12/15/2025
A man of soul goes to rock and roll heaven. According to Soul Tracks magazine, singer Carl Carlton has died: (December 14, 2025) He was a talented singer who created two timeless songs of very different styles – the smash hits “Everlasting Love” and “She’s a Bad Mama Jama (She’s Built, She’s Stacked).” Tonight we are sad to report the passing of the great Carl Carlton at the age of 72. Carlton’s death comes six years after he suffered a serious stroke, after which friends and family members said he courageously battled to both live and thrive.
Carlton first began recording in the late 1960s as “Little Carl” Carlton, a moniker designed to capitalize on some vocal similarities to Stevie Wonder, who recorded under the name “Little Stevie” Wonder in the early 1960s. After scoring some minor local hits, Carlton was signed by Don D. Robey and moved to Houston, Texas, the home of his new record label, Back Beat Records. He saw some success with the new label including his first major hit, a disco-tinged remake of Robert Knight’s “Everlasting Love,” which leaped on the charts, becoming a top ten smash. Carlton proved himself an extremely talented, expressive singer, and his version became the first of two career songs for him.
Robey sold his labels to ABC Records in 1972, and in 1976 Carlton became embroiled in a royalty dispute with the new ownership that caused him to stop recording for some time. He then signed with Mercury Records in 1977, but only released one single on that label. He was unable to land a new recording contract for several years until Leon Haywood helped him get a singles deal with 20th Century Records. A Haywood-penned single, “She’s a Bad Mama Jama (She’s Built, She’s Stacked),” became Carlton’s biggest hit, peaking at #2 on the soul chart and becoming an instant club favorite. The uber-infectious dance tune earned Carlton a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, and the accompanying album, Carl Carlton, went gold in 1981. “Bad Mama Jama” has since become a staple of compilation albums and soundtracks and was often sampled in hip-hop songs.
