Little Girl Blue: The Life of Karen Carpenter
Randy L. Schmidt
Dionne Warwick, no stranger herself to the ups and downs of the music biz, provides the foreword to this revealing biography of one of pop music’s most talented yet tragic figures. Author Schmidt, an openly gay music teacher in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, concludes that the more feminine half of the legendary duo was not, after all, a closeted lesbian (which, frankly, comes as a surprise). Editor’s note: OutSmart asked the author, Randy L. Schmidt, about the lesbian rumors surrounding the singer. His reply: “Karen certainly struggled with femininity, especially in the early days of her career. She had grown up playing baseball with the neighborhood boys and then became the first female drummer in her high school band. Her best friend, Frenda Franklin, told me Karen used to walk across the stage like a ‘Mack Truck’ but had a desire to dress and behave and even sing with a more feminine flair. Still, there was not enough evidence in my research to draw any conclusion in regards to her sexuality. Her life’s dream—at least the dream she shared with those closest to her—was to have the white-picket-fence existence with a husband and children.” • Chicago Review Press (chicagoreviewpress.com). —Preview: Nancy Ford
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