Mel Carter (born April 22, 1939) is an American

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop! (British group), a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Album ...

singer and actor. He is best known for his 1965 million-selling recording "

Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" is a song written by Harry Noble and originally performed by American singer Karen Chandler in 1952. It has been re-recorded several times since then, the most notable covers being by Mel Carter in 1965 and Glori ...

Biography

Carter was born in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. At age 16, he studied singing with vocalist

Little Jimmy Scott James Victor Scott (July 17, 1925 – June 12, 2014), known professionally as Little Jimmy Scott or Jimmy Scott, was an American jazz vocalist known for his high natural contralto voice and his sensitivity on ballads and love songs. After ...

. Carter recorded for

Sam Cooke Samuel Cooke (; January 22, 1931 – December 11, 1964) was an American singer and songwriter. Considered one of the most influential soul music, soul artists of all time, Cooke is commonly referred to as the "King of Soul" for his distin ...

's SAR ( Derby Records) in the early 1960s and had his first hit in 1963 at the age of 24 with "When a Boy Falls in Love", which was co-written by Cooke. By the time he reached his commercial peak with

Imperial Records Imperial Records is an American record company and label started in 1947 by Lew Chudd. The label was reactivated in 2006 by EMI, which owned the label and back catalogue at the time. Imperial is owned by Universal Music Group. Early years to ...

in the middle of the decade, he was specializing in pop ballads. His biggest success was the Top 10 ''Billboard'' Hot 100 hit "

", which reached Number 8 in 1965. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a

gold disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

. He had a couple of other

Top 40 In the music industry, the Top 40 is a list of the 40 currently most popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "To ...

entries over the next year, " Band of Gold" and "All of a Sudden My Heart Sings", as well as a few other easy listening sellers. Carter appeared on the DVD of the

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

special, ''Doo Wop 51,'' recorded in 2001 performing his hit; he also appeared on another PBS special, ''Magic Moments: The Best of 50s Pop'', performing a tribute to Billy Williams ("

I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter" is a 1935 popular song with music by Fred E. Ahlert and lyrics by Joe Young. It has been recorded many times, and has become a standard of the Great American Songbook. It was popularized by ...

") and

Tommy Edwards Thomas Jefferson Edwards (February 17, 1922 – October 23, 1969) was an American singer and songwriter. His most successful record was the multi-million-selling song " It's All in the Game", becoming the first African-American to reach No. 1 ...

(" It's All in the Game"). Carter later acted on television programs such as '' Quincy, M.E.''; ''

Sanford and Son ''Sanford and Son'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC from January 14, 1972, to March 25, 1977. It was based on the British sitcom '' Steptoe and Son'', which initially aired on BBC1 in the United Kingdom from 1962 to ...

''; '' Marcus Welby, M.D.''; ''

The Eddie Capra Mysteries ''The Eddie Capra Mysteries'' is an American mystery television series starring Vincent Baggetta as a lawyer who investigates murders and has a knack for solving them. Original episodes aired on NBC from September 8, 1978, to January 12, 1979.M ...

'' as Albert Crane; ''

CHiPs ''CHiPs'' is an American crime drama television series created by Rick Rosner and originally aired on NBC from September 15, 1977, to May 1, 1983. After the final first-run telecast on NBC in May 1983, the series went into reruns on Sundays fr ...

''; and ''

Magnum, P.I. ''Magnum, P.I.'' is an American crime drama television series starring Tom Selleck as Thomas Magnum, a private investigator (P.I.) living on Oahu, Hawaii. The series ran from December 11, 1980, to May 1, 1988, during its first-run broadcast on ...

''; and in films such as '' Friday Foster'' (1975); '' Chesty Anderson, USN'' (1976); ''American Raspberry'' (1977); and ''

Angel An angel is a spiritual (without a physical body), heavenly, or supernatural being, usually humanoid with bird-like wings, often depicted as a messenger or intermediary between God (the transcendent) and humanity (the profane) in variou ...

'' (1984).

Singles

* ^A"When a Boy Falls In Love" also peaked at #30 on R&B charts.

References

External links

Mel Carter's website
* * 1939 births Living people 20th-century African-American male singers 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers American soul musicians American pop musicians Arwin Records artists Bell Records artists Derby Records artists Imperial Records artists Singers from Cincinnati {{Ohio-bio-stub