The Carpenters Photoshoot for Rolling Stone Magazine in May 1974

On May 22, 1974, Karen and Richard Carpenter were photographed by the legendary Annie Leibovitz for Rolling Stone. The siblings were pictured in their 1965 Plymouth Satellite, an auto the family had owned since new at the Newville house for the Rolling Stone shoot, and other photos taken with a plain background. Many shots were taken but Richard has admitted that he favors the one ultimately used on the July 4th cover of the magazine.

In these shots, Karen and Richard can be seen in casual clothes and hippie hair, seemingly rebelling against the popular narrative of the time that the Carpenters were ‘goody two-shoes.’ They decided to take a new approach to this shoot: just simply being themselves. This look was quite a breakthrough for the duo, as well as the “tell-all” interview inside the magazine. In this interview, the Carpenters talk about the troubles of crazed fans, their ruthless touring schedule, and angers of handling their perceived “clean-cut” image despite being “just… normal people.” One of Karen’s most famous quotes comes from this spread: “The image we have… it would be impossible for Mickey Mouse to maintain.”

This was prefaced with Richard’s revelation of some of his (then-shocking) shared political beliefs with Karen. He says of their image: “[It’s] not that we’re totally opposite from that; we’re not. But there’s an in-between, you know what I mean? I don’t drink a whole hell of a lot. I do have wine with dinner. I voted to make marijuana legal. I believe in premarital sex. But then, I don’t smoke.”

Photos from the Carpenters session were later used for album covers including As Time Goes By and Singles 1969-1981. One photo  will be featured on the cover of the upcoming Carpenters biography The Musical Legacy.