I met and had dinner with Karen and Richard in Jan 1970 at a wedding rehearsal dinner, sat right across from her. She was a cousin to the grooms 1st wife that died giving birth to his 3rd child (caught something in hospital, her mom also caught it visiting her and died). She sang “Ava Maria” at the wedding. That was just before they made it, the only chart song they had at that time was a remake of “Ticket To Ride”. Richard was talking about just meeting with Bert Bacharach who heard them somewhere and liked the sound. Even then she seemed very high strung, not as ease, was constantly tapping the table or moving. After a few beers and wine she did seem to relax. I may have had a few too many because I suggested to Karen and the wedding party that Karen should sing “Ticket to Ride” instead of “Ava Maria” at the wedding the next day. If I recall correctly all laughed except the bride.
They took “Ticket to Ride”, slowed it down, and made it a ballad. Very pretty.
It’s said that when John Lennon heard the Carpenters version, he said, “Now, why didn’t we think of that?”