Valerie Gail Zakian Carter (February 5, 1953 – March 4, 2017) was an American singer.
Biography
Carter began her career singing in
coffeehouse
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-ca ...
s as a teenager, and eventually became one-third of the country-folk band
Howdy Moon
''Howdy Moon'' was the sole album by the band Howdy Moon, released in 1974. The band included Valerie Carter, Richard Hovey and Jon Lind. The trio of friends moved to Los Angeles where they were signed by A&M Records and played at The Troubadour. ...
. Though they debuted at the legendary
Troubadour
A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a '' trobair ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
,
California
California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
, in 1974, their one album is now fairly obscure. It is notable, however, for the Carter-penned song "Cook with Honey", later a hit for
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...
, and for the introduction of Carter to
Lowell George
Lowell Thomas George (April 13, 1945 – June 29, 1979) was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer, who was the primary guitarist, vocalist, songwriter and founder/leader for the rock band Little Feat.
Ear ...
, who produced the next album. He would be a mentor to her until his death in 1979 and introduced her to
Jackson Browne,
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-sell ...
, and many of the artists she would work with throughout her career.
Her first solo album,
''Just a Stone's Throw Away'', featured an impressive array of guest artists from the 1970s Southern California music scene including
Maurice White
Maurice White (December 19, 1941 – February 4, 2016) was an American singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was best known as the founder, leader, main songwriter, and producer of the band Earth, Wind & Fire, and served as the ...
, Lowell George,
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
, Jackson Browne, and
Deniece Williams. The album was well received and garnered favorable reviews and placed her as the opening act for the
Eagles
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, jus ...
in Europe. Two years later, she released another album
''Wild Child'', and began touring with various artists primarily James Taylor, Jackson Browne, and Linda Ronstadt.
Carter then released another solo album,
''The Way It Is'', with guest artists including
Phoebe Snow,
Lyle Lovett,
Edwin McCain, James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, and Jackson Browne. Japan released a limited edition of this CD with an additional song by
Tom Snow.
She followed two years later with EPs ''Find a River'', ''Vanilla Grits'', and a compilation CD ''Midnight Over Honey River''.
Other work
Carter worked as a backup vocalist for a number of famous recording artists. These included
Linda Ronstadt
Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
,
Don Henley
Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. He is the drummer and one of the lead singers for the Eagles. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles hits such as " Witchy Woman", "Des ...
,
Christopher Cross
Christopher Cross (born Christopher Charles Geppert; May 3, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter from San Antonio, Texas.
He won five Grammy Awards for his eponymous debut album released in 1979. The singles "Sailing" (1980), and "Arthur's T ...
,
Little Feat,
Jackson Browne,
the Outlaws, and
James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-sell ...
.
Carter wrote the song "Cook with Honey" which was a hit for
Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...
on her 1973 album ''
True Stories and Other Dreams
''True Stories and Other Dreams'' is the ninth studio album by American singer and songwriter Judy Collins, released by Elektra Records in 1973. It peaked at No. 27 on the Billboard charts, ''Billboard'' Pop Albums charts.
The album included Val ...
''. Carter also co-wrote the Jackson Browne track "Love Needs a Heart" that was featured on his 1977 album ''
Running on Empty''. She also co-wrote "It is One" and "Niño" on Browne's album
''Looking East''. She worked as a writer for
the Brothers Johnson on the track "Deceiver",
Earth, Wind & Fire's "Turn It Into Something Good", featured on the band's 1980 album ''
Faces'',
and
Cher
Cher (; born Cherilyn Sarkisian; May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Often referred to by the media as the Honorific nicknames in popular music, "Goddess of Pop", she has been described as embodying female ...
's
Black Rose band's "Never Should've Started".
In 1978, she performed the singing voice of the character Jan Mouse in the animated Halloween special
''The Devil and Daniel Mouse'' produced by Canadian animation studio
Nelvana
Nelvana Enterprises, Inc. (; previously known as Nelvana Limited, sometimes known as Nelvana Animation and simply Nelvana or Nelvana Communications) is a Canadian animation studio and entertainment company owned by Corus Entertainment. Founded ...
