John Carter (musician)
| John Carter | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | John Nicholas Shakespeare |
| Born | 20 October 1942 |
| Origin | Small Heath, Birmingham, England |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter, record producer |
| Instruments | Vocals, piano |
| Years active | 1960s–present |
John Nicholas Shakespeare (born 20 October 1942), known as John Carter, is an English singer, songwriter, and record producer.
Mainly popular in the 1960s and early 1970s, Carter's craftsmanship can be heard at work with:
Carter met his future songwriting partner Ken Hawker at school. They formed a skiffle band in the 1950s called LVI. It was then they began writing songs together: "We began to write real Buddy Holly take-offs. Which was good, it got us excited about songwriting." In 1960 the duo went to London and presented themselves under their songwriting pseudonyms John Carter and Ken Lewis. Terry Kennedy became their manager and convinced them to start their own band as an outlet for their songs. In 1961 the first single by Carter-Lewis and the Southerners was released, "Back on the Scene". But the band never broke through and their main claim to fame remains a brief stint that Jimmy Page did as their lead guitarist. In 1964 they met Perry Ford, who worked as an engineer in a small recording studio in Denmark Street, London. They noticed their voices blended well and started recording demos together, resulting in a single on Pye Records, "What More Do You Want" as the Ivy League. Their luck changed when Herman's Hermits recorded "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat" and took it to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. In the UK it was a smaller hit for Goldie and the Gingerbreads.
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