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| Carol Douglas |
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| There's more to Carol Douglas than what meets the eye. On the surface she seems like your typical one hit wonder disco star, but dig deeper and you'll find a beautiful diva with show business in her blood. Douglas was born April 4, 1948 in Brooklyn, NY. Her mother, Minnie Newsome, sang in some of the many jazz clubs in the Apollo theater area — she was the inspiration for Cab Calloway's "Minnie the Moocher" — and the late great R&B singer Sam Cooke was a cousin. On her intial outing she scored a major hit. "Doctor's Orders" remains Douglas' biggest hit to date: it charted at number 11 pop in February 1975 and established her as a beautiful ambassador of disco. The album featured other early disco gems like: "A Hurricane Is Coming Tonight" and "Baby Don't Let This Good Love Die." |
| Douglas' show business career began in her teens via TV commercials and small film and TV roles. She appeared in the off-Broadway play "Moon On A Rainbow" with James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson. In the early 1970's, she sang with the regrouped Chantels ("Maybe") before beginning a solo career in 1974. |
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| By 1976 disco was in full swing and Carol met the challenge head on. Her next release was a true masterpiece with it's side one medley. The thematic album is interspersed with "Carol's Theme." The story of forbidden late night love, "Midnight Love Affair," is followed by the inevitable morning after, "In The Morning," which leads to her impassioned plea of "Lie To Me." Side two is a bit weaker but does have "Headline News," a rare and coveted 12" single release. However "Lifetime Guarantee" and "Crime Don't Pay" both fall short. Not that they are bad songs, nor are they arranged poorly, it's more a case of mismatched material. One can easily see how, in the hands of someone like Gloria Gaynor, these tracks could pull their own weight. Still the album was a hit and garnered her immense exposure. The title song hit number one on the club playlists despite the album only crawling up to 188 on Billboard's LP charts. |
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| For her 1977 release she followed the formula from the year before. Side A contains a medley interspersed with "Full Bloom." The delicious "I Want To Stay With You" and "Who, What, When, Where, Why" were killer club floor favorites. The later catching the ear of Dionne Warwick who recorded it two years later. Producer Ed O'Loughlin decided to have Carol record her versions of the Doors hit "Light My Fire" and Abba's "Dancing Queen." The latter being an odd choice to cover since Carol herself was responsible for several original disco hits. Both prove she is better suited for original material than cover versions. The rest of the album is rounded out with ballads like "I've Got You On My Mind" and "We're Gonna Make It." Both of which prove her versatilty, but leave her out of the league of a Donna Summer or Gloria Gaynor. |
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| By the height of the disco-era Carol was firmly established as a "disco artist" with only three albums released. Her fourth and most successful was 1978's "Burnin'." The out and out favorites were "Fell In Love For The First Time Today" and the title track, which are mixed together. The former is light and breezy pop fodder while the latter is all jungle drums and spice. Both were released as 7" singles but neither cracked the Top 40. Once again she chose to cover a previous disco hit. This time she tackles "Night Fever." I have to admit that I prefer her version over the Bee Gees original. Oddly enough this was her only 12" release from the album, although a remix of "Fell In Love" was prepared but never issued until the 1996 reissue of the album on compact disc. Also of note is the mid-tempo "Let's Get Down To Doin' It Tonight." |
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| Her 1979 release, "Come Into My Life" was her last recordings for the ailing Midsong/Midland Intl. label. Perhaps the lack of promotion hurt this set of fine tunes. Her John Davis produced 12" single of "I Got The Answer" and "Love Sick" did generate substantial club play. But failed to scale the charts in the glutinous summer of 1979. Too much product by too many artists on too many labels. The album only boasts six tracks and surprisingly none are cover versions. Carol is in fine vocal form and often surpasses the material she was dealt. Although the funky "You Ain't Said Nothing" does display her soulfulness, the lackluster "Treat Me Right" pales in comparison. While the title track is vibrant and quite catchy the overall mood seems forced at times. As an overall release the album rates a B+ mainly for her efforts. |
| As the disco market collapsed Carol vanished from sight for a few years. Sporadic 12" releases: "My Simple Heart" (20th Century Fox-1980), "You're Not So Hot" and "Got Ya Where I Want You" (Next Plateau 1982-83) did keep her in the club spotlight but failed to ever really garner her widespread success. Still she continued making personal appearances and recording. She sang several of her hits at the annual "Martin Luther King Summer Concert Series" in Brooklyn the summer of 1997, she sang at "Beatstock '97" and in January 1998 she performed at the "Saturday Night Fever 20th Anniversary Reunion." (Carol's name appears in the film "Saturday Night Fever". Her name is displayed on the marquee that is the backdrop outside the famous disco "2001 Odyessy." The club where John Travolta made his earth shaking dance performances in the film.) "Waiting For Your Love" is her latest single and Carol has been busy making appearances and promoting it. Carol, the proud mother of three, still lives in New York city. We're so glad to see she's still around and we tip our hats in thanks for all the great songs throughout the years....we love you Carol! |
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