Michele Lee was an American of Polish, Hungarian and Russian descent. However "my grandmother was English, though." Of the TV series, 'Knots Landing', Michele Lee told Sylvia Lawler of 'The Morning Call' in 1992, "I really love the show. Karen is really me. I think Michele Lee/Karen MacKenzie is a girlfriend, somebody who is unthreatening to the audience. I like people and I don't believe in pretense. I just kind of cut through all that kind of stuff, and I think that people feel that when they're with me or talking to me.
"And I think that shows on camera. It might come from an early need to be liked, I don't know. But I have this outgoing personality that somehow feels unthreatening. I'm one of those people ... a nester. I keep things that are familiar around me all the time … That's one of the reasons I find myself in the same home for 22 years (or since 1970) and that I'm still friends with my ex-husband." Of the 'Knots Landing' cast and crew, Michele Lee maintained, "We're very familial."
The 6th last episode of the 1989-1990 season of 'Knots Landing' was titled 'Only Just Begun'. On the series, Paige Matheson tuned to car radio 93.2 FM, the station for golden oldies 24 hours a day. Written by Bernard Lechowick, Paige Matheson's favorite song growing up (before "things change"), 'We've Only Just Begun' by the Carpenters, was heard playing on the radio.
'We've Only Just Begun' which talked about "so many roads to choose, so much of life ahead and watching the signs along the way" peaked at No. 1 for 7 weeks in October 1970. Speaking to Carl Wiser on the Songfacts website in 2007, songwriter Paul Williams said of 'We've Only Just Begun', "'It had all the romantic beginnings of a bank commercial' is the way I describe it.
"There was actually a wonderful writer named Tony Asher who wrote for this ad agency, and he'd had a skiing accident and he broke his arm, so he couldn't write or play the piano or whatever. So he suggested Roger Nichols and I as replacements to write this ad. The ad agency called us and said, 'Look, we're going to show a young couple getting married, driving off into the sunset, and it's going to say, 'You've got a long way to go, we'd like to help you get there to the Crocker Bank.'
"And I went, Okay, what rhymes with Crocker? Crocker what? It was like ... to write a jingle. And they said very specifically, 'No we don't want a jingle.' What they asked for is what we would today (in 2007) call a music video. It was going to show a young couple getting married, driving off into the sunset. After the ceremony, the first kiss and all.
"So Roger and I wrote the song that would play over that. We wrote the first two verses of 'We've Only Just Begun'. We wrote a second version of the commercial that was a verse, and what became the bridge. We added a third verse just in case anybody would ever want to record it. And then I assumed that it would never, ever get cut again.
"Richard (Carpenter), I guess, heard me singing it on the TV commercial, and called and asked if there was a complete song. And we went, 'Well, funny you should ask.' And if there hadn't been a complete song, we would have lied and said, 'Well, of course there is,' and then sat down and written it. You know, songwriting in those days was like that, too.
"I remember finishing songs in the back seat of a publisher's car on the way to play it for a producer. Just, 'Come on, Fifth Dimension's recording, that song's perfect for them, let's go ... you can show it to them.' 'It's not done yet.' 'Finish it in the car.' You know, I think the trick for any songwriter is authenticity. For the young songwriter coming up who is connected to his generation, as I was connected to mine, write honestly about what's going on in the center of your life.
"You know, when 'We've Only Just Begun' was a Number 1 record, I think the Number 1 album in the country was 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida'. So it was as far away from what was happening in the music scene as you can get. And yet it was a hit. I think it was a hit because of, obviously, Karen's (Karen Carpenter) amazing vocal, but I think that any time we write authentically and honestly about what's going on in the center of our chest, because people are so much alike, there's a big a chance that it's going on in the center of your chest, too.
"Relating to the specifics of relationships, and writing love songs, I tapped into something that seemed to work for my generation. I love the fact that some of the songs continue to survive, but I think that there's a window of opportunity for a time when you really, really relate to your generation. And I think a lot of us pass through that as songwriters."
Richard Carpenter told fans on his website about the song 'We've Only Just Begun', "This song has become our signature tune. Karen and I had met Roger Nichols and Paul Williams not long after we signed with A&M. Already fans of their work, we came to know them – and Paul’s singing, as he would occasionally stop in and sing with us while we rehearsed on the A&M sound stage.
"Around the time we were recording 'Close To You', I took notice of a TV commercial for the Crocker Bank. A soft-sell campaign, it featured a young couple getting married, and driving into the sunset. The song, expressly written for the commercial was 'We've Only Just Begun'. It caught my ear immediately. As the commercial featured Paul’s singing, I assumed it was a Nichols/Williams song, and spoke to Paul on the A&M lot shortly thereafter.
"Paul informed me that I was correct, and that the song did have both a bridge and a third verse. (I was curious, as the ads contained only the one or two verses.) Upon hearing the demo, I was convinced the song was a hit, and went into the sound stage to work out the arrangement. The single was released in August of 1970 and went on to become a smash, and one of the best known prothalamia ever written."
In its 11th season, the main title of 'Knots Landing' was designed by Castle/Bryant/Johnsen of Panavision. The opening title featured a city built in the sand. The saying "castles in the air" translated to mean "plans that have very little chance of happening." In the song, 'We Don't Need Another Hero', Tina Turner sung about "All else are castles built in the air."
