JAMES CARR

James Carr's haunting baritone suggested a demon-driven man perpetually at the end of his rope—which he was.

Carr was born in Coahoma County, Mississippi on June 13, 1942. His parents brought the family to Memphis when he was very young. Carr's musical background was in the church. He listened to the Jubilee Hummingbirds, the Pilgrim Travelers, Sam Cooke & The Soul Stirrers, and the Sensational Nightingales featuring Julius Cheeks (among many others).

In 1962, he met Roosevelt Jamison, who became his manager. By then Carr was married, had a day job as a laborer, and sang lead with a gospel group called the Harmony Echoes. In late 1964, Jamison got Carr (who by now had switched to singing R&B) signed to the Memphis-based Goldwax label. His first record, "You Don't Want Me," sounded a lot like B.B. King. Carr's first R&B hit, in 1966, was "You've Got My Mind Messed Up,” followed by the Otis Redding-like “Love Attack” and the colorfully titled “Pouring Water on a Drowning Man.”

In 1967, Carr waxed his magnum opus, "The Dark End of the Street." Not only is it the greatest cheatin' ballad ever written (by Dan Penn and Chips Moman), but its downbeat ending—which promises no hope the adulterers will ever be free to love in the open—was the perfect complement to Carr's sound. "The Dark End of the Street" was soul so deep, it had no bottom for its protagonist to hit.

Unfortunately, James Carr was never as big as his talent justified; he suffered from crippling manic depression. At one session, it took six hours to get just one vocal performance out of Carr. He did, however, belt the song out in one perfect take, after which he clammed right up again.

Goldwax folded in 1969. Carr ended up on Atlantic, which released one single on him in 1971. Six years later, Roosevelt Jamison released a James Carr single on his own label. In 1979, Carr toured Japan but went into a trance onstage after he took too many anti-depressants. The tour had to be canceled.

In 1987, the Blue Side label released a compilation of Carr's songs. In 1991, he recorded a new album for the born-again Goldwax Records. In 1995, the Razor & Tie reissue label released a 20-song anthology, The Essential James Carr. In 2000, the UK reissue label Ace/Kent put out James Carr: The Complete Goldwax Singles. The same year, he released 24 Karat Soul, an album of new material.

Rock critic Dave Marsh included both "Dark End of the Street" and "Pouring Water on a Drowning Man" in his 1989 book, The Heart of Rock and Soul: The 1001 Greatest Singles Ever Made.

James Carr, 58, died of lung cancer on January 7, 2001.

Charted singles:

“You’ve Got My Mind Messed Up” (1966) R&B #7, Pop #63
“Love Attack” (1966) R&B #21, Pop #99
“Pouring Water on a Drowning Man” (1966) R&B #23, Pop #85
“The Dark End of the Street” (1967) R&B #10, Pop #77
“Let It Happen” (1967) R&B #30
“I’m a Fool for You” (1967) R&B #42, Pop #97 (Uncredited duet with Betty Harris)
“A Man Needs a Woman” (1968) R&B #16, Pop #63
“Freedom Train” (1969) R&B #39
“To Love Somebody” (1969) R&B #44