James Carr (singer): Difference between revisions

| birth_place = [[Coahoma, Mississippi]], [[United States]]U.S.

| death_place = [[Memphis, Tennessee]], United States U.S.

| years_active = 1966-1980s1990s

'''James Edward Carr''' (June 13, 1942 – January 7, 2001),<ref name="bare">{{cite book| first1= Bob| last1= Eagle| first2= Eric S.| last2= LeBlanc| year= 2013| title= Blues - A Regional Experience| publisher= Praeger Publishers| location= Santa Barbara| pages=204| isbn= 978-0313344237}}</ref> was an [[United States|American]] [[rhythmRhythm and blues|R&B]] and [[Soul music|soul]] singer, described as "one of the greatest pure vocalists that deep Southern soul ever produced.".<ref name=allmusic/>

Born to a [[Baptist Church|Baptist]] preacher's family in [[Coahoma, Mississippi]], he moved with his parents to [[Memphis, Tennessee]], at the age of three.<ref name="bare"/> Carr began singing in church, and performed in [[Gospel music|gospel]] groups including the Harmony Echoes,<ref name="LarkinSM"/> at the same time as making tables on an assembly line in Memphis. After being turned down by [[Stax Records|Stax]], he made his first recordings for [[Goldwax Records]], a small Memphis-based [[independent record label]], in 1964.<ref name="LarkinSM"/> He released several singles for the label before achieving his first success in 1966, when "You've Got My Mind Messed Up"<ref name="LarkinSM"/> reached number 7 on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[R&B chart]] and number 63 on the [[Hot 100|pop chart]].<ref name="whitburnr&b">{{cite book |title= Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942–1995|last=Whitburn |first=Joel |authorlink=Joel Whitburn |year=1996 |publisher=Record Research |page=67}}</ref><ref name=allmusic>[http://www.allmusic.com/artist/james-carr-mn0000107877/biography Biography by Steve Huey], ''Allmusic.com[[AllMusic]]'']. Retrieved October 15, 2016</ref> He also released the successful and critically acclaimed album ''[[You Got My Mind Messed Up]]''.<ref>[http://www.allmusic.com/album/you-got-my-mind-messed-up-bonus-tracks-mw0000050289 "You Got My Mind Messed Up"], ''Allmusic.comAllMusic'']. Retrieved October 15, 2016</ref><ref name=nytimes/>

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]].<ref name="LarkinSM"/> 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 [[A Man Needs a Woman|an album of the same title]].<ref name=allmusic/><ref name="whitburnr&b"/> 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.<ref name=allmusic/>

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 [[antidepressant]]s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.crossrhythms.co.uk/articles/music/Mighty_Sam_McClain_and_James_Carr_Two_giants_of_60s_soul_music_/56543/p1/|title=Mighty Sam McClain and James Carr: Two giants of '60s soul music - Mighty Sam McClain|website=www.crossrhythmsCrossrhythms.co.uk|access-date=2018-03-07}}</ref> Despite this he was dubbed "the world's greatest Soul Singer".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.soulcellar.co.uk/jamescarr/JamesCarr.html|title=James Carr|website=www.soulcellarSoulcellar.co.uk|access-date=2018-03-07}}</ref> However, he completed the Japan tour before returning to Memphis. Thereafter he lived with his sister but was frequently hospitalized.<ref name="nytimes" /> 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.<ref name="LarkinSM">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Guinness Who's Who of Soul Music]]|editor=[[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]|publisher=[[Guinness Publishing]]|date=1993|edition=First|isbn=0-85112-733-9|page=36/8}}</ref> He also performed at festivals in the US and Europe, and released another album, ''Soul Survivor'', in 1994.<ref name="allmusic" />

He was diagnosed with [[lung cancer]] in the mid-1990s, and died in a Memphis [[nursing home]] in 2001, aged 58.<ref name="bare"/><ref name=nytimes>{{cite web|last=Pareles|first=Jon|title=James Carr, 58, Soul Singer Whose Life Reflected the Blues|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2001/01/10/arts/james-carr-58-soul-singer-whose-life-reflected-the-blues.html|publisherwork=www.nytimes.com[[The New York Times]]|accessdate=March 4, 2014}}</ref>

*"You've Got My Mind Messed Up" (1966) R&B #No. 7, Pop #No. 63

*"Love Attack" (1966) R&B #No. 21, Pop #No. 99

*"Pouring Water on a Drowning Man" (1966) R&B #No. 23, Pop #No. 85

*"[[The Dark End of the Street]]" (1967) R&B #No. 10, Pop #No. 77

*"Let It Happen" (1967) R&B #No. 30, Pop #No. 106

*"I'm a Fool for You" (duet with an uncredited [[Betty Harris]]) (1967) R&B #No. 42, Pop #No. 97

*"A Man Needs a Woman" (1968) R&B #No. 16, Pop #No. 63

*"Life Turned Her That Way" (1968) Pop #No. 112

*"Freedom Train" (1969) R&B #No. 39

*"To Love Somebody" (1969) R&B #No. 44

*''[[You Got My Mind Messed Up]]'' (19661967) R&B: #No. 25

*''The Complete Goldwax Singles'' (2001) Kent

*''My Soul Is Satisfied/: The Rest of James Carr'' (2004) Kent

== References ==

{{reflist|2}}

*[https://wfmu.org/LCD/20/carr.html Robert Gordon, "James Carr: Way Out on a Voyage"]

*{{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20131214230317/http://www.songsofsamcooke.com/carr/opening.htm The Songs of James Carr, lyrics and discography]}}

[[Category:20th-century African-American musiciansmale singers]]

[[Category:20th-century American male singers]]

[[Category:MusiciansSingers from Memphis, Tennessee]]

[[Category:Deaths from lung cancer in Tennessee]]