Carlton was born in Detroit, Michigan, and began his career in the mid-1960s as "Little Carl" Carlton. It was a marketing ploy to capitalize on some vocal similarities to Stevie Wonder, who recorded under the name "Little Stevie Wonder" in the early 1960s. His first recordings were for Lando Records, for which he recorded some minor local hits, including "So What" and "Don't You Need a Boy Like Me". A Haywood-penned single, "She's a Bad Mama Jama (She's Built, She's Stacked)", became a major hit, peaking at number on the soul chart and earning Carlton a Grammy Award nomination for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male in 1982. The track peaked at number 34 in the UK Singles Chart. Carlton's subsequent album, Carl Carlton, went gold in 1981. "She's a Bad Mama Jama" has since become a staple of compilation albums and soundtracks and is often sampled in rap music. Carlton released several more albums in the 1980s but had only a few minor R&B hits. After 1985's Private Property, he did not release another album until 1994's Main Event, which also failed to chart. In late 2002, Carlton appeared with many R&B stars on the "Rhythm, Love, and Soul" edition of the PBS series American Soundtrack. His performance of "Everlasting Love" was included on the accompanying live album that was released in 2004. Another great songs from this artist are "Baby I Need Your Loving" and "Fooled Myself Again".