. She was credited under the pseudonym Laurel Runn, likely inspired by living in Laurel Canyon at the time. She sang several songs in the special, including a duet with singer
John Sebastian of
the Lovin' Spoonful fame.
The following year, in 1979, her cover of "
O-o-h Child
"O-o-h Child" is a 1970 single, written by Stan Vincent, recorded by Chicago soul family group the Five Stairsteps and released on the Buddah label.
The Five Stairsteps had previous peripheral success recording in Chicago with Curtis Mayfield ...
" was featured in
Matt Dillon
Matthew Raymond Dillon (born February 18, 1964) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including an Oscar and Grammy nomination.
Dillon made his feature film debut in '' Over the Edge'' (1979) and established himself as a te ...
's film debut in ''
Over the Edge''.
In 2018, her sister Jan Carter and her friend Kathy Kurasch assembled ''The Lost Tapes''; the first posthumous stand-alone album of previously unreleased material by Carter. It includes unreleased tracks recorded during her career including "I Got Over It", co-written by
Prince
A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. ...
.
Personal life and death
In the issue of ''
Billboard'' on December 11, 1999, a marriage was announced between Carter and Seth Katz, a television executive with
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
, taking place on November 26, 1999, in
Montclair, New Jersey.
In August and October 2009, Carter was arrested in
St. Petersburg, Florida, for possession of drugs.
She completed all of the court's requirements on May 25, 2011.
[ American singer-songwriter ]James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-sell ...
appeared at her drug court graduation ceremonies in a congratulatory effort on behalf of all of the graduates.[
Carter died of a ]heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...
on March 4, 2017, at the age of 64.
The song " Valerie", recorded by Steve Winwood
Stephen Lawrence Winwood (born 12 May 1948) is an English musician, singer, and songwriter whose genres include blue-eyed soul, rhythm and blues, blues rock, and pop rock. Though primarily a keyboard player and vocalist prominent for his disti ...
, was reportedly about her, as was Jackson Browne's song " That Girl Could Sing".
Discography
Collaboration albums
* ''Howdy Moon
''Howdy Moon'' was the sole album by the band Howdy Moon, released in 1974. The band included Valerie Carter, Richard Hovey and Jon Lind. The trio of friends moved to Los Angeles where they were signed by A&M Records and played at The Troubadour. ...
'' (1974)
Studio albums
* '' Just a Stone's Throw Away'' (1977)
* '' Wild Child'' (1978)
* '' The Way It Is'' (1996; reissued 2006)
* ''Find a River'' (1998; EP)
* ''Midnight Over Honey River'' (2003)
* ''The Lost Tapes'' (2018)
* ''Valerie Carter with Yoshiyuki Sahashi – Live in Tokyo, 1994'' (2020)
Compilation albums
* ''Ooh Child: The Columbia Years'' (2019)
* ''Vanilla Grits'' (2001)
Guest appearances
* Aaron Neville – ''Warm Your Heart'' (1991)
* Al Kooper – ''Championship Wrestling'' (1982)
*Anna Vissi
Anna Vissi ( el, Άννα Βίσση, , ; born 20 December 1957), is a Greek Cypriot singer and songwriter. She studied music at conservatories and performed locally before moving to the professional scene in Athens, in 1973, where she signed ...
– ''Everything I Am'' (2001)
*Anne Murray
Morna Anne Murray (born June 20, 1945) is a retired Canadian singer. Her albums, consisting primarily of pop, country, and adult contemporary music, have sold over 55 million copies worldwide during her over 40-year career.
Murray was the fir ...
– ''Anne Murray'' (1996)
* Arnold McCuller – ''Circa 1990'' (2003)
* Aselin Debison – ''Sweet Is the Melody'' (2002)
*Christopher Cross
Christopher Cross (born Christopher Charles Geppert; May 3, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter from San Antonio, Texas.
