Carol Douglas facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Carol Douglas |
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Douglas in 1996
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Carolyn Strickland |
| Born | April 7, 1948 Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City |
| Genres | R&B, soul, disco |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, actress |
| Years active | 1970s–present |
| Labels | Midland Int'l, Midsong Int'l, Next Plateau |
Carol Douglas, born on April 7, 1948, is an American singer. She is famous for her hit song "Doctor's Orders" from 1974. This song was one of the very first big disco songs!
Contents
Early Life and Acting Career
Growing Up in New York City
Carol Douglas was born in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, New York City. Her mother, Minnie Newsome, was a jazz singer. Some people say Minnie was the inspiration for the famous song "Minnie the Moocher" by Cab Calloway. Carol's father worked as a mortician. The famous singer Sam Cooke was also her cousin.
When Carol was just 10 years old, she won a game show called Name That Tune. She said that Ebony magazine followed her career for the next three years!
School and Early Performances
Carol went to the Willard May School for professional children. Later, she attended Quintanos High School for young professionals. Some of her classmates were famous people like Gregory Hines and Patty Duke.
While in high school, Carol sang in a girl group called April May & June. They were managed by the group Little Anthony and the Imperials. In 1965, Carol recorded a song called "I Don't Mind (Being Your Fool)" for RCA Victor. She used the name Carolyn Cooke for this song.
Carol also sang jingles for TV commercials. She did voiceovers for toy companies like Ideal Toys and food companies like General Mills. Even with all this singing, Carol didn't think she would become a singer. For most of the 1960s, she focused on acting.
Acting on Stage and Screen
Carol appeared in an episode of The Patty Duke Show. She also acted in many plays. Her first play was One Tuesday Morning. Later, she was a backup actress for Jonelle Allen in an off-Broadway play. She also acted with famous actors like James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson in the play Moon on a Rainbow Shawl.
In the mid-1960s, Carol married her high school sweetheart, Ken Douglas. After that, she started singing again in the early 1970s. She toured with a group called the Chantels. With them, she recorded a song called "Some Tears Fall Dry" for Capitol Records.
Music Career and Disco Hits
Breaking into Disco Music
In 1974, Carol Douglas saw an ad in Showbiz magazine. Midland International Records was looking for a singer. The label's vice president, Eddie O'Loughlin, wanted someone to record the UK hit song "Doctor's Orders" for the U.S. market. Carol's audition went well, and she signed a five-year contract.
Her version of "Doctor's Orders" became a huge hit! It reached number 2 on the Billboard disco chart. It also hit number 9 on the R&B chart and number 11 on the Hot 100 pop chart. The song was also very popular in France, reaching number 4 there.
First Albums and Club Success
Carol released her first album, The Carol Douglas Album, in 1975. She followed it with Midnight Love Affair in 1976 and Full Bloom in 1977. While her songs were popular in clubs, they didn't always become big mainstream hits.
Her next single after "Doctor's Orders" was "A Hurricane Is Coming Tonite." It reached number 81 on the Hot 100 chart in April 1975. Carol had another number 1 hit on the disco chart with "Midnight Love Affair."
Carol also recorded disco versions of other popular songs. These included ABBA's "Dancing Queen" and "So You Win Again" by Hot Chocolate. In 1977, she sang "You Make Me Feel the Music" for a movie soundtrack.
Later Music and Saturday Night Fever
In 1978, Carol released her album Burnin'. This album included her version of the Bee Gees' song "Night Fever." This song became her only hit on the UK Singles Chart, reaching number 66.
Her 1979 album, Come into My Life, had only six songs. The single "I Got the Answer" was a small success in clubs. Even though Carol wasn't in the movie Saturday Night Fever, she was a big disco star. Her name even appeared on the sign of the disco club in the movie! You can also hear a small part of her song "Midnight Love Affair" playing in the background during a scene.
In 1981, Carol released a cover of the Three Degrees' song "My Simple Heart." She also lived in Paris for a while. Her last album, Love Zone, came out in 1983. It included her singles "My Simple Heart," "You're Not So Hot," "I Got Your Body," and "Got Ya Where I Want Ya." "You're Not So Hot" reached number 71 in France in 1982.
Career Resurgence and TV Appearances
Returning to the Stage
In the 1990s, there was a big interest in older music. This "retro-boom" brought Carol Douglas back to touring. She performed at many special events. These included the Martin Luther King Concert Series and Beatstock '97. She also attended the Saturday Night Fever 20th Anniversary Reunion and the Dance Music Hall of Fame ceremony.
In 2003, Carol went back into the recording studio. She sang backup vocals on Wanda Dee's CD Goddess Is Here!. During this time, she also re-recorded some of her own hit songs.
It's important not to confuse Carol Douglas with Carl Douglas. Carl Douglas is another singer famous for his hit song "Kung Fu Fighting." Their songs were popular around the same time, but they are not related.
On The People's Court
In 2003, Carol Douglas appeared on the TV show The People's Court. She was the person bringing a case against another disco singer, Sharon Brown. The judge, Marilyn Milian, ruled in Carol's favor for some of the money she asked for. The judge even asked Carol to sing a bit of "Doctor's Orders"! Sharon Brown also sang a part of her song "I Specialize in Love".
Discography
Studio Albums
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Record label | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US |
US R&B |
AUS |
SWE |
|||||||||||
| 1975 | The Carol Douglas Album | 177 | 37 | — | 49 | Midland Int'l | ||||||||
| 1976 | Midnight Love Affair | 188 | — | 71 | — | |||||||||
| 1977 | Full Bloom | 139 | — | 99 | — | Midsong Int'l | ||||||||
| 1978 | Burnin' | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| 1979 | Come into My Life | — | — | — | — | |||||||||
| 1983 | Love Zone | — | — | — | — | Next Plateau | ||||||||
| "—" means the recording did not chart or was not released there. | ||||||||||||||
Compilation Albums
- The Best of Carol Douglas (1980)
- Satin and Smoke: The Best of Carol Douglas (1981)
- Greatest Hits (1989)
- Doctor's Orders: The Best of Carol Douglas (1995)
- Disco Queen - Carol Douglas: Greatest Hits (1999)
- Hits Anthology (2011)
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US |
US R&B |
US Dan |
AUS |
BEL |
CAN |
GER |
NZ |
UK |
||||||
| 1974 | "Doctor's Orders" | 11 | 9 | 2 | 31 | 10 | 1 | 37 | 6 | — | The Carol Douglas Album | |||
| 1975 | "A Hurricane Is Coming Tonite" | 81 | — | — | — | — | 79 | — | — | — | ||||
| "Will We Make It Tonight" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Headline News" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Midnight Love Affair | ||||
| 1976 | "Midnight Love Affair" | 102 | — | 1 | — | — | 93 | — | — | — | ||||
| "Crime Don't Pay" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1977 | "Dancing Queen" | 110 | — | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Full Bloom | |||
| "I Want to Stay with You" | — | — | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Light My Fire" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| "We Do It" | 108 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 1978 | "Night Fever" | 106 | — | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | 66 | Burnin' | |||
| "So You Win Again" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| "Burnin'" | — | — | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||
| 1979 | "I Got the Answer" | — | — | 51 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Come into My Life | |||
| "Love Sick" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||
| 1981 | "My Simple Heart" | — | — | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | — | Love Zone | |||
| "—" means the recording did not chart or was not released there. | ||||||||||||||
See Also
- List of Billboard number-one dance club songs
- List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart
