Georgia Carr (born Mary Louise Thomas, June 20, 1925 – July 4, 1971) was an American singer and actress who performed and recorded between the 1940s and 1960s.

Early life and education

She was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

and worked as a secretary with the Los Angeles Housing Authority while studying nursing at the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

, and establishing herself as a singer. In 1946, after winning a talent contest, she began a residency in the Club Royal in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

where, in 1952, she was heard by bandleader

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though K ...

. He suggested that she change her name to Georgia Carr, and won her a recording contract with Capitol Records."Ex-Calif. Secretary Hits Bigtime As Singer", ''Jet'', 20 August 1953, p.60
/ref> She appeared in top clubs in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and elsewhere, and released several singles on Capitol, with arrangements by Nelson Riddle, including "Softly" and "I Dream of You" (both 1952), "Is That Bad" and "Lonely" (both 1953). At the end of 1953, she began working as a

disc jockey A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at a nightclub or music festival), mobile ...

on radio station

WOV WADO (1280 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to New York City. It is owned and operated by Uforia Audio Network, a subsidiary of Univision. It broadcasts a Spanish-language sports radio format. By day, WADO is powered at 50,000 watt ...

in New York.

Career

She continued to record for Capitol and make club appearances, and in 1957 appeared as a calypso singer in the film ''

Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? ''Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?'' is a 1957 American satirical comedy film starring Jayne Mansfield and Tony Randall, with Betsy Drake, Joan Blondell, John Williams, Henry Jones, Lili Gentle, and Mickey Hargitay, and with a cameo by Groucho M ...

''. After a residency in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, she had to give up her singing career temporarily because of severe laryngitis, from which she recovered without surgery."Georgia Carr Survives a Vocal 'Trial by Fire'", ''Milwaukee Sentinel'', January 25, 1959, p.32
/ref>
In 1958 she released the LP ''Songs by a Moody Miss'' on

Tops Records Tops Records was a Los Angeles-based record label owned by Tops Music Enterprises, both founded in 1947 by Carl L. Doshay and Sam Dickerman. After a prolific and profitable run, Tops merged with PRI Records in 1958, which in turn, sold to a group ...

; she was credited on the album sleeve as "America's Foremost Night Club Singer". Soon afterwards she signed for

Dot Records Dot Records was an American record label founded by Randy Wood (record producer), Randy Wood and Gene Nobles that was active between 1950 and 1978. The original headquarters of Dot Records were in Gallatin, Tennessee. In 1956, the company moved ...

, who issued further singles including "Don't Go". A report in the ''

Chicago Defender ''The Chicago Defender'' is a Chicago-based online African-American newspaper. It was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott and was once considered the "most important" newspaper of its kind. Abbott's newspaper reported and campaigned against Jim ...

'' in 1963 described her as possessing "beauty, personality, 'class,' and a warm, husky voice of intimate styling", and said that she was intending to front a new business, American Negro Commercials, Inc., to make "television and theatrical commercials utilizing Negro actors and models."Georgia Carr, ''VintageBlackGlamour'', March 31, 2013
/ref> From 1964, she recorded for

Vee-Jay Records Vee-Jay Records is an American record label founded in the 1950s, located in Chicago and specializing in blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll. The label was founded in Gary, Indiana in 1953 by Vivian Carter and James C. Bracken, a ...

, and that year released her best known album, ''Rocks in My Bed'', a collection of songs by Duke Ellington,

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

, Peggy Lee and others. She also appeared in the film ''Handle with Care'', an all African-American musical comedy.''Handle with Care'', IMDb.com
/ref> A soundtrack album was released on the Preview label. She acted in the television series ''

Marcus Welby, M.D. Marcus, Markus, Márkus or Mărcuș may refer to: * Marcus (name), a masculine given name * Marcus (praenomen), a Roman personal name Places * Marcus, a main belt asteroid, also known as (369088) Marcus 2008 GG44 * Mărcuş, a village in Dobârl ...

'' in 1969. In later years, she ran a catering company with her sister. She died of a stroke in Los Angeles in 1971 at the age of 46. A compilation of her early recordings, ''Softly Baby'', was released in 1985.''Softly Baby''
Retrieved 24 August 2014

Discography

* ''Songs by a Moody Miss'' (1958) * ''Rocks in My Bed'' (Vee-Jay, 1964) * ''Handle with Care'' (soundtrack, 1964) * ''Softly Baby'' (compilation, 1985)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, Georgia 1925 births 1971 deaths Singers from Los Angeles Torch singers Traditional pop music singers Vee-Jay Records artists Capitol Records artists Actresses from Los Angeles 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American singers