Introduction
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 Quincy, M.E.; Sanford and Son; Marcus Welby, M.D.; The Eddie Capra Mysteries; CHiPs; and Magnum, P.I.; and in films such as Friday Foster (1975); Chesty Anderson, USN (1976); American Raspberry (1977); and Angel (1984).
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960 | "I'm Coming Home" |
— | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks |
| 1961 | "I Need You So" |
— | — | — | — | — | |
| 1962 | "Who Do You Love" (with Clydie King) |
— | — | — | — | — | |
| 1963 | "Wonderful Love" |
— | — | — | — | — | When A Boy Falls In Love |
| "When A Boy Falls In Love" |
44 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1964 | "Why I Call Her Mine" |
— | — | — | — | — | |
| "Deed I Do" |
— | — | — | — | — | Non-album track | |
| 1965 | "The Richest Man Alive" |
104 | — | — | — | — | Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me |
| "I Just Can't Imagine" |
— | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me" |
8 | 1 | 2 | — | 21 | ||
| "(All Of A Sudden) My Heart Sings" |
38 | 3 | — | 6 | 48 | (All Of A Sudden) My Heart Sings | |
| 1966 | "Love Is All We Need" |
50 | 21 | 65 | 2 | — | |
| "Band Of Gold" |
32 | 1 | 38 | — | — | ||
| "You, You, You" |
49 | 11 | 38 | — | — | Easy Listening | |
| "Take Good Care Of Her" |
78 | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967 | "As Time Goes By" |
111 | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks |
| "Edelweiss" |
— | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Enter Laughing" |
— | — | — | — | — | Enter Laughing (Soundtrack) | |
| "Be My Love" |
132 | 23 | — | — | — | Be My Love | |
| 1968 | "Excuse Me" |
— | — | — | — | — | |
| "I Pretend" |
— | 38 | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | |
| 1969 | "San Francisco Is A Lonely Town" |
— | — | — | — | — | This Is My Life |
| "Another Saturday Night" |
— | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks | |
| 1970 | "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye" |
— | — | — | — | — | This Is My Life |
| 1973 | "Do Me Wrong, But Do Me |
— | — | — | — | — | Non-album tracks |
| 1974 | "I Only Have Eyes For You" |
104 | 39 | — | — | — | |
| 1976 | "My Coloring Book" |
— | 47 | — | — | — | |
| 1981 | "You Changed My Life Again" |
— | — | — | 12 | — | |
| "I Don't Want To Get Over You" |
— | — | — | — | — | ||
- "When a Boy Falls In Love" also peaked at #30 on R&B charts.