Jean Carn, also spelled Jean Carne (born Sarah Jean Perkins; March 15, 1947) is an American jazz and pop singer. In mid career, she added a final ''e'' to her name. Carn is a vocalist credited with a five octave

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of st ...

Biography

Carn was born Sarah Jean Perkins in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it o ...

. At the age of four, she became a member of her church choir. Carn planned on furthering her studies at

Juilliard School of Music The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

in New York City when she met and married jazz pianist

Doug Carn Doug Carn (born July 14, 1948) is an American jazz musician from St. Augustine, Florida, formerly married to Jean Carne and known for his several albums released for Black Jazz Records. Carn is a multi-instrumentalist known primarily for his work ...

(the couple later divorced) and became a featured vocalist in his jazz fusion band. The couple based themselves in Los Angeles, California, where Carn did four early albums with her husband, ''Infant Eyes'', ''Spirit of the New Land'', ''Revelation'' and ''Adam's Apple'' on Black Jazz/ Ovation. In 1976, Carn was signed to

Kenneth Gamble Kenneth Gamble (born August 11, 1943, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) and Leon A. Huff (born April 8, 1942, Camden, New Jersey) are an American songwriting and production team credited for developing the Philadelphia soul music genre (also known as ...

and Leon Huff's

Philadelphia International Records Philadelphia International Records (PIR) was an American record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1971 by songwriting and production duo Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff along with their longtime collaborator Thom Bell. ...

. She released her debut album ''Jean Carn'' in 1976. The debut single "Free Love" went to number 23 R&B. In June 1978, her second album for the label, ''Happy to Be With You'', was released. It included the hit single " Don't Let It Go to Your Head". Carn's third Philadelphia International album ''When I Find You Love'' was issued in 1979. "My Love Don't Come Easy" peaked at number 43 on the R&B chart. The album included the

Jerry Butler Jerry Butler Jr. (born December 8, 1939) is an American soul singer-songwriter, producer, musician, and retired politician. He was the original lead singer of the R&B vocal group the Impressions, inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame i ...

penned track ''Was that all it was?'' which, despite not charting, was a big disco hit in the UK clubs. At this time Carn moved from the Philadelphia International label to the subsidiary TSOP imprint for her 1981 album ''Sweet and Wonderful''. Carn moved to

Motown Records Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''mot ...

in 1982, making her label debut with the album ''Trust Me''. The single "If You Don't Know Me By Now," a cover of the

Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes were an American soul and R&B vocal group. One of the most popular Philadelphia soul groups of the 1970s, the group's repertoire included soul, R&B, doo-wop, and disco. Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in ...

hit with backing vocals by

The Temptations The Temptations are an American vocal group from Detroit, Michigan, who released a series of successful singles and albums with Motown Records during the 1960s and 1970s. The group's work with producer Norman Whitfield, beginning with the Top ...

, went to number 49 on the R&B chart. By 1986, Carn signed to Omni Records. ''Closer Than Close'', produced by saxophonist Grover Washington Jr. went to number one on the R&B charts. Her 1988 album ''You're a Part of Me'' was her only release on

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most im ...

. In 2014, Carn was honored with a lifetime Achievement Award present by the National R&B Music Society in Philadelphia, PA. In 2020, Carn was one of the many performers aboard The Soul Train Cruise. On October 16, 2022, Carne's life was featured on the documentary TV One series, Unsung.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

* ''The Best of Jean Carn & The Best of The Jones Girls'' (1998,

Recall 2cd Recall may refer to: * Recall (bugle call), a signal to stop * Recall (information retrieval), a statistical measure * ''ReCALL'' (journal), an academic journal about computer-assisted language learning * Recall (memory) * ''Recall'' (Overwatch ...

) * ''Closer Than Close: The Best of Jean Carn'' (1999,

Philadelphia International Philadelphia International Records (PIR) was an American record label based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1971 by songwriting and production duo Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff along with their longtime collaborator Thom Bell. ...

/ The Right Stuff) * ''Collaborations'' (2002,

Expansion Expansion may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * ''L'Expansion'', a French monthly business magazine * ''Expansion'' (album), by American jazz pianist Dave Burrell, released in 2004 * ''Expansions'' (McCoy Tyner album), 1970 * ''Expansio ...

) * '' Don't Let It Go to Your Head: The Anthology'' (2018, SoulMusic)

Singles

DVD

* ''Jean Carn & Friends: The Sound of Philadelphia: Live in Europe'' (Expansion, 2005) * '' Ladies Night Out—Live'' (Steppin Muzak, 2007, also available as a CD)

References

External links

Jean Carn
on Soul Walking

at Soulful Tale {{DEFAULTSORT:Carn, Jean 1947 births Living people 20th-century African-American women singers American dance musicians American jazz singers American soul singers Singers with a five-octave vocal range Motown artists Musicians from Columbus, Georgia Philadelphia International Records artists Black Jazz Records artists Ovation Records artists 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American singers Jazz musicians from Pennsylvania 21st-century African-American women singers