"Carla" is a powerful statement from Carla Thomas, featuring the single "B-A-B-Y"
The album "Carla" was released for Stax Records in 1966, which was recorded by 23-year-old Carla Thomas following her previous albums "Comfort Me" and "Gee Whiz". The previous albums had helped Carla Thomas climb to number 130 on the R&B album chart. The album "Carla" included the popular single "B-A-B-Y", which rose on the singles chart to an impressive 3rd position.
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Carla Thomas was a Memphis native, her seductive voice combining tenderness and toughness. By 1960, she joined the label that was known as Satellite Records. That same year, together with her father she recorded the catchy duet "Cause I Love You". Her father's name was Memphis Rufus, he was working as a radio host at the time, all of his children were inclined towards music. At the time Carla Thomas was only 17 years old, still in high school, thanks to their gorgeous duet with her father her life changes dramatically.
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Atlantic producer and promoter Jerry Wexler was enthusiastic about the duo and convinced the co-owners of Satellite to sign with the label. Thanks to Atlantic, Carla Thomas recorded her first solo national hit in early 1961 with "Gee Whiz (Look At His Eyes)," which became a top five R&B hit. Jerry Wexler convinced the co-owners to change the label name "Satellite" to "Stax" to tightly address the R&B hits market. Understandably, the hit "B-A-B-Y" with its throbbing bass line and soulful refrain was the opening song on Carla's LP. The singer's previous hit had been the rather cheerful "Let Me Be Good To You" (another Hayes-Porter number), which reached number 11 on the 1966 US charts.
The album also showcased Carla Thomas as a more than capable songwriter. A little later, she performed the bright and sassy rhythm and blues "I Got You, Boy," the pleading romantic ballad "What Have You Got To Offer Me," and co-wrote "Fate" with Isaac Hayes and James Cross. Like many R&B albums of the '60s, "Carla" included covers of pop, blues and even country hits. Of the latter, "I Fall To Pieces" is Carla's heartfelt reading of Nashville queen Patsy Cline's 1961 hit. She also delivers an outstanding version of Hank Williams' heartbreaking anthem "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry."
Carla Thomas leaves her indelible imprint on blues connoisseur Willie Dixon's classic "Red Rooster," while Jimmy Reed's panting, sassy "Baby What You Want Me To Do" (featuring Steve Cropper's guitar) transitions to - the smooth ballad "For Your Love," a 1958 hit for R&B singer Ed Townsend.
The album's finale, "Looking Back", was co-written with singer Brook Benton, and in 1958 it was performed by pop singer Nat King Cole, who turned it into a top 5 R&B hit.
Carla Thomas continued to record for Stax until 1973 before slipping quietly out of the R&B spotlight, only briefly reviving with a couple of live albums.
The album "Carla" remains her most commercially successful solo album and arguably her most powerful artistic statement. More than 50 years later, it has become a must-listen album in the Stax catalogue.
