James Carr at Blackheath

Two days after returning from my trip to Trinidad in 1996 (see earlier post) I got to see the great James Carr for the only time at the Blackheath Concert Halls in south east London. He was appearing as part of the London Blues Festival on a line up that also included the Fabulous Thunderbirds, Corey Harris, Magic Slim and Big Clara McDaniel.
James has often been called the greatest soul singer of all time and it's hard to argue with that. His performance that evening was 'intense, hypnotic and quite brilliant' I noted at the time. He clearly put his all into his songs and the audience was spellbound, willing him to make it to the end. James had a number of mental problems, as Quinton Claunch, owner of Goldwax Records, told me when I met him in 2014. He said that he took James to the doctor's every couple of weeks to get him his shots. 'He couldn't hardly write his name but he could memorise words and get the phrasing just right', Quinton told me. 'James was very intense. I took him to New York where he was booked for three nights, but on the first night he couldn't hardly talk and I had to cancel the other two nights.'
After some time in gospel group the Harmony Echoes along with O V Wright, James met Quinton when he, OV and Roosevelt Jamison knocked on his door at midnight one night. Jamison had a song called 'That's How Strong My Love Is' that OV Wright recorded for Goldwax before Don Robey at Duke Records claimed a prior contract, Quinton went to to record some great records for James at Goldwax, including several that he wrote himself, including 'Love Attack' and 'I'm A Fool For You' and became James's mentor. James's 1996 UK tour came about soon after the Goldwax name was revived in the 1990's and two new albums, 'Take Me To the Limit' and 'Soul Survivor', both produced by Quinton, were released
I didn't get to see James when he appeared at Porretta in 1992, or on any other occasion, but that 1996 show made up for that. Here are some photos of James, and of some of the other performers at Blackheath.

Backing James Carr was Johnny Rawls, a n excellent blues and soul singer himself.

Also on the bill was Magic Slim.

Here's acoustic guitarist Corey Harris.

This is Big Clara McDaniel, who signed a photo of herself for me.

This gent is St Louis guitarist Bennie Smith.