- Carson Whitsett
Carson Whitsett (
May 1 1945 ,Jackson, Mississippi –May 8 2007 of a brain tumor) was akeyboardist ,songwriter , and producer.Carson Whitsett joined his older brother Tim Whitsett's band, Tim Whitsett & The Imperials (later known as
The Imperial Show Band ) on the B-3 organ. Following the break up of the band, Whitsett spent time inCanada playing withEric Mercury before an invitation toStax Records whereTim Whitsett was now in charge of the label's East Memphis publishing arm. Carson's playing inspired bassistDonald "Duck" Dunn and drummerAl Jackson to reemerge, along withStax session guitaristBobby Manuel in place ofSteve Cropper , asThe MG's , releasing an album in 1973.Whitsett moved to
Malaco Records , where he played in thehouse band , appearing onPaul Simon 's "There Goes Rhymin' Simon" album,Anita Ward 's "Ring My Bell",Dorothy Moore 's "Misty Blue", albums by fellow MississippianPaul Davis , one of the highest selling Blues albums of all time inZ. Z. Hill 's "Down Home Blues", and numerous albums by such legends asBobby "Blue" Bland ,Little Milton , and formerStax sensationJohnnie Taylor . Several Malaco acts, including Taylor and Moore, recorded songs written by Whitsett, and he produced Fern Kinney's #1 UK hit "Together We Are Beautiful" in 1980.Whitsett's first major success as a songwriter also came in 1980 with
Fred Knobloch 's "Why Not Me".Lorrie Morgan requested on her debut album to record Whitsett's "Dear Me", which became her first top ten hit. Another Country hit followed with John Anderson's "Mississippi Moon", co-written withTony Joe White . With long time collaborator and friendDan Penn andHoy Lindsey , Whitsett penned the title track toSolomon Burke 'sGrammy winning "comeback" albumDon't Give Up On Me , later covered byJoe Cocker and by actorPeter Gallagher on the hitTV show The O.C. .Other artists who recorded songs written or co-written by Carson Whitsett include Soul icons
Etta James ,Eddie Floyd ,Johnny Adams ,James Carr ,Ruth Brown , andWilson Pickett , as well as Country superstarsConway Twitty andBarbara Mandrell and Gospel greatsAlbertina Walker andThe Staple Singers . He also played and wrote material forB.B. King , Jerry Butler,Suzy Bogguss , andIrma Thomas , among others. At least two Carson Whitsett collaborations are considered modern day Blues standards inJoe Louis Walker 's "Blues of the Month Club" and the W.C. Handy Award winning "One Foot in the Blues" recorded byJohnny Adams .In 2002, Whitsett served as arranger for the highest selling female Pop artist of the 1950s,
Patti Page , on her Sweet Sounds of Christmas CD. He then teamed again with producerDan Penn and Hoy Lindsey, writing a dozen songs, arranging, and playing on the critically acclaimed "Better to Have It" CD byBobby Purify in 2005. He played on severalTony Joe White albums including "The Heroines" in 2004 with singersLucinda Williams ,Shelby Lynne ,Jessi Colter , andEmmylou Harris and 2006's "Uncovered", which featured guest appearances byEric Clapton ,J. J. Cale , Michael McDonald,Mark Knopfler , and alsoWaylon Jennings in one of his last performances.For several years he served as keyboardist for country music star
Kathy Mattea and became very close with Mattea's husband, lyricist Jon Vezner. Vezner's skills inspired Whitsett to new heights as an arranger, composer, and musician. During this time, Whitsett also recorded three solo piano projects. In November 2005, he was interviewed along with fellow famedSouthern Soul keyboardistSpooner Oldham in "Keyboard Player Magazine".Carson Whitsett passed away May 8, 2007, after a sixteen month bout with brain cancer.
Southern Soul legendDan Penn said of his collaborator of the past three decades that, "...he played with the most authentic R&B feel of anybody I ever worked with".External links
* [http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache:Ft6aAJLXR30J:www.commercialappeal.com/mca/midsouth_news/article/0,1426,MCA_1497_5527106,00.html+carson+whitsett&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us Carson Whitsett left mark on music scene (Memphis Commercial Appeal)]
* [http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070510/ENTERTAINMENT01/705100378/1005 Keyboard Ace Carson Whitsett (The Tennessean)]
* [http://www.gospelengine.com/gzone/content/view/191/107/ Southern Music legend passes]
* [http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070516/FEAT05/705160337/1023 Remembering legendary musician (Jackson Clarion-Ledger)]
* [http://redkelly.blogspot.com/ (The B Side)]
* [http://music.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.asp?qsrch=A&WRD=carson+whitsett&z=y&r=1&cds2Pid=9481 (Barnes & Noble)]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:hzfyxqygldde~T4 (Recording Credits)]
* [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:hzfyxqygldde~T3 (Songwriting Credits)]References
*"Soulsville USA: The Story of Stax Records" By Rob Bowman
*"The Last Soul Company: Malaco, A Thirty Year Retrospective" By Rob Bowman
*"Heeey Baby Days of Beach Music" By Greg Haynes
*"All Shook Up" By Christine Wilson
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