Today’s Treat: Carl Anderson – Buttercup(0)
Buttercup is a jam by Carl Anderson and written by Stevie Wonder…
Carl Anderson was an extremely gifted and criminally underrated singer active in the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s….
he first came to prominence in the early 70’s when he orginated the role of Judas in the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar…he was passed over for the Broadway run in favor of Ben Vereen but was cast as the understudy….Vereen fell ill during the production and Carl played Judas on Broadway and on tour. When Vereen recovered, he and Anderson alternated the role…
When the film version of Jesus Christ Superstar was getting underway, Carl was cast as Judas for the film version…his performance in the film brought him rave reviews, acclaim, and awards…
Carl signed to Motown Records in the early 70’s, but no material was released on him…it was there that he met and became friends with Stevie Wonder…
In 1982, after parting ways with Motown, Carl released his debut album, Absence Without Love…his friend Stevie contributed Buttercup to the album…the album was produced by Minnie Riperton’s widower and fellow Wonder friend, Richard Rudolph…
the song was featured again on Carl’s 1985 CBS debut album, Protocol…
In 1985, Carl scored a huge hit with the song, Friends And Lovers, which was a duet with singer and actress Gloria Loring (Loring’s son is Robin Thicke)…
at the time, Loring was a cast member on the daytime soap Days Of Our Lives and the song became the show’s romantic theme…
Carl’s other big hit was his 1992 single, How Deep Does It Go…
Carl continued to act and sing on stage on record for the remainder of his life…
Carl died of leukemia 4 days shy of his birthday in 2004.
other Wonder freaks like myself love this rare groove…hopefully you’ll dig it, too…
I really dig the story in the lyrics…
RIP, Carl
