Music
Carl Carlton
1952–2025 · singer, songwriter
Detroit-born soul and funk singer who started as "Little" Carl Carlton and later scored "Everlasting Love" (1974) and "She's a Bad Mama Jama" (1981).
- Born
Detroit, Michigan- Died
aged 73- Birth name
- Carlton Hudgens
- Also known as
- Little Carl Carlton
- Detroit years
- 1952–1968
- Field
- Music
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Carlton Hudgens was born in Detroit and began recording in the mid-1960s as "Little" Carl Carlton, a name chosen to trade on his vocal resemblance to Little Stevie Wonder. His first records, for the local Lando label, produced Detroit hits such as "So What" and "Don't You Need a Boy Like Me". In 1968 Don Robey signed him to Back Beat Records, and he moved to Houston to be near the label. "Competition Ain't Nothing" became a northern soul favorite in Britain, and his cover of Robert Knight's "Everlasting Love" reached No. 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. His biggest R&B success came with the funk hit "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)" in 1981, produced by Leon Haywood. He died in December 2025.
Highlights
- Early Detroit hits on the Lando label as "Little" Carl Carlton
- "Everlasting Love" (1974): No. 6 Billboard Hot 100
- "She's a Bad Mama Jama" (1981), a funk classic
- "Competition Ain't Nothing" became a northern soul favorite