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Carson Whitsett

2025-10-10T11:16:14Z

2601:153:881:3D60:B4C8:5EA7:2EAC:14C5: I don't know why this was neglected, he was a member of the Malaco Rhythm Section, read the article, this info is sourced

{{short description|American keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer}}
{{More footnotes|date=January 2021}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Carson Whitsett
| image =
| birth_date = May 1, 1945
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2007|05|08|1945|05|01}}
| birth_place = [[Jackson, Mississippi]], US
| death_place = [[Nashville, Tennessee]], US
| occupation = Keyboardist
| years_active = 1960–2007
| past_member_of = [[The Imperial Show Band|The Imperials]], [[The MG's]], [[Malaco Records|Malaco Rhythm Section]]
| spouse = Kirsten Whitsett
}}

'''James Carson Whitsett''' (May 1, 1945 – May 8, 2007) was an American keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer.

==Biography==
Carson Whitsett was born in [[Jackson, Mississippi]]. He joined his older brother Tim's band, '''Tim Whitsett & The Imperials''' (later known as [[The Imperial Show Band]]) and quickly became a stand-out on the [[Hammond organ|B-3 organ]]. Following the breakup of the band, Whitsett spent time in Canada playing with [[Eric Mercury]] before an invitation to [[Stax Records]] where [[Tim Whitsett]] was now in charge of the label's East Memphis publishing arm. Carson's playing inspired bassist [[Donald "Duck" Dunn]] and drummer [[Al Jackson Jr.]] to re-emerge, along with Stax session guitarist [[Bobby Manuel]] in place of [[Steve Cropper]], as [[The MG's]], releasing [[The MG's (album)|an album]] in 1973.

Whitsett moved to [[Malaco Records]], where he played in the Malaco Rhythm Section with drummer [[James Stroud]], bassist Vernie Robbins and guitarist Jerry Puckett, appearing on [[Paul Simon]]'s ''[[There Goes Rhymin' Simon]]'' album, [[Anita Ward]]'s "[[Ring My Bell]]", [[Dorothy Moore]]'s "[[Misty Blue]]", albums by [[Connie Francis]] and fellow Mississippian [[Paul Davis (singer)|Paul Davis]], one of the highest selling blues albums in [[Z. Z. Hill]]'s ''Down Home Blues'', and numerous albums by others such as [[Bobby "Blue" Bland]], [[Little Milton]], and [[Johnnie Taylor]]. Several Malaco acts, including Taylor and Moore, recorded songs written by Whitsett, and he produced [[Fern Kinney]]'s No. 1 [[UK Singles Chart|UK]] hit, "[[Together We Are Beautiful]]" in 1980.

Whitsett's first major success as a songwriter also came in 1980 with a number one song on the [[Adult Contemporary chart]] (#18 Pop, #30 Country), [[J. Fred Knobloch]]'s "Why Not Me". [[Lorrie Morgan]] requested on her debut album to record Whitsett's "[[Dear Me (Lorrie Morgan song)|Dear Me]]", which became her first top ten hit. Another country hit followed with [[John Anderson (musician)|John Anderson]]'s "[[Mississippi Moon]]", co-written with [[Tony Joe White]]. With longtime collaborator and friend [[Dan Penn]] and Hoy Lindsey, Whitsett penned the title track to [[Solomon Burke]]'s [[Grammy Award|Grammy]] winning album ''[[Don't Give Up on Me (album)|Don't Give Up on Me]]'', later covered by [[Joe Cocker]] and [[Susan Boyle]]. Actor [[Peter Gallagher]] performed the song on the hit television show, ''[[The O.C.]]''

Other artists who recorded songs written or co-written by Carson Whitsett include [[Etta James]], [[Eddie Floyd]], [[Johnny Adams]], [[James Carr (musician)|James Carr]], [[Ruth Brown]], and [[Wilson Pickett]], as well as country musicians [[Conway Twitty]] and [[Barbara Mandrell]], plus gospel singers [[Albertina Walker]] and [[The Staple Singers]]. He also played and wrote material for [[B. B. King]], [[Jerry Butler (singer)|Jerry Butler]], [[Suzy Bogguss]], and [[Irma Thomas]], among others. At least two Carson Whitsett collaborations are considered{{By whom|date=January 2024}} modern day blues standards in [[Joe Louis Walker]]'s "Blues of the Month Club" and the [[Blues Music Award|W.C. Handy Award]] winning "One Foot in the Blues" recorded by [[Johnny Adams]].