He won five Grammy Awards for his eponymous debut album released in 1979. The singles "Sailing" (1980), and "Arthur's T ...
– ''Christopher Cross
Christopher Cross (born Christopher Charles Geppert; May 3, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter from San Antonio, Texas.
He won five Grammy Awards for his eponymous debut album released in 1979. The singles "Sailing" (1980), and "Arthur's T ...
'' (1980)
* Curtis Stigers – ''Brighter Days'' (1999)[Recording's credits]
*Diana Ross
Diana Ross (born March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. She rose to fame as the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups ...
– ''Force Behind the Power'' (1991)
* Don Grusin – ''10k-La'' (1980)
*Don Henley
Donald Hugh Henley (born July 22, 1947) is an American musician and a founding member of the rock band Eagles. He is the drummer and one of the lead singers for the Eagles. Henley sang the lead vocals on Eagles hits such as " Witchy Woman", "Des ...
:
** '' The End of the Innocence'' (1989)
** '' Inside Job'' (2000)
*Eddie Money
Edward Joseph Mahoney (March 21, 1949 – September 13, 2019), known professionally as Eddie Money, was an American singer and songwriter who, in the 1970s and 1980s, had eleven Top 40 songs, including "Baby Hold On", " Two Tickets to Par ...
– '' Playing for Keeps'' (1980)
*Eric Carmen
Eric Howard Carmen (born August 11, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and keyboardist. He was first known as the lead vocalist of the Raspberries. He had numerous hit songs in the 1970s and 1980s, first as a member of the Rasp ...
– '' Change of Heart'' (1978)
* Freebo – ''End of the Beginning'' (1999)
* Glenn Frey – '' Strange Weather'' (1992)
*Hoyt Axton
Hoyt Wayne Axton (March 25, 1938 – October 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He became prominent in the early 1960s, establishing himself on the West Coast as a folk singer with an earthy style and powerful voic ...
– ''Southbound'' (1975)
* Jackson Browne:
** '' I'm Alive'' (1993)
** ''Looking East
Looking is the act of intentionally focusing visual perception on someone or something, for the purpose of obtaining information, and possibly to convey interest or another sentiment. A large number of troponyms exist to describe variations o ...
'' (1996)
*James Taylor
James Vernon Taylor (born March 12, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. A six-time Grammy Award winner, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000. He is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-sell ...
:
** ''Gorilla
Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four ...
'' (1975)
** '' In the Pocket'' (1976)
** '' New Moon Shine'' (1991)
** '' Live'' (1993)
** ''Best Live'' (1994)
** '' Hourglass'' (1997)
** '' Greatest Hits Volume 2'' (2000)
* Jimmy Webb:
** ''Angel Heart'' (1982)
** ''Suspending Disbelief'' (1993)
*Jorge Calderón
Jorge Calderón, originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer best known for his collaborations with Warren Zevon and Buckingham Nicks. He began working with Buckingham Nicks in 197 ...
– ''City Music'' (1975)
* Jude Johnstone – ''Coming of Age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can ...
'' (2002)
* Julia Fordham – '' Swept'' (1991)
*Julie Miller
Julie Anne Miller (born Julie Griffin, July 12, 1956) is a songwriter, singer, and recording artist living in Nashville, Tennessee. She married Buddy Miller in 1981. They sing and play on each other's solo projects and have recorded three duet ...
:
** ''Orphans & Angels'' (1993)
** ''Invisible Girl'' (1996)
* Keiko Matsui – ''Sapphire'' (1995)
*Linda Ronstadt
Linda Maria Ronstadt (born July 15, 1946) is a retired American singer who performed and recorded in diverse genres including rock, country, light opera, the Great American Songbook, and Latin. She has earned 11 Grammy Awards, three American ...