The expression came from the Bible from the Gospel of St. Matthew (Matthew 7:24-27), where, as noted, "Jesus compares the people who follow his teachings to a wise man, who built his house on rock, and those who did not to a foolish man, who built his house on sand. When floods came, the house built on rock remained standing but the house built on sand collapsed."
"And I think that shows on camera. It might come from an early need to be liked, I don't know. But I have this outgoing personality that somehow feels unthreatening. I'm one of those people ... a nester. I keep things that are familiar around me all the time … That's one of the reasons I find myself in the same home for 22 years (or since 1970) and that I'm still friends with my ex-husband." Of the 'Knots Landing' cast and crew, Michele Lee maintained, "We're very familial."
The 6th last episode of the 1989-1990 season of 'Knots Landing' was titled 'Only Just Begun'. On the series, Paige Matheson tuned to car radio 93.2 FM, the station for golden oldies 24 hours a day. Written by Bernard Lechowick, Paige Matheson's favorite song growing up (before "things change"), 'We've Only Just Begun' by the Carpenters, was heard playing on the radio.
'We've Only Just Begun' which talked about "so many roads to choose, so much of life ahead and watching the signs along the way" peaked at No. 1 for 7 weeks in October 1970. Speaking to Carl Wiser on the Songfacts website in 2007, songwriter Paul Williams said of 'We've Only Just Begun', "'It had all the romantic beginnings of a bank commercial' is the way I describe it.
"There was actually a wonderful writer named Tony Asher who wrote for this ad agency, and he'd had a skiing accident and he broke his arm, so he couldn't write or play the piano or whatever. So he suggested Roger Nichols and I as replacements to write this ad. The ad agency called us and said, 'Look, we're going to show a young couple getting married, driving off into the sunset, and it's going to say, 'You've got a long way to go, we'd like to help you get there to the Crocker Bank.'
"And I went, Okay, what rhymes with Crocker? Crocker what? It was like ... to write a jingle. And they said very specifically, 'No we don't want a jingle.' What they asked for is what we would today (in 2007) call a music video. It was going to show a young couple getting married, driving off into the sunset. After the ceremony, the first kiss and all.
"So Roger and I wrote the song that would play over that. We wrote the first two verses of 'We've Only Just Begun'. We wrote a second version of the commercial that was a verse, and what became the bridge. We added a third verse just in case anybody would ever want to record it. And then I assumed that it would never, ever get cut again.
"Richard (Carpenter), I guess, heard me singing it on the TV commercial, and called and asked if there was a complete song. And we went, 'Well, funny you should ask.' And if there hadn't been a complete song, we would have lied and said, 'Well, of course there is,' and then sat down and written it. You know, songwriting in those days was like that, too.
"I remember finishing songs in the back seat of a publisher's car on the way to play it for a producer. Just, 'Come on, Fifth Dimension's recording, that song's perfect for them, let's go ... you can show it to them.' 'It's not done yet.' 'Finish it in the car.' You know, I think the trick for any songwriter is authenticity. For the young songwriter coming up who is connected to his generation, as I was connected to mine, write honestly about what's going on in the center of your life.
"You know, when 'We've Only Just Begun' was a Number 1 record, I think the Number 1 album in the country was 'In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida'. So it was as far away from what was happening in the music scene as you can get. And yet it was a hit. I think it was a hit because of, obviously, Karen's (Karen Carpenter) amazing vocal, but I think that any time we write authentically and honestly about what's going on in the center of our chest, because people are so much alike, there's a big a chance that it's going on in the center of your chest, too.
"Relating to the specifics of relationships, and writing love songs, I tapped into something that seemed to work for my generation. I love the fact that some of the songs continue to survive, but I think that there's a window of opportunity for a time when you really, really relate to your generation. And I think a lot of us pass through that as songwriters."
Richard Carpenter told fans on his website about the song 'We've Only Just Begun', "This song has become our signature tune. Karen and I had met Roger Nichols and Paul Williams not long after we signed with A&M. Already fans of their work, we came to know them – and Paul’s singing, as he would occasionally stop in and sing with us while we rehearsed on the A&M sound stage.
"Around the time we were recording 'Close To You', I took notice of a TV commercial for the Crocker Bank. A soft-sell campaign, it featured a young couple getting married, and driving into the sunset. The song, expressly written for the commercial was 'We've Only Just Begun'. It caught my ear immediately. As the commercial featured Paul’s singing, I assumed it was a Nichols/Williams song, and spoke to Paul on the A&M lot shortly thereafter.
"Paul informed me that I was correct, and that the song did have both a bridge and a third verse. (I was curious, as the ads contained only the one or two verses.) Upon hearing the demo, I was convinced the song was a hit, and went into the sound stage to work out the arrangement. The single was released in August of 1970 and went on to become a smash, and one of the best known prothalamia ever written."
In its 11th season, the main title of 'Knots Landing' was designed by Castle/Bryant/Johnsen of Panavision. The opening title featured a city built in the sand. The saying "castles in the air" translated to mean "plans that have very little chance of happening." In the song, 'We Don't Need Another Hero', Tina Turner sung about "All else are castles built in the air."
The expression came from the Bible from the Gospel of St. Matthew (Matthew 7:24-27), where, as noted, "Jesus compares the people who follow his teachings to a wise man, who built his house on rock, and those who did not to a foolish man, who built his house on sand. When floods came, the house built on rock remained standing but the house built on sand collapsed."
