Jean Carn
or
Jean Carne
    Jean Carn was born Sarah Jean Parker in Columbus, Georgia, but shortly afterwards the family moved to Atlanta. Like most, if not all sisters of soul, Jean's musical education began in the church, and by age four, she was singing in the choir. She also took piano, clarinet and bassoon lessons, becoming proficient at all. As a teenager she sang on a morning radio talk show, "Today In Georgia," singing "Misty" while being accompanied by piano legend Erroll Garner. A musical scholarship at Morris Brown College in Atlanta beckoned and Jean further honed her skills there doing everything from musical theater to opera.
     Jean had her sights set on the famous Julliard School of Music in New York, but a meeting with jazz pianist Doug Carn led to love, marriage, and a place as featured vocalist in Carn's jazz fusion band.  The couple based themselves in Los Angeles, where Jean did three early albums with her husband, "Infant Eyes" (1971), "Spirit Of The New Land" (1972) and "Revelations" (1973). Her work with the band garnered enthusiastic new jazz fans and brought her to the attention of the soon-to-be mega-group Earth, Wind and Fire. Her voice helped brighten the group's first two albums, "Earth Wind And Fire," and "The Need Of Love" where she expanded her musical learning with the group and went beyond her jazz work.
     Jean's marriage to Carn ended and she found herself as featured vocalist with jazz giant Duke Ellington, the last vocalist to do so before his death, touring and exposing herself to more mainstream audiences. After her stint with Ellington, Jean was approached by hot young drummer Norman Connors, a protégé of Pharoah Saunders. Connors was ready to record for Buddah Records and he put together a stable of young talented vocalists like Jean, Phyllis Hyman, Eleanor Mills, and Dee Dee Bridgewater. Jean hit the charts in 1975 with a duet with Michael Henderson, a bassist from Detroit who cut his musical chops with the likes of Stevie Wonder. "Valentine Love" bit the Top Ten and Jean toured with Connors, wowing audiences all over.
     When she teamed up with Norman Connors the result was magic, she can be heard on four of his acclaimed albums. She then contributed her sassy vocals to the "Reach For It" album by George Duke in 1977. This brought her to the attention of Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff. Gamble & Huff quickly persuaded Jean to sign with their legendary label, Philadelphia International Records. Work began on her first solo project with Kenny and Leon doing most of the writing. Additional material was rounded up by labelmates Dexter Wansel, McFadden & Whitehead and T.Life. McFadden, Wansel and Whitehead also aided in production and vocal backing.
     "Jean Carn" was Gamble & Huff's first album release of 1977. That year also brought us fine PIR albums from Lou Rawls, Billy Paul, Archie Bell & The Drells, Teddy Pendergrass and Dexter Wansel, but few would argue with the assertion that Jean had them all beat, hands down. Terrific songs, exquisite vocals and a pair of classic singles, "Free Love" and "If You Wanna Go Back" should have ensured high chart placings for such a superior piece of work. In the year of disco crossing over onto the pop charts it's many charms were steadfastly resisted by the urban consumer who could place it no higher than #-24 on the Cashbox album charts during a 23-week run. On the Billboard singles chart "Free Love" struggled up to #-23 in March, while "If You Wanna Go Back" missed out entirely. By way of consolation, "Go Back" has gone on to become a true club classic, making the album a highly sought-after collector's item. It must have been immensely frustrating for all concerned to see this landmark album fall somewhat by the wayside while lesser artists and performances overachieved to compensate.
    Undaunted, the same components tried again in 1978 with "Happy To Be With You" released in June of that year. It may have been just as good an album, but the buying public took even less notice of it than they did of its predecessor, despite the inclusion of one of Jean's best known and best loved gems "Don't Let It Go To Your Head." One of three singles released from the album, the others were the club standout "There's A Shortage Of Good Men" and the expressive title track. "Don't Let It Go To Your Head" peaked on Billboard's charts at a weak #-54 on September 1978. The album itself rose no higher than #-36 on Cashbox during a relatively meager 15 week run, proving..if nothing else..that public popularity and musical quality have never run in tandem, either then or now!
    Public indifference notwithstanding, Gamble & Huff weren't about to give up on Jean without giving their talented chanteuse at least one more shot at convincing the general public of her greatness but, even so, there followed a gap of nearly 18 months before her third album, "When I Find You Love" was released. It continued the run of timeless music and...sadly...more tepid sales. Released in November 1979, "When I Find You Love" was the first album that G & H had no input on, leaving acknowledged experts like Dexter Wansel and John Faith to pen tunes and twiddle knobs in an effort to come up with something that would improve the Carn chart fortunes. The album's first single "My Love Don't Come Easy" was released in December. Composed and produced by O'Jay's front person Eddie Levert, but the groups own hot streak did not rub off on Jean, whose own spirited performance of the number could manage no more than a #-43 on Billboard and #-47 on Cashbox during it's 12-week run.
