James Edward Carr (June 13, 1942 – January 7, 2001)[1] was an American R&B and soul singer, described as "one of the greatest pure vocalists that deep Southern soul ever produced".[2]
Born to a Baptist preacher's family in Coahoma, Mississippi, he moved with his parents to Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of three.[1] Carr began singing in church, and performed in gospel groups including the Harmony Echoes,[3] at the same time as making tables on an assembly line in Memphis. After being turned down by Stax, he made his first recordings for Goldwax Records, a small Memphis-based independent record label, in 1964.[3] He released several singles for the label before achieving his first success in 1966, when "You've Got My Mind Messed Up"[3] reached number 7 on the BillboardR&B chart and number 63 on the pop chart.[4][2] He also released the successful and critically acclaimed album You Got My Mind Messed Up.[5][6]
Carr continued to have chart entries with his later singles on Goldwax, including "Pouring Water on a Drowning Man", but his greatest success and most critically acclaimed performance came in 1967 with his original recording of "The Dark End of the Street", written by Dan Penn and Chips Moman.[3] The song reached number 10 on the R&B chart and number 77 on the pop chart. Carr continued to record for Goldwax until the label closed in 1969, but failed to reach the same heights with his subsequent releases, though "A Man Needs a Woman" in 1968 reached number 16 on the R&B chart and number 63 on the pop chart, and he recorded an album of the same title.[2][4] After Goldwax closed down in 1969, he released a single on Atlantic Records in 1971, and another on his manager Roosevelt Jamison's River City label in 1977.[2]
Carr suffered from bipolar disorder for most of his life. This frequently found him unable to deal with the stress of performing and touring, which became most evident during a tour of Japan in 1979 when he froze in front of an audience, following an overdose of antidepressants.[7] Despite this he was dubbed "the world's greatest Soul Singer".[8] However, he completed the Japan tour before returning to Memphis. Thereafter he lived with his sister but was frequently hospitalized.[6] A resurgence in interest in his music, spurred by his portrayal in Peter Guralnick's 1986 book Sweet Soul Music, helped return Carr to the recording studio, and he was able to complete another album, Take Me to the Limit, for a revived Goldwax label in 1991.[3] He also performed at festivals in the US and Europe, and released another album, Soul Survivor, in 1994.[2]
^ abWhitburn, Joel (1996). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–1995. Record Research. p. 67.
^"You Got My Mind Messed Up", AllMusic. Retrieved October 15, 2016
^ abcPareles, Jon. "James Carr, 58, Soul Singer Whose Life Reflected the Blues". The New York Times. Retrieved March 4, 2014.
^"Mighty Sam McClain and James Carr: Two giants of '60s soul music - Mighty Sam McClain". Crossrhythms.co.uk. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
^"James Carr". Soulcellar.co.uk. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
External linksEdit
Obituary, The Guardian
Robert Gordon, "James Carr: Way Out on a Voyage"
October 21, 2023
james, carr, singer, james, edward, carr, june, 1942, january, 2001, american, soul, singer, described, greatest, pure, vocalists, that, deep, southern, soul, ever, produced, james, carrbackground, informationbirth, namejames, edward, carrborn, 1942, june, 194. James Edward Carr June 13 1942 January 7 2001 1 was an American R amp B and soul singer described as one of the greatest pure vocalists that deep Southern soul ever produced 2 James CarrBackground informationBirth nameJames Edward CarrBorn 1942 06 13 June 13 1942Coahoma Mississippi U S DiedJanuary 7 2001 2001 01 07 aged 58 Memphis Tennessee U S GenresRhythm and blues soulYears active1966 1990sLabelsGoldwax Records Contents 1 Biography 2 Discography 2 1 Singles 2 2 Albums 2 3 Compilations 3 References 4 External linksBiography EditBorn to a Baptist preacher s family in Coahoma Mississippi he moved with his parents to Memphis Tennessee at the age of three 1 Carr began singing in church and performed in gospel groups including the Harmony Echoes 