James Carr

James Edward Carr, born on June 13, 1942, in Coahoma, Mississippi, is an American singer. Raised in a Baptist preacher's family, he moved to Memphis, Tennessee, at age three and began singing in church. Carr performed with gospel groups like the Harmony Echoes while working on an assembly line. His first recordings were made for Goldwax Records in 1964. He achieved his breakthrough in 1966 with "You've Got My Mind Messed Up", which reached number 7 on the Billboard R&B chart and number 63 on the pop chart, followed by the album You Got My Mind Messed Up. Carr's most notable success came in 1967 with his original recording of "The Dark End of the Street", written by Dan Penn and Chips Moman. The song peaked at number 10 on the R&B chart and number 77 on the pop chart. He continued to release successful singles, including "Pouring Water on a Drowning Man" and "A Man Needs a Woman". Carr's career was marked by struggles with bipolar disorder, which affected his ability to perform and tour. Despite these challenges, he returned to recording in the 1990s with albums like Take Me to the Limit (1991) and Soul Survivor (1994). His signature song "The Dark End of the Street" gained further recognition when it was featured in the film The Commitments. Carr died on January 7, 2001, in a Memphis nursing home at the age of 58.