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| Carl Carlton |
| Detroiter Carl Carlton first began recording as Little Carl Carlton in the late 1960's. First for Lando records with "I Love True Love" and then "Competition Ain't Nothing" for Back Beat records. Carlton scored minor chart hits for Back Beat with "46 Drums - 1 Guitar," "Oh Mary How I Got Over," "I Can Feel It" and "Drop By My Place," which broke the R&B Top 20 and the pop Top 40. After Back Beat was sold to ABC records in 1972 Carlton's first release for his new label was "I Wanna Be Your Main Squeeze." The b-side was given a 'disco-remix' and re-released as a 1974 single "Everlasting Love" garnered him a Top Ten pop hit and the album produced two more singles "Morning, Noon and Night" and his second pop hit, a cover of Rufus' "Smokin' Room." 1975 saw Carlton travelling to Philadelphia to work with producer/songwritwer Bunny Sigler. Though the album credits the backing musicians as MFSB, the core rhythm section is Instant Funk, which was a part of MFSB and scored a million-seller four years later with "I Got My Mind Made Up." The resulting album, "I Wanna Be With You," is generally regarded as one of Carlton's best albums. Despite the release of three singles, "Ain't Been No One Before You" (released January 1976), "Ain't Gonna Tell Nobody (About You) (charted the summer of 1976), and "Live For Today, Not for Tomorrow" (released late winter 1976), the album failed to sell or chart. Many believed that it had to do with the royalty dispute that Carlton was involved in with ABC at the time. For a year and a half, Carlton had to wait until his contract with ABC lapsed until he could do anymore recording. He resurfaced in late 1977 with a Mercury single, "You You," a lovely lush ballad produced by the Dramatics' L.J. Reynolds along with the group's musical director John Brinson. He recorded two additional tracks for Mercury that remain unreleased. The next few years found Carlton with few opportunities and more time on his hands. He made numerous appearances around the Detroit area looking for a new contract and a chance to record. In 1979 old friend Leon Haywood brought Carlton to California and landed him a deal with his label 20th Century Fox records. Haywood produced Carl's first 12" single "This Feeling's Rated X-tra," which charted in 1980. His next 12" single, "She's A Bad Mama Jama" earned Carlton a gold record in 1981, staying at number two for eight weeks straight, kept out of the number one spot by Diana Ross and Lionel Richie's "Endless Love." An album, "Carl Carlton," was released with a front cover of a shirtless Carlton showing off his chiseled physique. The album went gold also. Such success afforded Carlton the opportunity to appear on such top-rated TV shows as Solid Gold, Soul Train, and American Bandstand and to tour major venues doing some dates with Rick James. A second 12" single of "Sexy Lady" failed to chart in late 1981 and the label soon folded. His next album was "The Bad CC" (RCA), which included a catchy synth-heavy cover of the Four Tops' "Baby I Need Your Loving." The 1982 12" single brought him to a larger audience than his previous club hits but failed to receive the radio action it deserved. The song was a Top Ten hit Australia and did well in other parts of the world but it couldn't save his contract with RCA and he was soon dropped. 1986 saw the release of Carlton's sixth album, "Private Property" (Casablanca). It is safe to say that Carlton wanted and needed a hit. So one can probably excuse the title track and first 12" single for being a "Mama Jama" clone. It did the trick, landing in the upper half of the R&B charts. The same can be said for the follow-up, "Slipped, Tripped and Fell in Love." But the album shouldn't be overlooked because of this. It's one of the last albums produced by Memphis hitmaker Allen Jones with able backing from his main band, the Barkays. There's a sweet cover of Ben E. King's "Stand By Me." Sam Dees produces the unique "Mama's Boy," and his heart-tugging ballad "Never Got Over You" has to be one of the best things Carlton has ever recorded. Dropped from the Casablanca roster, Carlton started working with Leon Haywood again in 1994, releasing a single, "Rock N Roll" b/w "Main Event." An album. "Main Event" was also released later that year but neither failed to bring him back to the charts. He spent the next decade touring the oldies circuit and the occasional club date. |
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