Carl Carlton, the Detroit-born singer behind timeless hits like “Everlasting Love” and “She’s a Bad Mama Jama (She’s Built, She’s Stacked),” died Sunday, according to his son. He was 75. A cause of death was not announced, though Carlton reportedly experienced ongoing health issues after suffering a stroke in 2019.
“RIP Dad,” his son Carlton Hudgens II wrote. “Long hard fight in life and you will be missed. Always love you.”
Carlton began performing in the 1960s under the name Little Carl Carlton, later dropping the nickname as his career took off. In 1971, he landed his first major hit on the Billboard Soul Singles chart with “I Can Feel It.” His breakthrough came in 1974 with “Everlasting Love,” a cover of Robert Knight’s song that reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 and became the definitive version, earning more than 25 million Spotify streams.
He later cemented his legacy with 1981’s “She’s a Bad Mama Jama,” a Grammy-nominated single that has been widely sampled in hip hop, surpassed 100 million streams, and appeared in numerous film and television soundtracks.