-year-old singer looked dazzling and her voice was as strong and clear as ever as she performed MacArthur Park, Enough is Enough, On the Radio, Last Dance and other hits for us.

What I really loved about Donna was that, unlike a remote Diana Ross a few weeks ago at the Nokia, Miss Summer was completely engaging and connected to the audience mentioning how her daughter was playing at the Roxy last night, what each song meant to her and saying lovely things about the music of The Carpenters.

Donna first sold out The Bowl back in 1979 and has continued to do so as recently as 2008.

Prior to the inductions of The Carpenters and Miss Summer, Jean-Yves Thibaudet (pictured below with me and my guest, Trevor Daley) was inducted.

The audience was treated to some spectacular piano playing with close-ups on his hands shown on the large screens. He has recorded more than 40 classical albums and was the featured soloist during the recent tour of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel. It was 21 summers ago when he made his first appearance with LA Phil in his Hollywood Bowl debut.

Now he is a hall of famer along with The Carpenters and Donna Summer. The hall was established in 2000 and identifies and pays tribute to artists whose unique achievements embody the spirit of the world-renowned Hollywood Bowl. The Hall of Fame is now part of an exhibit on the main floor of the Hollywood Bowl Museum.

The evening was a benefit for Music Matters, the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association’s music education programs which reach more than 120,000 children, teachers and adults each year.

Comments

(All comments are reviewed before being published, and I review submissions several times per day.)

2 Remarks

1. June 22nd, 2010 at 7:40 pm
   Jacky says:

   It was a special evening. The choir, Richard Carpenter & Donna Summer were sterling!

2. November 23rd, 2010 at 2:28 pm
   Ken Allan says:

   Thank You for your review and comments on Donna Summer.

   Those of us who discovered a long time ago what a treasure this women is, became die hard fans not only because of her one-of-a-kind voice, but her
   humility as well.

   It’s nice when other people realize this as well.