Parade
Discover the gritty backstory behind the Carpenters’ 1971 hit ‘Superstar’
By Lucille Barailla
July 5, 2026
It sounds like the most wholesome, heartbreaking love song on the radio, but the story behind this 1971 classic is anything but squeaky clean.
The Carpenters put their own spin on Leon Russell and Bonnie Bramlett’s “Superstar” in 1971. Richard Carpenter reworked the song to fit their music style and his sister, Karen Carpenter’s, melodic voice.
According to U Discover Music, Russell wrote the song about a groupie’s one-night-stand with a rock star. She hopes he will return to her, but understands he likely will not.
The song’s working title was “Groupie Song,” which eventually changed to “Groupie (Superstar)” when it was first recorded by Delaney & Bonnie. The sultry song was a lot different than the adult contemporary classic the Carpenters made famous.
Per U Discover Music, Russell said, “Rita Coolidge was the first person I ever heard use that word, ‘superstar.’ She was talking about Dionne Warwick, who was down in Memphis cutting a record, and Rita said, ‘She was the first superstar I ever saw.’”
“So that kind of struck me, I was not familiar with the word, and I started trying to started trying to write [the song], and I ended up finishing it with Bonnie Bramlett,” he continued. “And then Karen [Carpenter] sang it, and of course she had a definitive version.”
However, the song made the rounds in the music industry for years before Karen Carpenter made it her own. U Discover Music revealed that not only did Delaney & Bonnie record it, but Rita Coolidge, Bette Midler, Cher, Vikki Carr, Joe Cocker, and Gayle McCormick also put their own spins on it.
But by the time Karen got the song, significant changes were made to the song to make it more in line with the group’s style. That meant changing the words from the original lyric, “And I can hardly wait to sleep with you again,” to “And I can hardly wait to be with you again.”
American Songwriter reprinted Richard’s remarks about the song, written in the liner notes of the band’s box set, From the Top. He explained he was first exposed to the song via the Midler version.
“Late one evening during the period in which we were recording our third album, I happened to tune in to The Tonight Show,” he said. “Bette Midler, who was then relatively unknown, was guesting and on this particular show sang ‘Superstar.’ I felt the song was a hit and a natural for Karen.”
Karen and Richard Carpenter continued to record as a duo until Karen’s unexpected death on February 4, 1983. She was 32.