:
** '' Winter Light'' (1994)
** '' Feels Like Home'' (1995)
** '' Dedicated to the One I Love'' (1996)
* Little Feat – '' The Last Record Album'' (1975)
* Lyle Lovett – ''Road to Ensenada'' (1996)
* Maureen McCormick – ''When You Get a Little Lonely
''When You Get a Little Lonely'' is the debut studio album by American actress and singer Maureen McCormick. It was released on April 4, 1995, through the label Phantom Hill. After playing Marcia Brady in the sitcom '' The Brady Bunch'', she ...
'' (1995)
*Neil Diamond
Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...
:
** '' Lovescape'' (1991)
** '' Up on the Roof: Songs from the Brill Building'' (1993)
** ''Christmas Album, Vol. 2'' (1994)
** ''In My Lifetime'' (1996)
* Nicolette Larson:
** '' Nicolette'' (1978)
** '' All Dressed Up and No Place to Go'' (1982)
* Ofra Haza – '' Kirya'' (1992)
* Jack Wagner – ''Love Can Take Us All the Way'' (1986)
*Randy Newman
Randall Stuart Newman (born November 28, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, arranger, composer, and pianist known for his Southern-accented singing style, early Americana-influenced songs (often with mordant or satirical lyrics), and vari ...
– '' Born Again'' (1979)
* Rick Derringer – ''Free Ride'' (2002)
*Ringo Starr
Sir Richard Starkey (born 7 July 1940), known professionally as Ringo Starr, is an English musician, singer, songwriter and actor who achieved international fame as the drummer for the Beatles. Starr occasionally sang lead vocals with the ...
– '' Time Takes Time'' (1992)
* Shawn Colvin – ''Fat City'' (1992)
*Tom Jans
Tom Jans (February 9, 1948 – March 25, 1984) was an American folk singer-songwriter and guitarist from San Jose, California. He is perhaps best known for his song "Loving Arms" (also known as "Lovin' Arms"), which was recorded initially by K ...
– ''Eyes of an Only Child'' (1975)
*Tom Kell – ''Dove'' (2012)
* Vonda Shepard – '' Songs from Ally McBeal'' (1998)
*Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson (born April 29, 1933) is an American country musician. The critical success of the album ''Shotgun Willie'' (1973), combined with the critical and commercial success of ''Red Headed Stranger'' (1975) and ''Stardust'' (1978 ...
– ''Healing Hands of Time'' (1994)
Songwriting credits
* "Cook with Honey" – Judy Collins
Judith Marjorie Collins (born May 1, 1939) is an American singer-songwriter and musician with a career spanning seven decades. An Academy Award-nominated documentary director and a Grammy Award-winning recording artist, she is known for her ec ...
(''True Stories and Other Dreams
''True Stories and Other Dreams'' is the ninth studio album by American singer and songwriter Judy Collins, released by Elektra Records in 1973. It peaked at No. 27 on the Billboard charts, ''Billboard'' Pop Albums charts.
The album included Val ...
'', 1973)
*"Love Needs a Heart" – Jackson Browne ('' Running on Empty'', 1977)
*"Turn It into Something Good" – Earth, Wind & Fire ('' Faces'', 1980)
*"Never Should Have Started" – Black Rose ('' Black Rose'', 1980)
* "Deceiver" – The Brothers Johnson (released as B-side of 7" single "You Keep Me Coming Back", 1984)
* "It Is One" – Jackson Browne (''Looking East
Looking is the act of intentionally focusing visual perception on someone or something, for the purpose of obtaining information, and possibly to convey interest or another sentiment. A large number of troponyms exist to describe variations o ...
'', 1996)
*"Nino" – Jackson Browne (''Looking East'', 1996)
References
External links
Official website
Archive of old website
(archived from September 2013)
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, Valerie
1953 births
2017 deaths
American women singers
Songwriters from Florida
People from Winter Haven, Florida
American women songwriters
21st-century American women
American soft rock musicians
American soul singers