3 at the same time as making tables on an assembly line in Memphis After being turned down by Stax he made his first recordings for Goldwax Records a small Memphis based independent record label in 1964 3 He released several singles for the label before achieving his first success in 1966 when You ve Got My Mind Messed Up 3 reached number 7 on the Billboard R amp B chart and number 63 on the pop chart 4 2 He also released the successful and critically acclaimed album You Got My Mind Messed Up 5 6 Carr continued to have chart entries with his later singles on Goldwax including Pouring Water on a Drowning Man but his greatest success and most critically acclaimed performance came in 1967 with his original recording of The Dark End of the Street written by Dan Penn and Chips Moman 3 The song reached number 10 on the R amp B chart and number 77 on the pop chart Carr continued to record for Goldwax until the label closed in 1969 but failed to reach the same heights with his subsequent releases though A Man Needs a Woman in 1968 reached number 16 on the R amp B chart and number 63 on the pop chart and he recorded an album of the same title 2 4 After Goldwax closed down in 1969 he released a single on Atlantic Records in 1971 and another on his manager Roosevelt Jamison s River City label in 1977 2 Carr suffered from bipolar disorder for most of his life This frequently found him unable to deal with the stress of performing and touring which became most evident during a tour of Japan in 1979 when he froze in front of an audience following an overdose of antidepressants 7 Despite this he was dubbed the world s greatest Soul Singer 8 However he completed the Japan tour before returning to Memphis Thereafter he lived with his sister but was frequently hospitalized 6 A resurgence in interest in his music spurred by his portrayal in Peter Guralnick s 1986 book Sweet Soul Music helped return Carr to the recording studio and he was able to complete another album Take Me to the Limit for a revived Goldwax label in 1991 3 He also performed at festivals in the US and Europe and released another album Soul Survivor in 1994 2 He was diagnosed with lung cancer in the mid 1990s and died in a Memphis nursing home in 2001 aged 58 1 6 Discography EditSingles Edit You ve Got My Mind Messed Up 1966 R amp B No 7 Pop No 63 Love Attack 1966 R amp B No 21 Pop No 99 Pouring Water on a Drowning Man 1966 R amp B No 23 Pop No 85 The Dark End of the Street 1967 R amp B No 10 Pop No 77 Let It Happen 1967 R amp B No 30 Pop No 106 I m a Fool for You duet with an uncredited Betty Harris 1967 R amp B No 42 Pop No 97 A Man Needs a Woman 1968 R amp B No 16 Pop No 63 Life Turned Her That Way 1968 Pop No 112 Freedom Train 1969 R amp B No 39 To Love Somebody 1969 R amp B No 44Albums Edit You Got My Mind Messed Up 1967 R amp B No 25 A Man Needs a Woman 1968 Take Me To The Limit 1991 Soul Survivor 1994 Compilations Edit Complete Vol 1 1994 Complete Vol 2 1994 Goldwax The Essential James Carr 1995 Razor amp Tie 24 Karat Soul 2001 Soultrax The Complete Goldwax Singles 2001 Kent My Soul Is Satisfied The Rest of James Carr 2004 Kent A Man Worth Knowing The 1990s Goldwax amp Soultrax Recordings 2006 AceReferences Edit a b c Eagle Bob LeBlanc Eric S 2013 Blues A Regional Experience Santa Barbara Praeger Publishers p 204 ISBN 978 0313344237 a b c d e Biography by Steve Huey AllMusic Retrieved October 15 2016 a b c d e Colin Larkin ed 1993 The Guinness Who s Who of Soul Music First ed Guinness Publishing p 36 8 ISBN 0 85112 733 9 a b Whitburn Joel 1996 Top R amp B Hip Hop Singles 1942 1995 Record Research p 67 You Got My Mind Messed Up AllMusic Retrieved October 15 2016 a b c Pareles Jon James Carr 58 Soul Singer Whose Life Reflected the Blues The New York Times Retrieved March 4 2014 Mighty Sam McClain and James Carr Two giants of 60s soul music Mighty Sam McClain Crossrhythms co uk Retrieved March 7 2018 James Carr Soulcellar co uk Retrieved March 7 2018 External links EditObituary The Guardian Robert Gordon James Carr Way Out on a Voyage James Carr Biography Cascade Blues article The Songs of James Carr lyrics and discography Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title James Carr singer amp oldid 1178951741, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
