Clarence Carter - Testifyin' (1969)

Clarence Carter is an American soul singer, songwrtier and guitarist.

Album number three from Clarence Carter quickly followed in the footsteps of his last one, also seeing release in 1969. Testifyin' was another showcase for the Muscle Shoals R&B sound and Carter's sly wit, the latter seen nowhere better than on "Back Door Santa", a Christmas song which had little to do with Christmas. The album generated three more Top 10 R&B hits for Carter - "Doing Our Thing" and "The Feeling Is Right" both got to #9, and "Snatching It Back" got to both #4 R&B and #31 pop. Another notable song was "Making Love (At The Dark End Of The Street)", which saw him give a lengthy soul sermon before breaking into his own  powerful rendition of "The Dark End Of The Street". The album also featured covers of John D. Loudermilk's "Bad News" and The Box Tops' "Soul Deep".

The Dynamic Clarence Carter (1969) <|> Patches (1970)

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Clarence Carter - The Dynamic Clarence Carter (1969)

Clarence Carter is an American soul singer, songwrtier and guitarist.

Clarence Carter's second album came out in 1969, another excellent collection of tough, gritty Southern soul numbers recorded at Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals (and featuring guitarist Duane Allman, who was working as a session musician in Muscle Shoals at the time). It featured some interesting covers, with  splendid versions of Etta James' "I'd Rather Go Blind" and Jimmy Hughes' "Steal Away". He also gave R&B makeovers to Tom T. Hall's "Harper Valley PTA" and The Doors' "Light My Fire" (based on José Feliciano's 1968 version). It also had some great originals, one of which gave Carter his second big hit - "Too Weak To Fight" charted at #3 R&B and #13 pop.

This Is Clarence Carter (1967) <|> Testifyin' (1969)
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Clarence Carter - This Is Clarence Carter (1968)

Clarence Carter is an American soul singer, songwrtier and guitarist.

Clarence Carter was born in Montgomery, Alabama in 1936. He was blind from birth, and grew up listening to blues records, teaching himself guitar along the way. In 1960 he graduated from Alabama State University, majoring in music. He formed a duo with another blind classmate, Calvin Scott, and as Clarence & Calvin they recorded a number of R&B singles in the early 60s, released on a variety labels, but none of them charted. By 1966 they were performing live in Birmingham, but after Scott was injured in an auto accident they went their seperate ways.

Carter's solo career began with him recording at Rick Hall's Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. His own song "Tell Daddy" was released on the Fame label, and became a #35 R&B hit. It was covered the same year by Etta James, who took it even higher up the charts as "Tell Mama". Carter's next single, "Thread The Needle", got to #38. He then signed with Atlantic Records, and "Looking For A Fox" got to #20. His real breakthrough hit came in 1968 - the brilliant "Slip Away" got to #2 on the R&B chart but crossed over to #6 on the pop chart. His debut album came out the same year, an excellent collection of gritty southern soul numbers, highlighted by Carter's distinctive baritone and the great instrumentation from the Muscle Shoals musicians backing him. It featured all his recent hits with the exception of "Tell Daddy", plus some more good originals, a couple from the partnership of Dann Penn and Spooner Oldham, and a fine country-soul fusion with Curly Putman's "Set Me Free".

|> The Dynamic Clarence Carter (1969)
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