Jean Carn

Jean Carn – born Sarah Jean Perkins in Columbus, Georgia on March 15, 1947 – is a soul, pop and jazz singer with a five octave vocal range. She’s worked in many genres but she’s best known for work with Gamble and Huff’s Philadelphia International Records in the mid-to-late ‘70s. She began her musical journey by singing in the church choir at the age of 4. In her early years at school, she began learning to play the piano, the clarinet, and the bassoon. She received a scholarship to Morris Brown College and performed in many productions, from musical theater to opera. Heading to New York to attend the Juilliard School of Music. She was sidetracked when she met jazz pianist Doug Carn. They married and she began to sing with his fusion band. They moved to California where she began her recording career singing on her husband’s album Infant Eyes (1971), Spirit of the New Land (1972), Revelation (1973) and Adam’s Apple (1974). She signed to Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff’s Philadelphia International Records (PIR) and released her first solo album, Jean Carn, in 1977. The album entered the Billboard 200, R&B Albums, and Jazz Albums charts. She followed that album with two more for the PIR label in the ‘70s: Happy to Be with You (1978) and When I find You Love (1979). She released the album Sweet and Wonderful in 1981. Moving to Motown Records, Carn released the album Trust Me in 1982. She recorded a second album for Motown but it was never released and she left the label. Her 1986 album Closer Than Close featured the title track as a single, reaching Number 1 on the R&B chart. Carn released two albums in the 1990s: Carn Sings McCoy (1995) and Love Lessons (1996). She has continued to tour on occasion including a 2002 trip to the UK. Jean Carn was honored with a lifetime Achievement Award in 2014 from The National R&B Music Society in Philadelphia.

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