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Carl Carlton (born May 21, 1953)[1] is an American R&B, soul, and funk singer-songwriter, best known for his hits "Everlasting Love" and "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)".[2]

Carl Carlton
Carlton in 1968
Background information
Born	(1953-05-21) May 21, 1953 (age 69) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Genres	Pop, R&B, soul, funk
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter
Years active	1965–present

Career

Carlton was born in Detroit, Michigan, and began his career in the mid-1960s as "Little Carl" Carlton.[2] This was a marketing ploy to capitalize on some vocal similarities to Stevie Wonder, who recorded under the name "Little Stevie Wonder" in the early 1960s. His first recordings were for Lando Records,[2] for which he recorded some minor local hits, including "So What" and "Don't You Need a Boy Like Me."

In 1968, Don D. Robey signed Carlton to the Back Beat Record label, which Robey had started in 1957. Shortly after signing with the label, Carlton relocated to Houston, Texas, to be closer to his new label.[2] His first single with the label, "Competition Ain't Nothing" became a huge hit on the UK northern soul scene after its release on the UK Action label. Carlton finally saw major success in the United States with a cover version of Robert Knight's "Everlasting Love". This song went to number 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, and number 11 on the Billboard R&B Charts in 1974.[3]

Robey sold his labels to ABC Records in 1972.[2] Beginning in 1976, Carlton became embroiled in a royalty dispute with ABC Records that caused him to stop recording for some time.[2] He then signed with Mercury Records in 1977, but only released one single on that label.[2] Carlton was unable to land a new recording contract for several years until Leon Haywood helped him get a singles deal with 20th Century Records.[2]

A Haywood-penned single, "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)", became a major hit, peaking at number 2 on the soul chart and earning Carlton a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male[4] in 1982. The track peaked at number 34 in the UK Singles Chart.[5] Carlton's subsequent album, Carl Carlton, went gold in 1981. "She's a Bad Mama Jama" has since become a staple of compilation albums and soundtracks and is often sampled in rap music.[6]

Carlton released several more albums in the 1980s but had only a few minor R&B hits. After 1985's Private Property, he did not release another album until 1994's Main Event, which also failed to chart.

In late 2002, Carlton appeared with many R&B stars on the "Rhythm, Love, and Soul" edition of the PBS series American Soundtrack. His performance of "Everlasting Love" was included on the accompanying live album that was released in 2004.[7]

On August 1, 2010, Carlton released his first gospel single entitled "God Is Good". On April 16, 2011, Carlton was nominated for a Detroit Music Award in the "Outstanding Gospel/Christian Vocalist" category.[8]

Discography

Albums

Year	Album	Chart positions		Label
		US [9]	US R&B [3]
1973	Can't Stop a Man in Love	165	51	Back Beat
1974	Everlasting Love	132	22	ABC
1975	I Wanna Be with You	—	49
1981	Carl Carlton	34	3	20th Century Fox
1982	The Bad C.C.	133	21	RCA Victor
1985	Private Property	—	36	Casablanca
1994	Main Event	—	—	Evejim
2010	God Is Good	—	—	CTU
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Singles

Year	Single	Chart positions							Certifications	Albums
		US [10]	US R&B [11]	AUS [12]	NZ [13]	UK [14]	CAN Top [15]	CAN AC [15]
1968	"Competition Ain't Nothin'" Little Carl Carlton	75	—	—	—	—	55	—		Can't Stop A Man in Love
	"46 Drums – 1 Guitar" Little Carl Carlton	105	—	—	—	—	85	—		N/A
1969	"Look at Mary Wonder (How I Got Over)" Little Carl Carlton	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"Don't Walk Away"	—	38	—	—	—	—	—
1970	"Drop by My Place" Little Carl Carlton	78	12	—	—	—	—	—		Can't Stop A Man in Love
1971	"I Can Feel It" / "You've Got So Much (To Learn About Love)"	—	47	—	—	—	—	—		N/A
1972	"I Won't Let That Chump Break Your Heart"	—	42	—	—	—	—	—		Can't Stop a Man in Love
1973	"You Can't Stop a Man in Love"	—	81	—	—	—	—	—
1974	"Everlasting Love"	6	11	—	—	—	19	11		Everlasting Love
1975	"Smokin' Room"	91	13	—	—	—	—	—
	"Morning, Noon and Nightime"	—	71	—	—	—	—	—
1976	"Ain't Gonna Tell Nobody (About You)"	—	67	—	—	—	—	—		I Wanna Be With You
1980	"This Feeling's Rated X-Tra"	—	57	—	—	—	—	—		Carl Carlton
1981	"She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)"	22	2	—	27	34	—	—	RIAA: Gold[16]
1982	"I Think It's Gonna Be Alright"	—	65	—	—	—	—	—
	"Baby I Need Your Loving"	103	17	12	—	—	27	—		The Bad C.C.
1983	"Swing That Sexy Thang"	—	54	—	—	—	—	—
1985	"Private Property"	—	28	—	—	—	—	—		Private Property
1986	"Slipped, Tripped (Fooled Around and Fell in Love)"	—	88	—	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that territory.

Television appearances

Year	Title	Notes
1970	The Merv Griffin Show
1974—1982	American Bandstand	Two episodes
1974—1983	Soul Train	Two episodes
2003	American Soundtrack: Rhythm, Love and Soul	Television documentary special

References

External links

• Carl Carlton at AllMusic
• Carl Carlton at IMDb

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