Carl Carlton (singer)
Carl Carlton (* 1953 in Detroit , Michigan ) is an American R & B - Soul - and radio - singer and songwriter .
Life
Carlton began his first recordings in the late 1960s as "Little Carl" Carlton, a marketing ploy that used vocal similarities to Stevie Wonder , who made recordings under "Little Stevie" Wonder in the early 1960s.
After a few minor local hits, Carlton signed with Don Robey and moved to Houston , Texas , home of his new record company, Back Beat Records . Carlton had initial successes on the label, including a bigger hit, the remake of Robert Knights Everlasting Love , which reached # 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Robey sold his label to ABC Records in 1972 and Carlton had licensing disputes with the new owner in 1976, resulting in a recording break. Then he signed with Mercury Records in 1977 , but released only one single with that label. After that he couldn't get a new record deal for a few years until Leon Haywood helped him to a single deal with 20th Century Records . She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked) reached 2nd place in the Soul Charts and was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Male R&B Vocal Performance category.
Carlton's next album, Carl Carlton, contained She's a Bad Mama Jama , which has since been used often for samples in rap music.
Carlton released other albums in the 1980s and had minor successes with R&B hits. However, interest from record companies and the general public waned. After 1985 he published Private Property , 1994 Main Event , which however had no chart successes.
In 2002, Carlton appeared with various R&B stars on Rhythm, Love and Soul , which was part of PBS's American Soundtrack series . His performance of Everlasting Love was part of a live album released in 2004.
Discography
Albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
 US
|
|||
| 1975 | Everlasting Love |
US132 (7 weeks) US |
|
| 1981 | Carl Carlton |
US34 (19 weeks) US |
|
| 1982 | The Bad Cc |
US133 (7 weeks) US |
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
US
|
|||
| 1968 | Competition Ain't Nothin ' |
- |
US75 (8 weeks) US |
|
| 1970 | Drop By My Place Can't Stop a Man In Love |
- |
US78 (6 weeks) US |
|
| 1974 | Everlasting Love Everlasting Love |
- |
US6 (15 weeks) US |
|
| 1975 | Smokin 'Room Everlasting Love |
- |
US91 (4 weeks) US |
|
| 1981 | She's A Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked) |
UK34 (8 weeks) UK |
US22nd  (21 weeks)US |
|
Web links
- Carl Carlton at Allmusic (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ LA Times The Envelope awards database , (accessed August 15, 2006)
- ↑ American Soundtrack IMDB entry , (accessed August 15, 2006)
- ↑ Shout! Factory CD information ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , (accessed August 15, 2006)
- ↑ a b Chart sources: UK US
- ↑ Music Sales Awards: US
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Carlton, Carl |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American R&B, soul and funk singer and songwriter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1953 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Detroit , Michigan |