The Feel It Advent-ure 2025: Door 23

 

Carol Anderson is yet another singer whose recording career started in the 60s and limped on into the Disco era. She had just eight singles released in that time. She is revered on the Northern Soul scene for two records roughly ten years apart in their release dates – Taking My Mind Off Love and Sad Girl - and it’s fair to say, I think, if those records hadn’t been “discovered” by the Northern Soulies Carol would barely make a footnote in soul music’s history. In saying that I don’t deny she made a few good records (especially her earlier ones), but it’s just that so many artists on the scene back then did too, and for every one who caught a break and got a deal with a major label there were plenty who didn’t and their 45s on local labels were destined to receive just a few plays on local radio stations before disappearing into the ether, and the dead stock warehouses. We should be grateful to the dedicated soul diggers who would eventually plunder those warehouses and shine a light on them.

Taking My Mind Off Love is a Northern Soul monster, and due to it’s rarity and its Northern appeal commands a four figure valuation. It was apparently released in 1968 on the obscure Detroit label Whip, although there is a comment on Discogs stating a 1964 recording date. It sounds more like 1968 to me though and the backing singers remind me of some of The Parliaments’ tracks recorded around that time, also a Detroit based group of course.

I’m banging on about this Whip single but of course I don’t own a copy, it being way out of my league value wise. But I have been attracted to one of Carol’s early 70s singles which I could afford. You Boy/Holding On was released in 1972 on Mid-Town which I believe was owned by Carol’s mum, Essie.

The winter of 1983/4 would prove to be a tragic time for the Anderson family, Essie passed away on Christmas Day 1983 (cancer is often quoted as the cause, but it was more likely diabetes?) and three months later Carol succumbed to cancer.

Carol Anderson – Holding On 1972