Quinton Claunch, who had co-founded Hi Records in 1957, sold his share of the company in 1959. Five years later, in partnership with local pharmacist Rudolph V. Russell, he re-entered the music business, when together they set up Goldwax Records. They signed a distribution deal with Vee-Jay Records in Chicago, until that company closed down, and then with Bell Records in New York from 1966. Vee-Jay distributed the Goldwax 100 series, Al Bell’s company dealt with the Goldwax 300 series.
They signed a fairly small number of artists and had some success with O.V. Wright, Spencer Wiggins, Wee Willie Walker and the Ovations, but the biggest name on the label was James Carr.
James Carr
James Carr was born in 1942 in Coahoma, Mississippi, but moved to Memphis while still a young child. His father was a Baptist preacher and James started singing in church, performing as a member of various Gospel groups, including the Harmony Echoes. He went to Stax for an audition, but they turned him down, so he tried his luck at Goldwax Records, making his first recordings there in 1964. It was in 1966, with his sixth Goldwax single, “You’ve Got My Mind Messed Up”, that he finally made a breakthrough. The song went to number seven on the Billboard R&B Singles Chart and number sixty-three on the Billboard Hot 100 Singles Chart.
James Carr: The Complete Goldwax Singles (Kent Soul Records)
Eight more singles followed over the next three years, including another chart entry in 1967 with “The Dark End of the Street”, number ten on the R&B chart and number seventy-seven on the Pop chart. The song was written by Dann Penn and Chips Moman, recorded at Royal Studios, and has become a classic. Percy Sledge was the first to cover the song, followed by many more artists across a variety of genres. Outstanding versions are not hard to find. Aretha Franklin, Joe Tex and Linda Ronstadt are amongst the artists who have recorded the song. In the UK there are excellent versions by Richard & Linda Thompson, Elvis Costello and June Tabor. There are all worth a listen.
When Goldwax closed in 1969, James Carr carried on working at a variety of labels. Eventually he returned to Goldwax Records, which had been resurrected, to record again, despite on-going health problems. An album entitled “Take Me to the Limit” was issued in 1991. He died in Memphis in 2001. All his recordings are available from Ace Records UK.
