In 1965, Richard Carpenter formed "The Richard Carpenter Trio," with Richard playing keyboards, Karen playing drums, and Wes Jacobs playing bass and tuba. In June 1966, the Richard Carpenter Trio won three trophies, including the "Sweepstakes" at the "Battle of the Bands," a talent competition held annually at the Hollywood Bowl. Wes Jacobs was later accepted at the Julliard Music School in New York, and the trio disbanded. That same year, Richard met John Bettis, a folk singer/guitarist who later became a songwriting partner as lyricist to Richard's music. They formed "Spectrum," a vocal harmony sextet which included Richard and Karen Carpenter, John Bettis, Gary Sims, Danny Woodhams, and Leslie Johnston.

"Spectrum" sounded like a primitive version of the Carpenters, but they failed to attract much attention with record companies, and they dis-banded in 1968. In late 1968, Richard and Karen began working with Joe Osborn, who allowed them to use his recording studio to record demos. By this time, Richard had began overdubbing his and Karen's vocals, adding harmony after harmony to create the "choral" sound they became known for. Eventually a demo tape found its way to Herb Alpert at A&M Records, and Karen and Richard were signed to a recording contract.