Caroline Crawford

Carolyn Crawford, born on July 19, 1949 in Detroit, Michigan, is an American rhythm and blues, pop, soul and disco singer, best known for recording with Motown Records in the 1960s, then with other labels later in her career. In 1963, she won a talent contest organized by Detroit radio station WCHB, whose prize was a contract with Motown. She then released three singles for the label: "Forget About Me " (1963), "My Smile Is Just a Frown (Turned Upside Down) " (1964), written by Smokey Robinson and reaching number 39ᵉ on the R&B chart, then "When Someone's Good to You " (1964). She also provided backing vocals for various Motown artists. After leaving Motown, she joined the all-female group Hodges, James, Smith and Crawford created by William "Mickey" Stevenson, with whom she recorded two singles: "Nobody " (1971) and "Let's Pick Up the Pieces " (1972), before leaving the group. She then joined the Detroit soul group Chapter 8, leaving in 1976 to be replaced by Anita Baker. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, she became the lead vocalist on several singles and albums by producer Hamilton Bohannon, including the R&B hit "Let's Start the Dance " (1978). She then signed a solo contract with Mercury Records under the name Caroline Crawford and released the single "Coming On Strong " in early 1979, which reached number 66ᵉ on the R&B chart, followed by the albums My Name Is Caroline (1978) and Nice and Soulful (1979), both produced by Bohannon. In 1989, she joined the Motorcity Records project headed by Ian Levine, which brought together former Motown artists, and recorded the album Heartaches (1990), including the single "Timeless " which became popular on the UK Northern Soul scene. She continued to perform in Detroit clubs until the 2000s, and also pursued an acting career, lending her voice to the character of Mrs. Lovat in the animated film Coraline (2009) and appearing in an episode of the TV series Leverage the same year. The Kent label exhumes two old tracks, "Ready or Not Here Comes Love" (2019) and "Get Up and Move" (2024), which reaches number 87 in the UK charts.

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