Carl Carlton Drop By My Place

I don't think I have posted anything on Carl Carlton before and I certainly didn't mention the release of the CD below by Hip-O-Select back in May:



For a teenager from Detroit, lightning struck not once but thrice. Having recorded sides for the Lando label which garnered him some local attention, Carlton inked with Don Robey’s Houston-based Back Beat imprint. Carl burst on the scene starting in ’68 with a string of soul stormers including “Look At Mary Wonder (How I Got Over)” and “Competition Ain’t Nothin’” and “46 Drums – 1 Guitar,” before shifting to the smoother Great Lakes balladry that echoed Jackie Wilson, Tyrone Davis and The Chi-Lites.

Carl adapted easily to soul’s evolution, cutting a hallmark proto-disco pop-soul tune: “Everlasting Love.” A cover of Robert Knight’s ’67 hit, “Everlasting Love” gave Carl his highest charting record to date, despite being released in the midst of ABC Records’ purchase of Robey’s Duke/Peacock/Back Beat empire. After issuing some of the most soulful—and at times, smoky—disco records of the era, Carl and ABC parted ways, relocating to 20th Century Records where, under the guidance of Leon Haywood, scored the biggest hit of his career, “She’s A Bad Mama Jama (She’s Built, She’s Stacked).”

www.hip-oselect.com is proud to present, for the first time, Carl Carlton’s finest. Everlasting: The Best of Carl Carlton gathers 22 tracks—1968-1985—from the Back Beat, ABC, 20th Century and Casablanca labels. So come get it quick, ’coz this collection’s rated extra. Hip-O-Select