Carl Carlton, an R&B and soul singer who amassed a pair of notable hits in the 1970s and early 1980s, has died, according to a post from his son. Carl Carlton achieved his biggest hit, “She’s A Bad Mama Jama” in 1981, among other charting tracks.
Carl Carlton’s son, Carlton Hudgens II, shared the news of his father’s passing on Facebook this past Sunday (December 14).
In the caption of the post that featured a photo of Carlton, Hudgens wrote, “RIP Dad, Legend Carl Carlton singer of She’s a Bad Mama Jama. Long hard fight in life and you will be missed. Dad was 73 years of age born May 21, 1952 ..not 1953 as Wikipedia has wrong and now TMZ and the world has the wrong birthday. Please fix this asap.”
Hudgens shared another post on Facebook, asking Wikipedia to correct his father’s birthday and add the correct age at the time of his death.
“Please internet fix my dads birthday, May 21, 1952 is the correct birthday, Wikipedia refused to correct this issue when I tried telling them. Thanks for the love and support,” Hudgens added.
Carlton was born Carlton Hudgens on May 21, 1952. Carlton began his career as a teenager as “Little” Carl Calrton and was signed to his first record deal at 16. Carlton’s career took off in the 1970s, and in 1974, his cover of Robert Knight’s “Everlasting Love” became a high-charting smash.
With the help of Leon Haywood, Carlton signed with 20th Century Records and scored a massive hit in 1981 with “She’s A Bad Mama Jama (She’s Built, She’s Stacked)” which Haywood wrote. The song stands as Carlton’s enduring hit and has appeared in numerous movies and television shows over the decades.
Carl Carlton was 73.
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Photo: Getty