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James Carr (1942 - 2001) |
Born the son of a Baptist preacher in Coahoma, Mississippi, James Carr was singing in church, performing in gospel groups, and making tables on an assembly line in Memphis, Tennessee when he began recording for Goldwax Records, a small Memphis based label, in the mid-'60s.
Carr first made the R&B charts in 1966 with You've Got My Mind Messed Up, followed by his most famous song The Dark End of the Street, written by Dan Penn and Chips Moman. Carr continued to record for Goldwax until the label closed in 1969 but failed to reach the same heights with his subsequent releases.
Unfortunately, Carr suffered from bi-polar disorder for most of his life which affected his career. This was sadly evident during a tour of Japan in the 1970s when he froze in front of an audience following an overdose of antidepressants and had to cancel the remainder of the tour. A resurgence in interest in his music, spurred by his portrayal in the 1986 book Sweet Soul Music, helped return Carr to the recording studio but failed to deliver any further chart success.
While Carr was never as popular among general audiences as contemporaries like Otis Redding or Solomon Burke, his vocal performances on select tracks are still considered unmatched by many soul music and Rhythm & Blues fans.
James Carr died from lung cancer in a Memphis nursing home in 2001 at the age of 58.
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| Article courtesy of www.wikipedia.org |
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