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Singer Clarence Carter exemplified the gritty, earthy
sound of Muscle Shoals R&B, fusing the devastating poignancy of the
blues with a wicked, lascivious wit to create deeply soulful music
rooted in the American South of the past and the present. Born January
14, 1936, in Montgomery, AL, Carter was blind from birth. He immediately
gravitated to music, teaching himself guitar by listening to the blues
classics of John Lee Hooker, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Jimmy Reed. He
majored in music at Alabama State University, learning to transcribe
charts and arrangements in Braille. With blind classmate Calvin Scott,
Carter in 1960 formed the duo Clarence & Calvin, signing to the
Fairlane label to release "I Wanna Dance But I Don't Know How" the
following year. After the 1962 release of "I Don't Know (School Girl),"
Clarence & Calvin left Fairlane for the Duke imprint, renaming
themselves the C & C Boys for their label debut, "Hey Marvin."
In all, the duo cut four Duke singles, none of them
generating more than a shrug at radio -- finally, in 1965 they traveled
to Rick Hall's Fame Studio in Muscle Shoals, AL, paying $85 to record
the wrenching ballad "Step by Step" and its flip side, "Rooster Knees
and Rice." Atlanta radio personality Zenas Sears recommended Clarence
& Calvin to Atlantic producer Jerry Wexler, and the label issued
"Step by Step" on its Atco subsidiary -- the record failed to chart, and
the duo was once again looking for a label. Backed by a four-piece
combo dubbed the Mello Men, Clarence & Calvin spent the first half
of 1966 headlining Birmingham's 2728 Club.
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