Mel Carter (born April 22, 1939) is an American soul and pop singer and actor. He is best known for his 1965 million-selling recording "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me".
Biography Carter was born in Cincinnati, Ohio. At age 16, he studied singing with vocalist Little Jimmy Scott. Carter recorded for Sam Cooke's SAR (Derby Records) in the early 1960s and had his first hit in 1963 at the age of 24 with "When a Boy Falls in Love", which was co-written by Cooke.
By the time he reached his commercial peak with Imperial Records in the middle of the decade, he was specializing in pop ballads. His biggest success was the Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 hit "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me", which reached Number 8 in 1965. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc. He had a couple of other Top 40 entries over the next year, "Band of Gold" and "All of a Sudden My Heart Sings", as well as a few other easy listening sellers.
Carter appeared on the DVD of the PBS special, Doo Wop 51, recorded in 2001 performing his hit; he also appeared on another PBS special, Magic Moments: The Best of 50s Pop, performing a tribute to Billy Williams ("I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Myself a Letter") and Tommy Edwards ("It's All in the Game").
Carter later acted on television programs such as Good Times; Quincy, M.E.; Sanford and Son; Marcus Welby, M.D.; The Eddie Capra Mysteries as Albert Crane; CHiPs; and Magnum, P.I.; and in films such as Friday Foster (1975); Chesty Anderson, USN (1976); Prime Time a.k.a. American Raspberry (1977); and Angel (1984).
Albums YearAlbumPeak positionsLabelUS 200US CB 1963 When A Boy Falls In Love — — Derby 1965 (All Of A Sudden) My Heart Sings — — Imperial Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me 62 67 1966 Easy Listening 81 — 1967 Be My Love — — Liberty 1970 This Is My Life — — Amos 1984 Willing — — Onyx International 1995 Live! In Hollywood — — CSP 2008 The Heart & Soul Of Mel Carter — —
Singles Year Title Chart positions AlbumUSUSACCACHUM RPMCAACAU1960"I'm Coming Home"b/w "Sugar" — — — — —Non-album tracks1961"I Need You So"b/w "When I Grow Too Old To Dream" — — — — —1962"Who Do You Love" (with Clydie King)b/w "The Wrong Side Of Town" — — — — —1963"Wonderful Love"b/w "Time Of Young Love" — — — — —When A Boy Falls In Love "When A Boy Falls In Love"Ab/w "So Wonderful" 44 — 14 — —1964"Why I Call Her Mine"b/w "Time Of Young Love" — — — — —"Deed I Do"b/w "What's On Your Mind" (from Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me) — — — — — Non-album track 1965 "The Richest Man Alive"b/w "I'll Never Be Free" 104 — — — —Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me"I Just Can't Imagine"b/w "High Noon" — — — — — "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me"b/w "A Sweet Little Girl" 8 1 2 — 21 "(All Of A Sudden) My Heart Sings"b/w "When I Hold The Hand Of The One I Love" 38 3 22 6 48(All Of A Sudden) My Heart Sings 1966 "Love Is All We Need"b/w "I Wish I Didn't Love You So" 50 21 34 2 — "Band Of Gold"b/w "Detour" (from Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me) 32 1 38 — — "You, You, You"b/w "If You Lose Her" (Non-album track) 49 11 38 — —Easy Listening "Take Good Care Of Her"b/w "Tar and Cement" 78 — — — — 1967 "As Time Goes By"b/w "Look To The Rainbow" 111 — — — —Non-album tracks"Edelweiss"b/w "For Once In My Life" — — — — —"Enter Laughing"b/w "Star Dust" (Non-album track) — — — — —Enter Laughing (Soundtrack) "Be My Love"b/w "I Look Into Your Eyes" 132 23 — — —Be My Love1968"Excuse Me"b/w "The Other Woman" — — — — — "I Pretend"b/w "Didn't We" — 38 — — — Non-album tracks1969"San Francisco Is A Lonely Town"b/w "Everything Stops For A Little While" — — — — — This Is My Life"Another Saturday Night"b/w "Coming From You" — — — — — Non-album tracks1970"Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye"b/w "This Is Your Life" — — — — — This Is My Life1973"Do Me Wrong, But Do Meb/w "She Is Me" — — — — —Non-album tracks 1974 "I Only Have Eyes For You"b/w "Treasure of Love" 104 39 — — — 1976 "My Coloring Book"b/w "Put A Little Love Away" — 47 — — —1981 "You Changed My Life Again"b/w "I Don't Want To Get Over You" — — — 12 —"I Don't Want To Get Over You"b/w "Who's Right, Who's Wrong" — — — — — A"When a Boy Falls In Love" also peaked at #30 on R&B charts.
References
External links
Mel Carter's website