John Carter, 73: ‘Music was his life’

Sang in gospel group

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By STEVE VISSER

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

John “Boots” Carter never sang the blues — at least on stage or at home. He sang a joyful note.

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John "Boots" Carter sang tenor with the gospel group the Soul Searchers.

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“I never, never saw him sad, even when he was older,” said his daughter, Kimberly Daniels. “When he wasn’t able to walk, he would just ride his little scooter and hold a note.”

Mr. Carter, a tenor, was one of the original members of the gospel group Troy Ramey and the Soul Searchers. The eight-member ensemble, twice nominated for a Grammy, toured the country, performing from the Apollo Theater in New York to country churches in Randolph County, Ala.

Although Carter never tired of telling tales about the Apollo, it was Randolph County in Appalachian Alabama where he scored his biggest hit: A fellow tenor introduced his sister-in-law, who became Mr. Carter’s wife.

“Music was his life,” said Letha Carter, his wife for almost 35 years. “The gospel was first, and I was second.”

Mr. Carter, 73, died Sunday of complications from heart and kidney trouble. His funeral is 11 a.m. today at Christ Tabernacle United Church of God in Christ in Decatur.

Born in Social Circle, Mr. Carter got his start singing gospel as part of the Gospel Keys of Atlanta. About four decades ago, he joined the Soul Searchers, which performed in New York at St. Patrick’s Cathedral as well as the Apollo Theater. The group also headlined concerts in Atlanta at the old Municipal Auditorium, the Civic Center and churches across the city. Mr. Carter quit performing about five years ago, his wife said.

Both he and his wife had previous marriages, and Mrs. Carter said her brother-in-law, Edward Malcom Sr. of Temple, introduced her to Mr. Carter during a church performance in Alabama about 1972.

“I didn’t really want to talk to him too much,” said Mrs. Carter, who said she feared the tenor might be a Don Juan. “I said, ‘Why do you want to talk to me with all those ladies in Atlanta?’ He said there was just something about me he liked.”

She said her husband sang harmony for bigger gospel groups, such as the Blind Boys of Alabama, and wrote the Soul Searchers’ song “I Just Can’t Let My God Down” and other tunes. The Soul Searchers, who toured 46 states, often would leave Friday for performances and return early Monday morning, she said.

His day job was at Georgia Lighting Supply in Atlanta.

Besides his wife and their daughter, survivors include three other daughters, Grace Renea Turner, Carla Williams and Tammy October, all of Atlanta; six sons, Charles Williams, Shahid Amad, Bernard Williams and Leroy Carter, all of Atlanta, and Jeffery Carter of Newark, N.J., and Bruce Carter of Marietta; 18 grandchildren; and eight great-grandchildren.