In 2002, Whitsett served as arranger for [[Patti Page]], on her ''Sweet Sounds of Christmas'' CD, and in 2006, played on [[Janis Ian]]'s ''Folk Is the New Black''. He teamed again with Dan Penn and Hoy Lindsey, writing a dozen songs, arranging, and playing on the ''Better to Have It'' album by [[Bobby Purify]] in 2005. He played on several [[Tony Joe White]] albums including ''The Heroines'' in 2004 with singers [[Lucinda Williams]], [[Shelby Lynne]], [[Jessi Colter]], and [[Emmylou Harris]] and 2006's ''Uncovered'', which featured guest appearances by [[Eric Clapton]], [[J. J. Cale]], [[Michael McDonald (singer)|Michael McDonald]], [[Mark Knopfler]], and also [[Waylon Jennings]] in one of his last performances.

For several years he served as keyboardist for [[Kathy Mattea]] and became friends with Mattea's husband, songwriter [[Jon Vezner]]. During this time, Whitsett also recorded three solo piano projects. In November 2005, he was interviewed along with [[Spooner Oldham]] in ''Keyboard Player Magazine''.

Carson Whitsett died in [[Nashville, Tennessee]],<ref>{{Cite web |title=James Whitsett Obituary (2007) - Jackson, MS - Clarion Ledger |url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/clarionledger/name/james-whitsett-obituary?id=25850625 |access-date=2023-03-03 |website=Legacy.com}}</ref> on May 8, 2007, of [[brain cancer]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Tunzi |first=Christina |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7BIEAAAAMBAJ&dq=%22carson+whitsett%22+and+billboard&pg=PA84 |title=Billboard |date=2007-06-09 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |pages=84 |language=en}}</ref> Dan 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".{{Citation needed|date=July 2011}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
*''Soulsville USA: The Story of Stax Records'' By [[Rob Bowman (music writer)|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

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|0926372}}
*[http://www.tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070510/ENTERTAINMENT01/705100378/1005 Keyboard Ace Carson Whitsett (The Tennessean)]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070927035648/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)]
*[https://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)]
*[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p137764/credits|pure_url=yes}} (Recording Credits)]
*[{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p137764/songs|pure_url=yes}} (Songwriting Credits)]

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitsett, Carson}}
[[Category:1945 births]]
[[Category:2007 deaths]]
[[Category:Songwriters from Mississippi]]
[[Category:Musicians from Jackson, Mississippi]]
[[Category:American session musicians]]
[[Category:Deaths from brain cancer in Tennessee]]
[[Category:Booker T. & the M.G.'s members]]
[[Category:American rock keyboardists]]
[[Category:American organists]]
[[Category:20th-century American keyboardists]]
[[Category:Record producers from Mississippi]]
[[Category:American rhythm and blues keyboardists]]
[[Category:American soul keyboardists]]

Seven (Bob Seger album)

2025-10-10T09:08:33Z

2601:153:881:3D60:B4C8:5EA7:2EAC:14C5: /* Personnel */tweak

{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2020}}
{{More citations needed|date= December 2014}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Seven
| type = Album
| artist = [[Bob Seger]]
| cover = Bob Seger - Seven.jpg
| alt =
| released = March 1974
| recorded = {{circa}}1973
| venue =
| studio = [[Quad Studios Nashville|Quadrafonic Sound]], Nashville, Tennessee
| genre = [[Rock and roll|Rock]]
| length = 31:00
| label = Palladium/[[Reprise Records|Reprise]]
| producer = [[Punch Andrews]], [[Bob Seger]]
| prev_title = [[Back in '72]]
| prev_year = 1973
| next_title = [[Beautiful Loser]]
| next_year = 1975
}}

'''''Seven''''' is the seventh studio album by American [[rock and roll|rock]] singer-songwriter [[Bob Seger]], released in 1974.

==Background and recording==
''Seven'' was the first Seger album to feature 'The Silver Bullet Band', which he would steadily rely on for the rest of his career. The album gained notorious recognition and is a fan favorite despite its rarity. The very successful tour for this album was kicked off with Seger and his newly formed Silver Bullets as the opening act for [[Kiss (band)|Kiss]]. Kiss asked Seger and the band to support them for a few shows. After seeing the band's first set, they offered Seger the rest of the tour, which gained the band much-needed recognition.

Early vinyl copies of the album featured the word 'contrasts' at the bottom of the cover, leading people to believe the album had two titles. Others believed the album was titled 'Seven Contrasts'. However, Contrasts is the name of the artwork featured on the album. The word in parentheses is simply a reference to the artwork rather than an actual subtitle or title of the record.

