Clarence Carter is best known to modern audiences for his ribald "Strokin'," a synthesized piece of silliness cut two decades after his prime. His career, however, dates back to the early 60's when he cut numerous hits for Atlantic Records. Carter was capable of deep pathos ("Patches") in addition to more libidinous emotions, though songs of cheating and cocksmanship always dominated his repertoire. His gruff, expressive voice - supported by the celebrated Muscle Shoals rhythm section - transformed "Slip Away," "Making Love (At The Dark End Of The Street)," and "Too Weak To Fight" into instant soul classics.

Snatchin' It Back: The Best Of Clarence Carter (Rhino, 1992) includes those songs and a bunch more, including Carter's impossibly nasty Yuletide ode, "Back Door Santa." After "Patches" (1970), Carter never reached the Top 40 again, and he began bouncing from label to label. In the 80's, he found a home at Ichiban Records and became a fixture on the down-and-dirty southern blues circuit. This racy later work (including two versions of "Stokin'") is collected on The Best of Clarence Carter: The Doctor's Greatest Prescriptions (Koch, 2001).