Chords for Singer Valerie Carter Dead at 64: Check Out the Many Great LP's She Sang On Our Tribute

_ _ _ _ _ Singer Valerie Carter has died.
She was [Bbm] 64.
I'm Jon Boone from Rock History Music.
She certainly had one of the most [Ebm] beautiful, gorgeous voices, which explained the fact why she sang on so many albums,
hundreds [Bbm] of albums since the early 70s.
Just to name a few, Little Feats' [Ebm] The Last Record album from 1975,
Nicolette Larson's debut from 78, which featured [Bbm] the Neil Young song, which was a hit for Nicolette, Lotta Love.
The next year it was Christopher Cross' debut [Ebm] album, which had three hits, Ride Like the Wind, Sailing, and Never Be the Same.
That was Valerie [Bbm] singing along with Christopher Cross on the tune Spinning.
Then there was Randy Newman's Born [Ebm] Again.
In 1980, she sang back up for Eddie Money's third album, Playing for Keeps.
[Bb] Jimmy Webb's Angel Heart in 1982, then Don Henley's 1989 classic, [Ebm] The End of the Innocents.
She was very busy in the 90s with Aaron Neville, Dinah [Bb] Ross, Neil [Bbm] Diamond, Ringo Starr, Glenn Frey,
Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Brown, among [Ebm] others.
She was a go-to girl if you wanted to get it done right.
I first heard her in 1975 [Bbm] with the first album I bought from James Taylor, which was Gorilla, because I loved [Ebm] Mexico so much.
It started a long-term relationship with James Taylor, even though she didn't start touring with him until 1990.
[Bb] Carter would be [Bbm] part of that heavenly wall of [Ebm] sound that James Taylor was [Ebm] very famous for by having these background singers.
David [Bbm] Lassley, Kate Markowitz, Arnold McCullough, and of course Valerie.
She was on [Ebm] over half a dozen of his albums, and if you want to get a taste of that beautiful, [Bb] gorgeous, angelic wall of sound,
take a listen to Shed a Little Light from New [Ebm] Moonshine.
I mean, it's one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard, but that's them at their best.
[Bbm] I saw them in concert the year after that, [Bbm] outside, under the moonlight, in [Ebm] Vancouver, Canada, and it was an unbelievable experience.
One of the best concert [Bbm] experiences of my life, and there was Valerie on stage with them.
In a 1999 interview with [Db] Laura Stegman of James-Taylor.com, Carter talked about meeting James Taylor at [C] Amigo Studios,
where they had a basketball net, [Bb] and he was [Ab] shooting hoops.
So [Db] her mentor, Lowell George, came up and introduced them and [Ab] said,
you've got to listen to this lady, and within less than an hour, they were in the studio recording Angry [Eb] Blues.
And that was from the Gorilla album.
[Cm] On her transition to concentrating more of being a background singer than a solo one, Carter [Ab] explained,
I was too [Db] delicate, but what I could do was sing, and that's what I've always [Eb] been happy doing.
And I knew I could stand [Ebm] behind someone and let the spotlight shine somewhere else.
I could at least express [Ebm] myself through the power of singing.
She was born February 5th, [Bb] 1953.
In the early 70s, Carter formed the group Howdy Moon.
Their first album was produced by that mentor, Lowell George of Little Feet,
and he would go on to co-produce her debut album, [Bb] which featured some heavy players,
including Linda Ronstadt, Earth, Wind & Fire's Maurice White, [Ebm] Jackson Brown on piano, and four total members.
Jeff Porcaro on drums, [Bb] bassist David Hungate, Steve Lukather on guitar, synthesizer player Steve Porcaro.
Today, [Ebm] Lukather on Facebook said,
R.I..P. Valerie Carter. She was an amazing talent and a very sweet [Bb] girl. One of a kind voice. She recorded four studio solo albums, _ [Ebm] 1977's Just a Stone's Throwaway, which featured her take in a glorious version [Bbm] of the soul classic, Ooh Child. Then came Wild Child in 1978, The Way It [Eb] Is in 1996, and Find a River, a five-track EP recorded [F] in 1998. She also had a live album. She [Bbm] also co-wrote Love Needs a Heart with Lowell [Ebm] George, which ended up being on Jackson Brown's classic live album, Running on Empty. In that [C] same Laura Stegman interview, she talked about Cook with Honey, a song that was recorded by Judy Collins. She [Ebm] was at a barbecue _ at Collins' house. They got along incredibly well. They [Bb] went back to the legendary singer's music room. She [Ebm] sings for Valerie Carter. _ Valerie Carter starts to cry. [Bbm] Judy Collins looks at [Bbm] Valerie and says, Do you have any songs? And she plays her ever so nervously, [Ebm] Cook with Honey. Valerie Carter finishes the song. It was hard for her. She [Bbm] looks up and Judy Collins is crying. The [Db] song became [Ebm] a hit for Collins. Sean Colvin said today on Facebook, The first [Bb] time I heard her, all I wanted to do was sing like that. [Gb] And I tried, but no one ever [Ebm] will. Love you, Val. In August and October of 2009, [Bb] Carter was arrested in St. Petersburg, Florida, for possession of drugs. She later completed [Eb] a drug program in May of 2011. James Taylor was there for her [Bb] drug court graduation to support her. We don't [Bbm] always have the time to cover, [Ebm] let's just say, someone who's primarily known [Eb] as a background singer. Not that [Bb] they're not as important, but we only have so many hours to do obituaries. _ I heard this this morning when Steve [Ebm] Lukather announced it on his Facebook page, Steve Lukather of [Bb] Toto. And I was struck by it. I immediately contacted my friend John Cody, who knew Valerie very well. John's a singer-songwriter dealing with his own [Bb] health issues right now. [Bbm] And after I told him, and I didn't want to be the [Ebm] one to tell John, but he just said, I just need to go to bed now. And sorry [Ebm] I had to tell you, John. And [Bbm] he had some wonderful stories he told me through the years about [Eb] the background singers for James Taylor, most [Ebm] notably Valerie Carter. Did she fall through the [Bbm] cracks in some ways? As she mentioned, she was a delicate creature. I never knew [Db] her, so I don't really know. But she had her own battles, and she [Ab] will be remembered. We'll make sure [Cm] of that. I'm John Boden. Make sure you comment on our videos, subscribe [Db] to our channel, and share our videos. This is Rock [Ebm] History Music. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ [Bb] _ _ _ _
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