Carleen Anderson, an American soul singer, has enjoyed success in the United Kingdom. She is the daughter and step-daughter to Bobby Byrd and Jhelisa Anderson. She is best known for being the Young Disciples’ lead singer as well as her solo career. Anderson was raised in Houston, Texas by her paternal grandparents during the civil rights movement of the 1960s. Anderson was born to Vicki Anderson, a soul-soul singer and James Brown’s godfather. Anderson was briefly married in 1978, and they had a child. However, the marriage didn’t last. Anderson spent most of the 1980s living in California as a single mother and trying to launch her singing career. She had one major success, recording vocals in 1988 for Bobby Byrd’s song. In June 1990, Anderson decided to move to England with her son in order to start a new career. Anderson formed the Young Disciples, an Acid jazz band that Marc Nelson and Femi Wilkins joined. Road to Freedom (Talkin’ Loud 1991) was the group’s first album. It featured the breakout single Apparently Nothin’. (Talkin’ Loud 1992). Anderson was the group’s lead singer and keyboardist. She used her high profile to secure a solo recording contract with Virgin Records, in 1992. Anderson recorded backing vocals in 1992 for Paul Weller’s solo album. This was the beginning of a long friendship. Anderson was assisted by Weller in songwriting and production, which resulted in her first solo album, The Dusky Sapho EP (Circa/Virgin 1993). Anderson continued to provide backing vocals and guest vocals throughout this time for many other artists, including Bryan Ferry, Galliano, and Guru’s first Jazzmatazz volume. True Spirit (Circa/Virgin 1994), her first solo album, was moderately successful in both sales and critical acclaim. Anderson established a working relationship with Paul Weller when she provided backing vocals for his Stanley Road (Polygram 1995) and Heavy Soul (Polygram 1997). He worked with her to record her second solo album, Blessed Burden, (Circa/Virgin 1998). Although the album was a continuation of her professional development, it was her last for Virgin. After her departure from Virgin, Anderson was briefly the Brand New Heavies’ lead singer. This is ironic considering that both were American singers who rose to fame through British Acid jazz groups. Anderson continued to perform backing and guest vocals for other artists while she was working on her first album independently, Alberta’s Granddaughter, (Dusky Sappho Music 2002). This album was followed by the greatist hits album Up to Now: The Best of (Virgin 2004). Anderson then moved to Dome Records to release Soul Providence (Dome), 2005. 2006 will be largely spent touring in support of the album. Text contributed by users is available under Creative Commons By–SA License. It may also be available under GNU FDL.