    Carn's other labelmate Jerry Butler was having trouble getting his own PIR career going, and he fared no better as a writer/producer for Jean, despite providing Carn with what is now regarded as one of her career milestones in "Was That All It Was." Thanks to massive club and R&B radio play that it has garnered in the ensuing years, not to mention the proliferation of revivals it has been subjected to, it would be easy to believe that Butler and Johnny Ursy Jr.'s skipping syndrum-propelled dancer was a smash hit of the first order. Not so...when released as a single it went precisely nowhere on every sales and airplay chart. Over two decades later it is universally accepted as the classic it was right from the start.
     The album's other tracks may suffer slightly by comparison with its two single selections, but they still do more than enough to round out a fully-realised portrait of a singer who has few peers at this point in her career. Again, its lack of contemporary chart action (only reaching #-42 on Cashbox during its 22 week run) is totally disproportionate to its quality.
     While "When I Find You Love" was fading from the charts, Jean was enjoying her second-biggest hit of the PIR era with a track that, ironically did not appear on PIR at all but on the flagship label of their distributors. Her classy duet with sometime songwriter, and close personal friend Al Johnson. "I'm Back For More" (Columbia 11207) enjoyed a 15-week run on Billboard's Soul Singles chart peaking at #-23 in the spring of 1980. Glad as she was for the exposure, it must have been frustrating for her, not to mention Gamble & Huff, to know that she could land a decent chart hit in tandem with somebody else while her own wonderful recordings struggled to breach the Top 40.
     In what turned out to be a final throw of the dice as far as Carn and PIR were concerned, Kenny & Leon sent Jean to the West Coast, where she re-teamed with her old mentor Norman Connors for the bulk of what was to become a significant swansong. Released on the TSOP subsidiary in August 1981, "Sweet And Wonderful" is, in many ways, the most consistently-accomplished of Jean's quartet of albums for Gamble & Huff. PIR wasted no time in releasing the title track, but despite a smacking early 1980's dance groove and a fiery uncredited duet vocal from the then unknown Glenn Jones, it missed Billboard altogether and mustered a meagre 3 week run on Cashbox, where it peaked at #-92. The albums second single followed barely a month later, Jean's flawless revival of the Spinners' "Love Don't Love Nobody." It was already the centerpiece of the album when it was lifted for 12" release in September 1981. Jean's delivery was as soulful as that of the Spinners now-sadly-deceased frontperson Phillipe Wynne, but she had to settle for a peak at #-35 during a 12-week run in Billboard.
     The album itself fared respectably, lasting 18 weeks on Cashbox and topping at #-31. Its sales were sufficient to encourage Gamble, Huff & Carn that her talents would be better served by a different enviroment.
Jean moved to Motown, who issued the up-to-par "Touch Me" album in June 1982. The single "If You Don't Know Me By Now," a cover of the Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes hit, with backing vocals by the Temptations, went to number 49 R&B. Around this time, Carn contributed to records by Stanley Turrentine, Dexter Wansel, and Bobby Militello (including a cover of Al Green's "Let's Stay Together").
     1986 found Carne signing with Omni Records; "Closer Than Close" was released in July of that year. She was reunited with Philadelphia International labelmate Wansel; the rest of the production responsibilities were divided between Grover Washington Jr. and Maurice Starr (New Edition). Starr's "Candy Love" attracted attention, but it was the Washington-produced title track that went to number one R&B. The next single, "Flame Of Love," peaked at number 21 R&B.
     In 1988, and she did a cover of "Ain't No Way," the Aretha Franklin hit. Jean's rendition brought more sales and hit the Top 30 and she continued to tour extensively throughout the States and Europe. The 1990's brought a tribute album to the late singer/songwriter Van McCoy, inspired by McCoy's sister's appearance at one of Jean's shows at Washington's Blues Alley, and it's a loving tribute to McCoy's legacy. A 1996 CD, "Love Lessons" featured a newly blond Jean and more great music, from a duet of "Good Thing Going On" with Billy Paul, to the incredibly rich and soulful "Don't Stop Whatcha Doing" to classics like "Misty," "Its Not For Me To Say/Chances Are" and "Someone To Watch Over Me," and a dreamy, sensual "Have I Told You That I Love You."
     Carne later found time to contribute to records by Dexter Wansel / Kenny Gamble's "Universe" project ("Love Is Beautiful (When It's Right") and the late Stanley Turrentine ("Night Breeze").
     She continues to tour for six months every year, spending the rest of her time at home in Atlanta with her three children.
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