James Edward Carr (June 13, 1942 – January 7, 2001) was an American R&B and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '' soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest att ...

singer, described as "one of the greatest pure vocalists that deep Southern soul ever produced."

Biography

Born to a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul c ...

preacher's family in

Coahoma, Mississippi Coahoma is a town in Coahoma County, Mississippi, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 229. History Coahoma was founded in the 1880s, and named for its location within Coahoma County. Coahoma was a stop on the Mississippi De ...

, he moved with his parents to

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mo ...

, at the age of three. Carr began singing in church, and performed in

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message (" the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words a ...

groups including the Harmony Echoes, at the same time as making tables on an assembly line in Memphis. After being turned down by Stax, he made his first recordings for Goldwax Records, a small Memphis-based

independent record label An independent record label (or indie label) is a record label that operates without the funding or distribution of major record labels; they are a type of small- to medium-sized enterprise, or SME. The labels and artists are often represented ...

, in 1964. He released several singles for the label before achieving his first success in 1966, when "You've Got My Mind Messed Up" reached number 7 on the ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

R&B chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...

and number 63 on the

pop chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include re ...

.Biography by Steve Huey
''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

''. Retrieved October 15, 2016 He also released the successful and critically acclaimed album '' You Got My Mind Messed Up''. 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 "The Dark End of the Street" is a 1967 soul song, written by songwriters Dan Penn and Chips Moman and first recorded by James Carr. History and original recording The song was co-written by Penn, a professional songwriter and producer, and Mo ...

", written by

Dan Penn Dan Penn (born Wallace Daniel Pennington, November 16, 1941) is an American songwriter, singer, musician, and record producer, who co-wrote many soul hits of the 1960s, including " The Dark End of the Street" and "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" w ...

and

Chips Moman Lincoln Wayne "Chips" Moman (June 12, 1937 – June 13, 2016) was an American record producer, guitarist, and songwriter. He is known for working in R&B, pop music and country music, operating American Sound Studios and producing hit albums li ...

. 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 an album of the same title. After Goldwax closed down in 1969, he released a single on

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

in 1971, and another on his manager

Roosevelt Jamison Roosevelt Jamison (July 15, 1936 – March 27, 2013) was an American music manager, publicist and songwriter who worked in Memphis, Tennessee, during the 1960s. His most notable composition was "That's How Strong My Love Is", first recorded ...

's River City label in 1977. Carr suffered from

bipolar disorder Bipolar disorder, previously known as manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by periods of Depression (mood), depression and periods of abnormally elevated Mood (psychology), mood that last from days to weeks each. If the elevat ...

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 Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

in 1979 when he froze in front of an audience, following an overdose of

antidepressant Antidepressants are a class of medication used to treat major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, chronic pain conditions, and to help manage addictions. Common Side effect, side-effects of antidepressants include Xerostomia, dry mouth, weig ...

s. Despite this he was dubbed "the world's greatest Soul Singer". However, he completed the Japan tour before returning to Memphis. Thereafter he lived with his sister but was frequently hospitalized. 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. He also performed at festivals in the US and Europe, and released another album, ''Soul Survivor'', in 1994. He was diagnosed with

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, mali ...

in the mid-1990s, and died in a Memphis

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of elderly or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as skilled nursing facility (SNF) or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms have slightly different meanings to i ...

in 2001, aged 58.

Discography

Singles

*"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 *"

" (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 Betty Harris (born September 9, 1939 in Orlando, Florida, United States) is an American soul singer. Her recording career in the 1960s produced three hit singles that made the U.S. ''Billboard'' R&B and ''Billboard'' Hot 100 charts: "Cry to ...

) (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

Albums

*'' You Got My Mind Messed Up'' (1967) R&B: No. 25 *'' A Man Needs a Woman'' (1968) *''Take Me To The Limit'' (1991) *''Soul Survivor'' (1994)

Compilations

*''Complete, Vol. 1'' (1994) *''Complete, Vol. 2'' (1994) Goldwax *''The Essential James Carr'' (1995)

Razor & Tie Razor & Tie was an American entertainment company that consisted of a record label and a music publishing company. It was established in 1990 by Craig Balsam and Cliff Chenfeld. Based in New York City (with additional offices in Los Angeles a ...

*''24 Karat Soul'' (2001) Soultrax *''The Complete Goldwax Singles'' (2001) Kent *''My Soul Is Satisfied: The Rest of James Carr'' (2004) Kent *''A Man Worth Knowing: The 1990s Goldwax & Soultrax Recordings'' (2006) Ace

References

External links

Obituary, ''The Guardian''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carr, James 1942 births 2001 deaths 20th-century African-American male singers American gospel singers People from Coahoma, Mississippi Musicians from Memphis, Tennessee Singers from Mississippi People with bipolar disorder American soul musicians Deaths from lung cancer in Tennessee