Clarence Carter, the celebrated US soul singer whose hits included the transatlantic 1970 smash 'Patches,' has died at the age of 90. His management company confirmed the news to the Guardian, stating that he passed away on Wednesday due to complications from pneumonia.
Early Life and Career Beginnings
Born in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1936, Carter was blind from birth. He began his music career as part of the duo Clarence & Calvin, later known as the C & C Boys, who released several singles in the early 1960s. When his partner, Calvin Scott—who was also blind—was injured in a car accident, Carter embarked on a solo career. His first R&B chart hit came in 1967 with the self-penned 'Tell Daddy,' which inspired Etta James to write a cover version and reply, 'Tell Mama,' a US Top 30 success.
Breakthrough Hits and Enduring Legacy
In 1968, Carter released what is arguably his most enduring track, 'Slip Away.' This mournful yet steadily strutting ballad, in which Carter pleads with a woman to cheat on her partner with him, reached No. 2 on the R&B chart and crossed over to No. 6 on the US pop chart. The song has since amassed over 45 million streams on Spotify and been featured in numerous film soundtracks, including 'The Commitments,' 'Almost Famous,' and 'Licorice Pizza.' That same year brought additional hits: 'Too Weak to Fight' and the ribald 'Back Door Santa,' with its cheeky lyrics—'I ain’t like old Saint Nick / He don’t come but once a year'—which has endured as an offbeat Christmas classic and was sampled in Run DMC’s 'Christmas in Hollis.'
Marriage to Candi Staton
1968 was also the year Carter met future soul legend Candi Staton, who became one of his backing singers before they married in 1970. Staton later remarked that she married him 'because he was blind … I’d gotten so tired of my ex-husband accusing me, every man I looked at. I was in prison. So I got somebody who couldn’t see. And I had a wonderful time with him.' Carter introduced her to producer Rick Hall of Muscle Shoals studio, helping launch her solo career. He co-wrote songs for Staton, including the witty, Grammy-nominated 'I’d Rather Be an Old Man’s Sweetheart (Than a Young Man’s Fool),' now regarded as soul classics. The couple had a son, Clarence Carter Jr.
However, Carter's infidelity led to tension. Staton wrote bitter songs about his cheating, saying, 'I was angry Clarence had done me so wrong chasing women. We could be walking down the street and they’d come and hug him. I sang them to get back at him.' She also told the Guardian that Carter 'went to the IRS and told them I hadn’t paid taxes. I took an overdose, but I had a vision of my children’s faces. I threw it all back up and never tried that again.' They divorced in 1973.
Peak Success with 'Patches'
In the interim, Carter’s R&B hits continued to accumulate, culminating in 'Patches,' his cover of a track by soul group the Chairman of the Board. Carter brilliantly told its social-realist story of a father pleading with his son to persevere through hardship. His impassioned performance took the song to No. 4 in the US and No. 2 in the UK, his only UK Top 40 hit. The rendition won its songwriters, Ronald Dunbar and General Johnson, the 1971 Grammy Award for Best R&B Song, while Carter himself was nominated for Best R&B Vocal Performance (Male).
'Music is my life and it has been good to me,' he told the NME amid his UK chart success. 'Since I lost my sight, music has not only entertained me and earned me my livelihood, but it has been a tremendous comfort to me. When I’m down and feeling low, I just get out my guitar and sing.'
Later Career and Influence
Carter remained a fixture in the US soul scene until the mid-1970s, when disco’s rise eclipsed the genre and his success waned. He experienced a brief resurgence with the sexually explicit 1988 single 'Strokin',' which charted in the lower reaches of the UK charts, and continued to release albums steadily through the 1990s. Film director William Friedkin, a fan of 'Strokin',' used it in his film 'Killer Joe' and described Carter as 'the Mozart of Southern music.'
Clarence Carter’s legacy as a pioneering blind soul singer with a distinctive voice and storytelling ability endures through his timeless recordings, which continue to inspire new generations.
