R&B icon Carl Carlton passed away at the age of 72, as tributes to the “Bad Mama Jama” icon flooded in
The R&B and soul singer Carl Carlton, who was born in Detroit, passed away at the age of 72. His songs have been the soundtrack to dance floors and backyard gatherings for years.
“RIP Dad, Legend Carl Carlton singer of ‘She’s a Bad Mama Jama,'” wrote his son Carlton Hudgens II in a Facebook post on Sunday, December 14, sharing the news. You will be missed after a long, difficult battle in life.
Born in Detroit on May 21, 1953, Carlton Hudgens started performing as a youngster under the stage name “Little Carl.” He became well-known in the community before he reached adolescence by recording songs in the early 1960s, such as “I Love True Love” and “I Think of How I Love Her.” As the decade progressed, he finally found his way to Back Beat Records, where “Competition Ain’t Nothing” rose to prominence in the Northern Soul movement of the United Kingdom.
Carlton’s breakthrough came in 1974 with his passionate, disco-tinged rendition of “Everlasting Love,” which reached at No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of his most enduring hits. In 1971, Carlton achieved his first national hit with “I Can Feel It.”
Carlton’s most famous single, “She’s a Bad Mama Jama (She’s Built, She’s Stacked),” was released in the early 1980s, earning him a Grammy nomination and solidifying his reputation in the history of funk. Hip-hop samples from musicians like Foxy Brown and Flo Milli helped the song endure.
It is said that six years ago, Carlton had a stroke. But we don’t know what killed him.
