Clarence Carter

was born on January 14, 1936 in Montgomery Alabama. Clarence went to school in the Alabama School for the Blind in Talledaga, Alabama. He also attended the Alabama State College in Montgomery, Alabama. He graduated in August 1960and received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Music. Clarence began his career with a friend named Calvin Scott. He signed with the Fairland Records label and released the song, I Wanna’ Dance But I Don’t Know How, the next year. Clarence and Calvin switched Record companies in 1962 and signed up with Duke Records and named themselves The CL Boys. They then released their song, Hey. They released four singles with the Duke Label but none of them got much attention.

The duo traveled to Rick Hall’s Fame Studios in Music in Muscle Shoals in 1965 and released the record , Step By Step and the flip side of it, Rooster knees and Rice. Atlantic Records picked up on them and released, Step By Step, on it’s Atco record subsidiary label. The record flopped. In 1966 the group was in a car wreck and Scott was injured so Clarence continued without him and started his solo act. He signed up to the Fame Records company label and released, Tell Daddy, in 1967, and it was a hit. This song inspired Etta James so she released a song called, Tell Mama. He also had several other singles that followed, Tell Daddy. The single, Slip Away, hit number 6 on the Pop Charts. The single, Too Weak To Fight, hit number 13. Clarence had several more soul singles. They were, Snatching It Back, At the Dark End Of the Street, The Feeling Is Right, Doing Our Thing, and Patches. Patches was a hit at number 4 in 1970 in the United States and number 2 un the U. K. It was also nominated for a Grammy in 1972.

In the mid seventies, Clarence’s music suffered because Disco took over the attention of the public. He did manage to find a new audience and released songs such as, Strokin’, for Ichiban Records in the 1980's. Some of the other songs Clarence is known for are, This is Clarence Carter, Testify, The Dynamic Clarence Carter, That’s What Your Love Means To Me, Sixty Minutes, Real, Lonliness and Temptation, Heart Full of Song, I Got Caught Making Love, Let’s Burn, Hooked On Love, Mr. Clarence Carter In Person, Touch of Blues, Between A Rock and A Hard Place, Have You Met Clarence Carter..Yet?, Together Again, I Couldn’t Refuse, Carter’s Corner, Bring It to Me, Live In Johannesburg, All Y’all Feeling Alright, One More Hit, Messin’ With My Mind.