Private Second Class John Edward Carter

Early Life

Raised on Chicago’s South Side, John Edward Carter’s musical roots began in his neighborhood church choir. John attended the First Tabernacle Beth El, which is part of the Church of God and Saints of Christ, a denomination that combines elements of Judaism, Christian Pentecostalism, and Black Nationalism, in the Bronzeville neighborhood on East 41^st Street.

It was in the church choir that he and his cousins Zeke Carey, Jake Carey, and Paul Wilson formed a group called the Swallows in 1949. After finding that a Baltimore, Maryland group already owned that name, they became the Five Flamingos, then the Flamingos. They started performing their close-harmony vocals, a style shaped by the Jewish music tradition of using minor chords, which set them apart from other musical groups. This style would later become known as doo-wop (named for its characteristic rhythmic nonsense syllables), on street corners and front steps. 

The Flamingos eventually had nine national chart-topping hits and had a key influence on Motown groups, including the Supremes and the Jackson Five. The group’s first big rhythm and blues (R&B) hit in 1956, “I’ll Be Home,” a ballad in which a serviceman promises to return to his love, reached number five on the R&B chart that year. Carter, known for his distinctive falsetto and as a tenor in the group, left to serve in the military soon after, in September 1956.

Homefront

On the south side of Chicago, where Carter grew up during World War II in the 1940s, a larger Second Great Migration brought another wave of Black southerners to his neighborhood and the broader city of Chicago, driven by wartime opportunities, economic hardship, and widespread racism in the South. 

From 1940 to 1960, the Black population in Chicago reached 850,000 and began to expand southward to 103^rd Street and eastward to Lake Michigan.  It was a bustling area of commerce and a growing Black youth community. Bronzeville, the neighborhood where Carter grew up, was the center of African American culture and business. 

Bronzeville, also known as the “Black Metropolis,” was well known for its jazz, blues, and gospel music, which developed with the migration of Southern musicians to the north. The Regal Theatre, which opened during the 1920s, hosted the country’s most talented Black entertainers. Bronzeville was also home to many prominent African American artists and activists, including Ida B. Wells, Louis Armstrong, Richard Wright, and Gwendolyn Brooks.

Military Experience

At the end of World War II, the Soviet Union gained control of the eastern portion of Germany while Britain occupied the northern section, France obtained a small region along its western border, and the U.S. controlled central and southern Germany. 

The Federal Republic of Germany, also known as West Germany, was established in 1949 during the Cold War as a result of increased tension between Western Allies and the Soviet Union. West Germany officially joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on May 6, 1955. West Germany had the highest concentration of military forces and frequency of exercises during this period to counter the Soviet military forces.  

John E. Carter entered the military on September 19, 1956.  Soon thereafter, he was sent to service in Germany, where he served as a cook for the U.S. Army for two years until 1958. Carter and other Americans were sent to West Germany to counter the Soviet military build-up. The concerted effort of all U.S. forces in Germany aligned with fulfilling the Cold War goals of promoting the “free world” and containing the expansion of communism. However, at the time Carter was in Germany, the short-term goals were centered more around rebuilding Germany after World War II.

Veteran Experience

Upon his return to Chicago, he discovered he had been replaced in the Flamingos. Although he missed the opportunity to sing on their popular tracks “Lovers Never Say Goodbye” and “I Only Have Eyes for You,” he did appear with them in the 1956 Alan Freed film Rock, Rock, Rock!, performing the song “Would I Be Crying.”

Four years later, in 1960, Carter joined the Dells, a Chicago-based group celebrated for their tight vocal harmonies, replacing the original tenor, Johnny Funches. Carter and the Dells performed as a backup band for acclaimed Rock and Roll Hall of Fame artists Dinah Washington and Ray Charles, touring with them for two years. 

The Dells successfully evolved from doo-wop to R&B over the years, maintaining their original lineup. Their upbeat song “There Is” (1968) became a significant hit, and “Stay in My Corner” (1968), featuring Carter, who shared lead vocals with Marvin Junior, soared to the top of the R&B charts.

The Dells are widely considered foundational figures in R&B harmony. The motion picture film The Five Heartbeats (1991) is loosely based on the Dells and their career. Their pioneering work paved the way for numerous successful groups, from classic acts like the Temptations, the Miracles, and the Stylistics to more contemporary R&B harmony groups like Boyz II Men, Jagged Edge, and 112. Carter is often regarded as one of the greatest tenor singers in pop music history and is one of only 13 other musicians to have been inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his membership in the Flamingos and the Dells. 

Carter continued to perform until he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2008. He passed away on August 21, 2009, at the age of 75. He is survived by five daughters, Ouida, Jewel, Tamia, Kenyetta, and Theia, and five grandchildren.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Cartwright, Garth. “Johnny Carter obituary.” The Guardian [Manchester, United Kingdom], October 18, 2009. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/oct/18/johnny-carter-obituary.

“Flamingos’ and Dells’ tenor John E. Carter dies at 74.” The Mercury News [San Jose, CA], August 23, 2009. https://www.mercurynews.com/2009/08/23/flamingos-and-dells-tenor-john-e-carter-dies-at-74/.

Grimes, William. “John E. Carter, Doo-Wop Falsetto, Dies at 75.” The New York Times [New York, NY], August 25, 2009. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/25/arts/music/25carter.html?_r=0.

Secondary Sources

Blavat, Jerry. “The Flamingos.” The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://rockhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/The_Flamingos_2001.pdf.

“Bronzeville: The Black Metropolis.” WTTW. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.wttw.com/dusable-to-obama/bronzeville.

Brooks, Marion. “Race in Chicago: The History of Redlining and How Race Has Shaped Our Lives.” NBC Chicago, September 2, 2020. https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/race-in-chicago-the-history-of-redlining-and-how-race-has-shaped-our-lives/2330400/.

“Germany and NATO.” North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/declassified_185912.htm.

“Illinois at War, 1941-1945.” The Office of the Illinois Secretary of State, 2024. https://www.ilsos.gov/departments/archives/teaching_packages/illinois_at_war/home.html.

“Johnny Carter.” Find a Grave. Updated August 23, 2009. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/41053261/johnny-carter.

“John Edward Carter.” Veterans Legacy Memorial, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.vlm.cem.va.gov/JOHNEDWARDCARTER/6EDDBF0.

Parziale, Joe. “Pullman During the World Wars.” Pullman National Historical Park, National Park Service. Last modified December 12, 2024. Accessed December 14, 2024. https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/pullman-during-the-world-wars.htm.

“US Army in Germany 1950s Photos.” U.S. Militaria Forum: Collectors Preserving History and Honoring Veterans. Accessed May 19, 2025. https://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/391456-us-army-in-germany-1950s-photos/.

This profile was funded by a grant from the United States Department of Veterans Affairs. The opinions, findings, and conclusions stated herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Department of Veterans Affairs.