Slip Away – Clarence Carter | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#2) & R&B (#6); 1968
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
The first song cut at the soon-to-be-famous FAME studios on East Avalon Avenue in Muscle Shoals, Alabama was Steal Away by Jimmy Hughes. Backing Hughes on his 1964 #2 R&B smash was the first incarnation of FAME’s famed rhythm section.
The next generation of FAME players was the most famous of ’em all. Jimmy Johnson was the first employee hired by studio owner Rick Hall. He was soon joined by former bandmate in the Del Rays, Roger Hawkins.
Barry Beckett took over on keyboards, while David Hood – who’d played trombone behind Etta James on Tell Mama – manned the bass. Mama’s writer, Clarence Carter, later recorded Tell Daddy, his first single for Hall on the studio’s in-house label.
It and Carter’s next Fame release both peaked in the R&B Top 40, followed by the #20 Looking For A Fox (released on Atlantic). Clarence’s next release, Slip Away, became FAME’s biggest R&B disc since Steal Away, and a Top 10 pop hit to boot.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Rick Hall
Lyrics Written by:
- William Armstrong
- Marcus Daniel
- Wilbur Terrell
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).