A later bootleg of the album released in the 1980s was entitled '''''Seven Worlds'''''.

== Reception ==
{{Album reviews
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{rating|5|5}}<ref name="AM_Seven"/>
|rev2 = ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|Christgau's Record Guide]]''
|rev2Score = B+<ref name="CG">{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: S|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=S&bk=70|accessdate=March 12, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}</ref>
}}

Although the album failed to make the ''Billboard'' Top 200 albums chart, the single "Get Out of Denver" reached number 80 on the Pop Singles chart. Critics and longtime Seger fans tend to regard the album as a lost classic, much like its predecessor ''[[Back in '72]]''. For example, [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] of [[AllMusic]] retrospectively gave the album 5/5 stars, calling it "one of <nowiki>[Seger's]</nowiki> strongest, hardest-hitting rock records".<ref name="AM_Seven">{{AllMusic |class=album |id=r17688 |tab=review |label=Bob Seger – ''Seven'' (1974) album review |first=Stephen Thomas |last=Erlewine |accessdate=July 4, 2011 }}</ref> Summing up, Erlewine wrote:
{{blockquote|Only nine songs, lasting just over a half-hour, but it's one of the most infectious sets Seger ever cut, proving that he wasn't just a dynamite rocker, but he had the songs to match. And, again, it didn't have any success – it didn't even chart, actually. That doesn't change the fact that this is one of his very best albums.<ref name="AM_Seven"/>}}

== Track listing ==
{{tracklist
| all_writing = Bob Seger
| headline = Side One
|
| title1 = Get Out of Denver
| length1 = 2:44
| title2 = Long Song Comin{{'-}}
| length2 = 4:30
| title3 = Need Ya
| length3 = 3:22
| title4 = School Teacher
| length4 = 2:45
| title5 = Cross of Gold
| length5 = 2:23
}}

{{tracklist
|headline = Side Two
|
| title1 = U.M.C. (Upper Middle Class)
| length1 = 3:15
| title2 = Seen a Lot of Floors
| length2 = 3:00
| title3 = 20 Years from Now
| length3 = 4:32
| title4 = All Your Love
| length4 = 4:28
}}

== Personnel ==
<ref>[https://www.discogs.com/Bob-Seger-Seven/release/2743172 Bob Seger – ''Seven'' (1974) album releases & credits at Discogs.com]</ref>{{better source needed|reason=source is user generated content|date=July 2021}}

'''Silver Bullet Band'''
* Bob Seger – guitar, vocals
* [[Drew Abbott]] – lead guitar (A5, B1, B4)
* [[Alto Reed|Tom Cartmell]] – saxophone (A2, B2)
* Rick Manasa – organ, piano (A5, B1, B4)
* Robyn Robins – [[Mellotron]] (B4)
* Chris Campbell – bass guitar (A4, A5, B1, B4)
* Charlie Allen Martin – drums (A5, B1, B4)

'''Additional musicians'''
* Dave Doran – lead guitar (A2)
* [[Jim McCarty (guitarist)|Jim McCarty]] – lead guitar (A1, B2), [[slide guitar]] (A3)
* [[Charlie McCoy]] – rhythm guitar (A1, A3)
* Bill Meuller – lead guitar (A4)
* [[David Briggs (American musician)|David Briggs]] – piano (A1–A3, B2, B3)
* John Harris – organ (B3)
* Bobby Woods – piano (B3)
* [[Tommy Cogbill]] – bass guitar (A1–A3, B2, B3)
* [[Kenny Buttrey]] – drums (A1–A3, B2, B3)
* Randy Meyers – drums (A4)

'''Production'''

* Producers: [[Punch Andrews]], Bob Seger
* Engineer: Gene Eichelberger, Jim Bruzzese, Greg Miller
* Cover art by Thomas Weschler
* Photography by Thomas Weschler, Scott Sparling

== Charts ==
'''Singles''' – ''[[Billboard magazine|Billboard]]'' (United States)
{| border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=2 width="500px"
!align="left"|Year
!align="left"|Single
!align="left"|Chart
!align="left"|Position
|-
|align="left"|1974
|align="left"|"Get Out of Denver"
|align="left"|Pop Singles
|align="left"|80<ref>{{cite book |title= Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles, 14th Edition: 1955-2012 |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |authorlink=Joel Whitburn |year=2013 |publisher=Record Research |page=749}}</ref>
|}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

{{Bob Seger}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seven (Bob Seger Album)}}
[[Category:Bob Seger albums]]
[[Category:1974 albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Punch Andrews]]
[[Category:Reprise Records albums]]