My favorite male artists in my running-around days in the late 70s were Jackson Browne and James Taylor. There were many female artists I admired but I didn’t have a favorite until – one day when my best girlfriend Ruth LaPrade, later Ruth Cerny, and I were at her house listening to music. Specifically, our favorite song by Jackson Browne, Love Needs a Heart on his Running on Empty album.
Then Ruth changes the record, and says, “Listen to this song,” and puts on The Blue Side from Valerie Carter’s 1978 Wild Child album. I had never heard of Valerie, but she immediately became my new favorite female artist. She was already Ruth’s. That song still makes me think of Ruth as does the cover picture on that specific album. Valerie and Ruth looked a lot alike then with the same soulful doe eyes and the deep pensive expression and beautiful face. I loved all the songs on the album, but my favorite was Change of Luck.
The Title Song from Valerie Carter’s album: Wild Child
I didn’t hear anything about her after that. No internet then. She didn’t seem to be widely known but she should have been. After the JoDan Music song Along For the Ride went live, I went on Pandora to check its availability. Pandora takes longer because they put each release through a separate submission and validation process. It was there; click the title to find, or by searching for “Along For the Ride Jo Wilburn”.
Then, a mind-blowing thing happened. Valerie Carter gave the song a thumbs-up. I was beyond excited, firstly that someone of her caliber liked the song, and secondly, to find Valerie Carter’s music. I had not listened to anything by her or thought about her in so many years. I soon found that a search for Valerie Carter brings up her music on any of the streaming platforms. I then looked for her bio and, from that, found that she died from a heart attack on March 4th, 2017, at the age of 64.
This find knocked me down. It of course means it couldn’t have been her doing the thumbs-up, but more importantly — what a loss to the music world.
I started a Google chase to find out more about her life and career.
She grew up in small towns in the South, had no formal vocal training, and was shy about performing, but loved to sing. While still a teenager, she left home, traveled to New York City, lived with a cousin, and worked as a singing waitress.
After seven or eight months she and some friends hitchhiked across the country to the West Coast, and started playing coffeehouses, and living in what she referred to as a “sweet, very nice little commune in Lagunitas, California.” She and two friends, Jon Lind, and Richard Hovey, formed a three-piece group “Howdy Moon.” They moved to Los Angeles and got a deal on A&M Records.
The trio released only one album, the self-titled Howdy Moon, in 1974.
During this recording, she met Lowell George, a producer and the primary guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter for the rock band “Little Feat.” He, along with many of the members of Little Feat, played on the Howdy Moon album. One of the songs on the album that Valerie wrote “Cook with Honey” was later recorded by Judy Collins.
I have heard this album. In my opinion, it is good but falls short of what Valerie later did as a solo artist. However, Valerie’s vocals and the trio’s creative harmonies are great.
Lowell George introduced Valerie to James Taylor and other artists and was her mentor until his tragic death in 1979. That’s another story.
James Taylor, in a Twitter post on March 5th, 2017, just after Valerie’s death describes that first meeting
Lowell George was a co-producer on Valerie’s first solo album. Just a Stone’s Throw Away, released in 1977 on the Columbia Record label, led to her being booked as the opening act for the Eagles during a European tour. The album featured many guest artists, including Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Lowell George, Maurice White, and Deniece Williams. The album’s song, Ooh Child was used as part of the soundtrack for the 1979 Matt Dillon movie Over the Edge.
Her second album Wild Child, released in 1978, was the one that I first heard, the one that Ruth and I loved so much. The two songs I’ve already mentioned, The Blue Side, and Change of Luck are my favorites from the album.
To me, living in Tulsa Oklahoma, she seemed to disappear after that album. Turns out she did for a bit. According to her friend Kathy Kurasch, Valorie loved singing and recording, but, even before the second album, she realized she didn’t love being a solo artist. Wild Child marked the end of Valerie’s time with Columbia Records.
She dropped out entirely for a while then transitioned to background singing. She sang with many top artists –James Taylor, Jackson Browne, Linda Ronstadt, Christopher Cross, Ringo Starr, Randy Newman, Don Henley, and even Willie Nelson, and toured with a lot of them, but most often with James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, and Jackson Browne.
She was more comfortable singing background and, according to her sister Janice Carter, never felt like a big star, even though her talent, her soulful, sultry, smokey voice was star quality and beyond.
In a September 1999 interview with Laura Stegman for James Taylor Online you hear her own words, her thoughts about her life and career. She began touring with Taylor in 1990 and was still a member of his touring band when that interview/article was published.
Laura Stegman writes, Valerie Carter, who’s probably one of the most congenial — and modest — people you’ll ever meet, really prefers to direct attention away from herself.
