Carl first recorded for Lando Records in 1964 under the monicker, "Little" Carl Carlton. Being only 12 at the time, his handlers were hoping to piggyback on the success of another "Little" artist, Stevie Wonder. Having had some local success, he was signed in 1968 to a local Houston TX label, Back Beat Records. He had a couple of minor hits in 1968, ("Competition Ain't Nothin'") and in 1970 (Drop By My Place).
1974 brought Carlton's biggest hit, a cover version of Robert Knight's "Everlasting Love". In 1972, owner Don D. Robey sold Back Beat at ABC Records which would eventually cause problems with Carlton as a dispute arose over back royalties that had not been paid. Except for a very minor blip on the charts in 1975, "Smokin' Room", he recorded very little, and was not heard on the charts again except for 1981's, "She's A Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked", which reached #22 in 1981.
Since then, he had some minor hits on the R&B charts, in just recently released his first gospel single called, "God is Good" and is now working on an album.
1974 brought Carlton's biggest hit, a cover version of Robert Knight's "Everlasting Love". In 1972, owner Don D. Robey sold Back Beat at ABC Records which would eventually cause problems with Carlton as a dispute arose over back royalties that had not been paid. Except for a very minor blip on the charts in 1975, "Smokin' Room", he recorded very little, and was not heard on the charts again except for 1981's, "She's A Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked", which reached #22 in 1981.
Since then, he had some minor hits on the R&B charts, in just recently released his first gospel single called, "God is Good" and is now working on an album.
