Trivia

His first single with Back Beat Records, "Competition Ain't Nothing", became a huge hit on the UK northern soul scene after its release on the UK's Action Records label.

On August 1, 2010, Carlton released his first gospel single entitled "God Is Good". On April 16, 2011, Carlton was nominated for a Detroit Music Award in the "Outstanding Gospel/Christian Vocalist" category.

Beginning in 1976, Carlton became embroiled in a royalty dispute with ABC Records that caused him to stop recording for some time. He then signed with Mercury Records in 1977, but only released one single on that label. Carlton was unable to land a new recording contract for several years until Leon Haywood helped him get a singles deal with 20th Century Records.

Carlton was listed as one of the Cash Box Best R&B Artists of 1970 in the December 26 issue of the magazine.

He began his career in the mid-1960s as "Little" Carl Carlton. It was a marketing ploy to capitalize on some vocal similarities to Stevie Wonder, who recorded under the name "Little Stevie Wonder" in the early 1960s.

In late 2002, Carlton appeared with many R&B stars on the "Rhythm, Love, and Soul" edition of the PBS series American Soundtrack. His performance of "Everlasting Love" was included on the accompanying live album that was released in 2004.

Carlton saw major success in the United States with a cover version of Robert Knight's "Everlasting Love". This song went to number 6 in 1974 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and number 11 on the Billboard R&B chart.

In 1968, Don D. Robey signed Carlton to the Back Beat Record label, which Robey had started in 1957. Shortly after signing with the label, Carlton relocated to Houston, Texas, to be closer to his new label.

A Leon Haywood-penned single, "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)", became a major hit in 1981, peaking at number 2 on the soul chart and earning Carlton a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male at the 24th Annual Grammy Awards in 1982.

Carl Carlton was an American R&B, soul and funk singer-songwriter, best known for his hits "Everlasting Love" and "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)".