The record business can be such a harsh place, and Valerie was a gentle soul. In the following quote, Valerie describes the period after her first two solo albums, and why she transitioned to background.
I got scared, and I got frustrated, and I got sad. I dropped out of the whole music thing for a while. I had personal difficulties with living here in Los Angeles, with a life of music. I was at an all-time low in my life, and I didn’t quite know what was going to happen. Eventually, I got some help. I took a really long time away from friends, away from anything I had ever known around here.
When I came back, I decided that I couldn’t handle trying to go out and forge for a record deal and start all of that madness over right away. I was too delicate. But what I could do was sing, and that’s what I’ve always been happy doing. And I knew I could stand behind someone and let the spotlight shine somewhere else. I could at least express myself through the power of singing.
Part of that delicacy may have been because of physical as well as emotional demands. According to her sister, Valerie suffered from heart trouble for many years, and being a front person, the lead singer comes with demands and a lot of stress.
Valerie didn’t release another solo album until 1996. On that album, The Way It Is, for the Japanese Pony Canyon label the tables were turned, and many of the artists that she had sung background for – James Taylor, Linda Ronstadt, Jackson Browne, Lyle Lovett, and others – sang background for her. On this album, she sings my favorite song by Jackson Browne, one that she co-wrote, Love Needs a Heart. Both versions are great. It would be hard to eclipse Jackson Browne’s version of that song, but her version is equally good; it is softer, a little more melodic, and both versions pull your heartstrings close to breaking.
She followed up two years later in 1998 with the EPs Find a River, Vanilla Grits, and a compilation CD Midnight Over Honey River.
Around 2007 or shortly after, Valerie retired as a professional musician and moved to St. Petersburg to help care for her mother, Dorothy.
Valerie Carter and Taylor were especially close. Like many people in the entertainment business, Valerie had bouts with drug addiction. In 2009, she was arrested in St. Petersburg for drug possession but avoided conviction by completing the drug court program. In 2011, James Taylor was there to support Valerie at her “graduation ceremony” held in a Pinellas County drug court to celebrate those winning the battle against addiction.
Valerie Carter died at 3:00 AM EST. of a heart attack at St Anthony’s Hospital in St. Petersburg Florida on March 4, 2017. She was 64.
Since her death, her sister Janice Carter, and best friend Kathy Kurasch have collected and searched through her unpublished work and have selected songs for publication.
In 2018, Kathy Kurasch produced The Lost Tapes, the first posthumous stand-alone album of previously unreleased material by Valerie Carter. It includes unreleased tracks recorded during her career, including “I Got Over It”, co-written by Prince. It was released on Cowboy Angel Records, an indy label formed by Kathy Kurasch and Jan Carter for the purpose.
In 2022 they followed up and released The Lost Tapes Vol. 2 on the same label.
Other little tidbits – the song “Valerie”, recorded by Steve Winwood, was reportedly about Valerie Carter as was Jackson Browne’s song “That Girl Could Sing”.
Although I did not, I now feel like I knew Valerie personally, and love the person she was as well as the voice she had. If you already know and love Valerie Carter’s music, I applaud your excellent taste. If not, check it out. You won’t regret it.
Below is a link to the Rock History Music Tribute to Valerie Carter published on the day of her death, March 4th, 2017. It’s worth a listen if you’d like to hear more.
References:
Valerie Gail Zakian Carter (February 5, 1953 – March 4, 2017)
Tampa Bay Times (From March 6, 2017) by Paul Guzzo
James Taylor X/Twitter Post about Valerie Carter from 03/05/2017
Rock History Music: video published Marth 4th, 2017 https://youtu.be/lO7XjwOlf7M?si=XGuqx52J8WbXNhGv
September 1999 interview with Laura Stegman for James Taylor Online (https://www.james-taylor.com/articles/jto-feature-valerie-carter/)
The Voice of An Angel: A Tribute to Valerie Carter https://www.popmatters.com/valerie-carter-voice-of-angel-2628049329.html
https://pickinguprocks.com/2017/06/22/valerie-carter-is-worth-remembering/
Blue Desert music site…https://www.westcoast.dk/artists/c/valerie-carter/
Credits: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/valerie-carter-mn0000301702#credits
P.S. Just for kicks, here’s a picture of my friend Ruth in the late sixties or early seventies up beside Valerie Carter. I think they look alike and have the same peaceful aura about them. Ruth was a little younger in the picture than Valerie, but, it was the closest I could find. They were actually about the same age, both born in 1953, Valerie in February, Ruth in October. And, from my impression of Valerie, and memories of Ruth, I’d say they were both old souls with beautiful hearts, and both died too young. Soul sisters, although they did not know each other either.
