James Carr

Biography

James Edward Carr (June 13, 1942 – January 7, 2001) was an American R&B and soul singer, described as "one of the greatest pure vocalists that deep Southern soul ever produced".

Biography

Born to a Baptist preacher's family in Coahoma, Mississippi, he moved with his parents to Memphis, Tennessee, at the age of three. Carr began singing in church, and performed in gospel 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, 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 R&B chart and number 63 on the pop chart. He also released the successful and critically acclaimed album You Got My Mind Messed Up×You Got My Mind Messed Up1967 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracksA1Pouring Water on a Drowning Man2:39A2Love Attack2:54A3Coming Back to Me Baby1:59A4I Don't Want to Be Hurt Anymore2:23A5That's What I Want to Know1:56A6These Ain't Raindrops2:35B1The Dark End of the Street2:33B2I'm Going for Myself2:24B3Lovable Girl2:23B4Forgetting You2:54B5She's Better Than You2:22B6You've Got My Mind Messed Up2:25.
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. 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×A Man Needs a Woman1968 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1A Man Needs a Woman2:38A2Stronger Than Love2:24A3More Love2:36A4You Didn't Know It but You Had Me1:50A5A Woman Is a Man's Best Friend3:25A6I'm a Fool for You1:54B1Life Turned Her That Way2:29B2Gonna Send You Back to Georgia2:10B3The Dark End of the Street2:20B4I Sowed Love and Reaped a Heartache2:20B5You've Got My Mind Messed Up2:20" 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 in 1971, and another on his manager Roosevelt Jamison's River City label in 1977.
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 antidepressants. 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×Take Me To The Limit1991 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Take Me To The Limit4:382Sugar Rock3:343Love Attack '902:564You Gotta Love Your Woman3:135High On Your Love3:326She's Already Gone3:387Our Garden Of Eden4:158I Can't Leave Your Love Alone3:339What's A Little Love Between Friends2:4510Lack Of Attention2:54, for a revived Goldwax label in 1991. He also performed at festivals in the US and Europe, and released another album, Soul Survivor×Soul Survivor1993 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 10 tracks1Soul Survivor3:502A Man Worth Knowing3:343Put Love First3:224I Can’t Leave Your Love Alone3:255Things a Woman Need4:146Day Dreamin’3:457All Because of Your Love3:448I’m Into Something4:099Memphis After Midnight3:3010That’s How Strong a Woman’s Love Is3:02, in 1994. His signature song "The Dark End of the Street" gained further recognition when it was prominently featured in The Commitments, a film about working-class Irish youths forming a soul band.
He was diagnosed with lung cancer in the mid-1990s, and died in a Memphis nursing home in 2001, aged 58.

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
"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×A Man Needs a Woman1968 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracksA1A Man Needs a Woman2:38A2Stronger Than Love2:24A3More Love2:36A4You Didn't Know It but You Had Me1:50A5A Woman Is a Man's Best Friend3:25A6I'm a Fool for You1:54B1Life Turned Her That Way2:29B2Gonna Send You Back to Georgia2:10B3The Dark End of the Street2:20B4I Sowed Love and Reaped a Heartache2:20B5You've Got My Mind Messed Up2:20" (1968) R&B No. 16, Pop No. 63
"Life Turned Her That Way" (1968) Pop No. 112
"Freedom Train×Freedom Train1977 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracksA1What Can I Call My Own2:48A2My Adorable One3:29A3I Can't Turn You Loose2:09A4These Arms Of Mine2:37A5The Lifetime Of A Man2:26A6Tell Me2:39A7Let's Face Facts2:27B1Freedom Train2:19B2You Hurt So Good2:00B3Love Attack3:20B4Pouring Water On A Drowning Man2:38B5You Don't Want Me2:33B6Search Your Heart3:04B7Dixie Belle2:23" (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) Goldwax
Complete, Vol. 2 (1994) Goldwax
The Essential James Carr (1995) Razor & Tie
24 Karat Soul (2001) Soultrax
The Complete Goldwax Singles (2001) Kent UK
My Soul Is Satisfied: The Rest of James Carr (2004) Kent UK
A Man Worth Knowing: The 1990s Goldwax & Soultrax Recordings (2006) Ace UK