She was a great singer...one of the greatest. And to address belamy, she rarely recorded a "shitty" song. Bacharach/David, Paul Williams, Carole King...they didn't write shitty songs.
I met Karen in 1978 and only spoke with her briefly, but have followed the Carpenters since 1969, and have many biographies, newsletters, et cetera on Karen and Richard.
Karen knew that many of her fans were gay men, and there's no evidence to suggest that this fact bothered her in any way. She was a very private person, a very gracious lady, and not a "diva" by any stretch of the imagination.
Her death was doubly-tragic because she had returned to a healthy weight, and was very optimistic about her full recovery from her anorexia nervosa. However, no one realized how much damage had been done to her heart muscles, which is why she died from a heart attack.
Both Carpenters tended to vote Republican, but one gets the very clear impression that they were really more libertarian...fiscal conservatives, social liberals.
Karen certainly wouldn't have said that you (or anyone else) is going to hell. She didn't think that way. She was religious to an extent, but in no way fundamentalist.
Madonna, rest easy. If she were alive, she'd probably just chuckle at the question and then hug you.
That'd tell you all you need to know.
