Karen Carpenter

Karen Carpenter served as lead vocalist of the soft-rock duo the Carpenters, whose series of Top 10 hits during the early 1970s encompassed "(They Long to Be) Close to You," "We've Only Just Begun," "Rainy Days and Mondays," and "Yesterday Once More." She completed one solo album during the late 1970s, although the project stayed shelved at that stage. After finishing the sessions she rejoined the Carpenters, yielding one last Top 40 entry with "Touch Me When We're Dancing" in 1981, before her death from heart failure caused by anorexia nervosa in February 1983. The album, released under the title Karen Carpenter, reached the public in fall 1996.