Carole Fredericks
| Carole Fredericks | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Carole Denise Fredericks |
| Also known as | Carole Fredericks |
| Born |
June 5, 1952 Springfield, Massachusetts United States |
| Died | June 7, 2001 (aged 49) Dakar, Senegal |
| Genres | Gospel, Blues, Rhythm and blues, Rock, French Pop |
| Instruments | Voice |
| Years active | 1973–2001 |
| Labels | Sony/BMG M6 Interactions Carla Music |
| Associated acts |
Taj Mahal Fredericks Goldman Jones Les Enfoirés Poetic Lover Voix de L’Espoir Mylène Farmer Celine Dion |
| Website |
carolefredericksfoundation.org cdfmusiclegacy.com carolefredericks.net |
Carole Denise Fredericks (June 5, 1952, Springfield, Massachusetts – June 7, 2001, Dakar, Senegal) was an American singer most famous for her recordings in France. Carole emerged from the shadow of her brother, the legendary blues musicologist Taj Mahal, to achieve fame and popularity in Europe and the French-speaking world. For more than two decades Paris, France, was her adopted home and Dakar, Senegal, was her favorite vacation spot. Although Fredericks left her mother country, she never left her roots.
Steeped in the fertile music traditions of her parents, striving professionals from the Carolinas and the West Indies, she emerged as a powerful singer who wove the passionate threads of blues, jazz, gospel and R&B into a uniquely French tapestry. Between 1990 and 1996 she was in the trio Fredericks Goldman Jones alongside singer-songwriter Jean-Jacques Goldman and Welsh–French guitarist Michael Jones.
Carole Denise Fredericks was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, on June 5, 1952, the youngest of Mildred and Harry Fredericks' five children. Carole and her siblings were raised in Springfield and educated in the public school system. Her mother who was originally from Bennettsville, South Carolina, sang with Big Bands and on Sundays was the lead singer for a local gospel choir. Her father, the son of immigrants from the island of Saint Kitts, was a pianist and wrote arrangements for jazz trios. Carole grew up in a household filled with music from around the world. Her parents encouraged creative expression in all their children. Carole's brothers and sister developed careers in art, music, dance and theatre. Her eldest brother is Grammy-winning blues musician, Taj Mahal.
Her parents, who came of age during the Harlem Renaissance, instilled in their children a sense of pride in their West Indian and African ancestry through their stories. Carole never got to know her father. When she was two years old, he was killed in a construction accident, crushed by a tractor when it flipped over. This was an extremely traumatic experience for her at an early age and, although her mother would remarry later, the loss of her father left a painful void that remained with her the rest of her life.
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Wikipedia