Carl Sims

Solo singer from Memphis, Tennessee born on October 18, 1949. During the 1960s, when he was a teenager, Sims was a singer with the horn-driven soul outfit, Bar-Kays. Later in the early 1970s with hard rock group, Steel (see Steel (21)). He once sang at a birthday party for Elvis Presley. As a song writer he has drawn influence from soul and R&B singers as well as getting ideas from country & western singers. ---------------------------------- 1960s to 1970s ---------------------------------- When he was sixteen years old. he became the lead singer for the Bar-Kays and with him they would open shows for Otis Redding. In his interview with Living Blues, he said that due to his young age Redding was like a fatherly figure to him. It appears he was a type of mentor as well. Like, James Alexander, Sims took a commercial flight, thus avoiding the tragedy that was the fate of most of the other members. The only survivor of the crash was Ben Cauley. Sims also went to identify the dead members. Even though he was set to do some recording work with the band, he never managed to. After the crash, Sims went to work in a day job. Around the early 1970s, out of nowhere he was approached to replace the lead singer of rock group Steel. They recorded an album, Steel at Jimi Hendrix]'s Electric Ladyland Studios in NY. There he met Buddy Miles as well as John Lennon and Lennon's wife . Members of Steel at that time were Steve Busfield, Duane Hitchings, Jerry Norris, Roland Robinson and Sims. The album never made any impact and after his time with the band, he returned to Memphis. After recording a few singles in the 70s that didn't make any impact, he joined Elements of the Universe in 1977, working the US Army bases in Germany. He also did some back-up work with a group called Fiesta (see Fiesta (5)) and appeared on one track from their 1978 album, Fiesta. Since then he had opened shows for Denise LaSalle. ---------------------------------- 1980s to 1990s ---------------------------------- During the 1980s, he became Carlos Cash of Carlos Cash And The Money Masters. They released a single, "Use Your Head" on his own Cash Money Records label (see Cash Money Records (5)) in 1983. After making no headway with the single, he went back to performing as Carl Sims. In 1988, his single "Seventeen Days Of Loving" was released on the Los Angeles-based Edge Records label (see Edge Records (4)). ---------------------------------- 2000s to 2020s ---------------------------------- He written his own material and released albums well into the 2000s. In 2001, his album M&M Man was released on Waldoxy Records. In 2017, he received the Bobby Blue Bland Lifetime Blues Award from the Jus' Blues Foundation. He was also interviewed by Living Blues that year. He also released "Living in a Rooming House" on Aziza Records in 2017. ---------------------------------- References ---------------------------------- * Living Blues #233, December 1, 2017 - Carl Sims http://digital.livingblues.com/publication/?i=457408&article_id=2951498&view=articleBrowser&ver=html5 * Malaco Records, Carl Sims https://www.malaco.com/artists/blues-r-b/carl-sims/