James Carr (13 June 1942 – 7 January 2001), was an American soul singer, best known for the original version of the Deep Soul classic 'The Dark End Of The Street'.
Born in Mississippi, at the age of three Carr moved to Memphis with his family. He began singing gospel in church before being discovered and signed to Memphis label Goldwax in 1965. He recorded for the label for the majority of his career, releasing two albums and numerous singles from the mid to late Sixties. Although he scored a handful of minor hits, he never made a career breakthrough.
Carr disappeared from view in the early Seventies after a stalled deal with Atlantic Records. He was dogged by mental health issues, possibly exacerbated by drug use. After a troubled comeback tour of Japan in 1979, Carr again retired from performing and eventually ended up lodging with his sister in a poor area of Memphis.
The singer re-emerged in the early Nineties, recording a further two albums with his old friend and mentor (and Goldwax label co-owner) Quinton Claunch. In the late Nineties Carr was diagnosed with lung cancer and underwent treatment. He died in a Memphis nursing home in January 2001 at the age of 58.
Links To Peel[]
"There are those who will say that James Carr was the greatest soul singer of all time. They could well be right." (10 January 2002 (Radio Eins))
"Arguably the greatest soul voice there ever was." (12 February 2003)
As the above quotes indicate, Peel was very much an admirer of James Carr. "The Dark End Of The Street" was a particular favourite of the DJ - and indeed, his Radio One colleague Andy Kershaw [1]. It was one of Peel's selections for the Peelenium of 1967. John played a sprinkling of Carr's tracks over the years. These airings increased after the singer's death in early 2001, when Peel revisited his recordings through the reissues put out by Ace Records on its specialist Soul imprint, Kent.
Speaking on his tribute programme of 31 October 2004, Andy Kershaw described Carr as possessing "John's favourite soul voice", adding "I'll always remember the excitement of phoning John from Memphis when I was over there in the summer of 1987 to say that after he'd been missing for years and years, I'd found him that very afternoon." [2]
Peelenium[]
Peelenium 1967: The Dark End Of The Street
Festive Fifty Entries[]
- None.
Sessions[]
- None
Shows Played[]
James Carr - At the dark end of the street
- 1967
- 17 July 1967: Let It Happen (single) Stateside
- 1979
- 29 January 1979: A Man Needs A Woman (single) Goldwax
- (JP: "If I had a voice like that I should be extremely happy.")
- 15 February 1979: The Dark End Of The Street [3]
- 1982
- 15 March 1982: The Dark End Of The Street
- 1987
- 13 July 1987: Forgetting You (LP - At The Dark End Of The Street) Blue Side
- 1999
- 03 November 1999: The Dark End Of The Street (7") Goldwax (Peelenium 1967)
- 2001
- 16 January 2001: Forgetting You (LP - At The Dark End Of The Street) Upside
- 24 January 2001: (At The) Dark End Of The Street (LP - At The Dark End Of The Street) Blue Side
- 25 January 2001 (Radio Eins): Love Attack (LP - At The Dark End Of The Street) Upside
- 30 January 2001: Message To Young Lovers (LP - At The Dark End Of The Street) Upside
- January 2001 (FSK): A Man Needs A Woman
- 11 February 2001 (BBC World Service): Life Turned That Her That Way (7") Goldwax
- 2002
- 10 January 2002 (Radio Eins): I Don't Want To Be Hurt Anymore (LP - You Got My Mind Messed Up) Kent
- 31 January 2002: I Don't Want To Be Hurt Anymore (Various LP - The Goldwax Story Vol 1) Kent
- 28 February 2002 (Radio Eins): I Don't Want To Be Hurt Anymore (v/a album - The Goldwax Story Vol 1) Kent
- 18 April 2002: The Dark End Of The Street (Various LP – The Goldwax Story Vol 1) Kent
- 04 September 2002 (Radio Eins): Love Attack (album - You Got My Mind Messed Up)
- 2003
- 12 February 2003: That's The Way Love Turned Out For Me (b/w Freedom Train 7") B&C
- 20 February 2003 (Radio Eins): That's The Way Love Turned Out For Me (b/w Freedom Train 7") B&C
- 13 November 2003 (Radio Eins): Let's Face Facts (Various Artists LP - A Soldier's Sad Story: Vietnam Through The Eyes Of Black America 1966-1973) Kent Records
- 25 November 2003: Let's Face Facts (Various Artists LP - A Soldier's Sad Story: Vietnam Through The Eyes Of Black America 1966-1973) Kent Records
- 29 November 2003 (BBC World Service): Let's Face Facts (Various Artists LP - A Soldier's Sad Story: Vietnam Through The Eyes Of Black America 1966-1973) Kent Records
- (JP: "If my colleague Andy Kershaw is listening to this programme, he will certainly have been celebrating my playing of that.")
- 2004
- 01 June 2004: Love Attack (LP - My Soul Is Satisfied) Kent
See Also[]
External Links[]
- Footnotes
- ↑ After playing the song on 03 November 1999, Peel states that it is one of Kershaw's "all-time favourite tracks"
- ↑ Kershaw describes the encounter in his autobiography "No Off Switch" (pp. 226-228, first edition hardback issue, 2011). He goes on to say how he wrote a letter to John that evening detailing the day's events. Some time later he asked if he could take a copy of the letter for his records and seemed very disappointed when John admitted that he hadn't kept it.
- ↑ Ken Garner's The Peel Sessions (Chapter 11, Page 221)