Carlton's studio credits from the 1970s and early '80s include musicians and groups like Steely Dan, Joni Mitchell, Michael Jackson, Sammy Davis Jr., Herb Alpert, Quincy Jones, Bobby Bland, Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and literally dozens of others. Among his more notable projects as a session guitarist were Joni Mitchell's critically acclaimed Court and Spark and Hejira albums, Steely Dan's The Royal Scam album, and Donald Fagen's Nightfly album. For much of the 1970s, Carlton was active as a session guitarist, recording on up to 500 albums a year. Although he recorded a number of LPs under his own name as early as 1968's With a Little Help from My Friends (Uni), and 1973's Singing/Playing, he didn't land a major-label contract until 1978, when he signed with Warner Bros.
Carlton began taking guitar lessons when he was six. His first professional gig was at a supper club in 1962. After hearing Joe Pass on the radio, he was inspired to play jazz and blues. Wes Montgomery and Barney Kessel became important influences soon after he discovered the jazz guitar stylings of Pass. B.B. King and other blues guitarists had an impact on Carlton's style as well. He honed his guitar-playing skills in the clubs and studios of greater Los Angeles. He attended a local junior college and Long Beach State College for a year until the Vietnam War ended. Carlton toured with the Fifth Dimension in 1968 and began doing studio sessions in 1970. His early session work included studio dates with pop musicians like Vicki Carr, Andy Williams and the Partridge Family. In 1971, he was asked to join the Crusaders shortly after they'd decided to drop the word "Jazz'' from their name, and he remained with the group until 1976. In between tours with the Crusaders, he also did studio session work for hundreds of recordings in every genre. But it was while he with the Crusaders that he developed the highly rhythmic, often bluesy style he has now. His credits include performing on more than 100 gold albums. His theme music credits for TV and films include Against All Odds, Who's the Boss, and the theme for Hill Street Blues. The latter won a Grammy award in 1981 for Best Pop Instrumental Performance.
Carlton delivered his self-titled debut for Warner Bros. in 1978, shortly after he was recognized for his ground-breaking guitar playing on Steely Dan's Royal Scam album. (Carlton contributed the memorable guitar solo on "Kid Charlemagne", and the opening to "Don't Take Me Alive.") He released four more albums for Warner Bros., Strikes Twice (1980), Sleepwalk (1981), Eight Times Up (1982), and the Grammy-nominated Friends (1983), before being dropped from the label.
He continued studio session work and touring in between, emerging again in 1986 on MCA Records with an all-acoustic album, Discovery, which contained an instrumental remake of Michael McDonald's hit, "Minute by Minute." The single won a Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Performance in 1987. Carlton's live album, Last Nite, released in 1987, got him a Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Instrumental Performance.
While working on his next album for MCA, On Solid Ground, Carlton was the victim of random gun violence, and was shot in the throat by gun-wielding juveniles outside Room 335, his private studio near Burbank, California. The bullet shattered his vocal cord and caused significant nerve trauma, but through intensive therapy and a positive frame of mind, Carlton completed work on On Solid Ground in 1989. Carlton formed Helping Innnocent People (HIP), a non-profit group to aid victims of random gun violence.
Carlton's most recent albums include two releases in 1996 for GRP Records, Gift and With a Little Help from My Friends. His other recordings include 1990's Collection and 1992's Kid Gloves for the same label, Playing/Singing (1995, Edsel), and Renegade Gentleman, a 1993 release for GRP.
Despite the tragedy that was foisted on him in the late '80s, dragging him through a long and dark period of hospitalization and rehabilitation, Carlton's output over the years has been steady through the 1980s and 1990s. Carlton seems to have slowed down his touring schedule a bit, but certainly not his recording schedule. Always happy to meet with the press, Carlton has a sweet, peaceful personality, and one can hear it in his unique, rhythmic, warm guitar chords and ringing guitar tones.
Larry Carlton's niece is pop singer/songwriter Vanessa Carlton.
In My Blood
Larry Carlton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cause my state of mind
Someone dropped a potion
In my glass of wine
Get all exicited
I'm not the nervous kind
But I'm this way lately
Almost all the time
You came on like lightning
Came on like a flood
You came all over me, girl
You're in my blood
Love come like a rocket ship
Soarin' through the wind
Earthquake and a hurricane
Then it's gone again
I was on the borderline
Pushin' devils, luck
Just above the waterline
When the thunder struck
Can't turn off the lightning
Can't hold back the flood
Can't stay away from you, girl
You're in my blood
Turn off the lightning
Hold the flood
Stay away from you
'Cause you're in my blood
Turn off the lightning
Hold the flood
Stay away from you
'Cause you're in my blood
Somebody stop the motion
Cause my state of mind
Someone dropped a potion
In my glass of wine
Get all exicited
I'm not the nervous kind
But I'm this way lately
Almost all the time
Can't turn off the lightning
Can't hold back the flood
Can't stay away from you, girl
You're in my blood
You came on like lightning
Came on like a flood
You came all over me, girl
You're in my blood
Larry Carlton's song "In My Blood" is a love song that expresses the overwhelming power of love that the singer, the singer seems to be experiencing. He starts by stating that someone or something has laced his drink with something potent that has made him excited and anxious all the time. He then describes falling in love with someone who has come into his life "like lightning, like a flood" and doesn't seem to be able to help himself. The singer is comparing love to natural disasters like an earthquake or a hurricane that comes quickly and leaves just as swiftly. The singer, before this love affair, was living on the edge, just above the waterline and is now pushed over the edge by love.
The chorus repeats the sentiment that the singer is unable to stop the love he feels; it's in his blood, an integral part of him. He can't avoid the pull of this love or the effect it has on him. The song encourages him to "turn off the lightning, hold back the flood" as if he is trying to resist the inevitable pull of love. However, he realizes that he can't do it, it's too late, and she is "in my blood."
Line by Line Meaning
Somebody stop the motion
I need someone to help me slow down and pause my hectic life
Cause my state of mind
My mental well-being is deteriorating
Someone dropped a potion
I feel like I've been drugged or hypnotized
In my glass of wine
The source of my confusion and altered state comes from something I consumed, possibly alcohol
Get all exicited
I am becoming increasingly aroused and stimulated
I'm not the nervous kind
Although I'm feeling overwhelmed, it's not due to anxiety or nervousness
But I'm this way lately
This unusual state of being has been ongoing for some time now
Almost all the time
I can't shake this feeling, it's constantly with me
You came on like lightning
Your impact and presence in my life was sudden and intense, like a bolt of lightning
Came on like a flood
Your impact was not only sudden, but overwhelming like a flood of water
You came all over me, girl
You completely engulfed me with your presence and energy
You're in my blood
You have become such an integral part of my life that I can't escape you, you're a part of me
Love come like a rocket ship
Love arrived in my life suddenly and with incredible speed, like a rocket launch
Soarin' through the wind
Love took me on an exhilarating ride, like a rocket soaring through the atmosphere
Earthquake and a hurricane
Love shook me to my core and then washed over me like a storm
Then it's gone again
Despite the intensity, love was fleeting and didn't stick around
I was on the borderline
I was teetering on the edge of something, possibly madness or destruction
Pushin' devils, luck
I was recklessly tempting fate and engaging in dangerous behavior
Just above the waterline
I was barely keeping my head above water, in a precarious situation
When the thunder struck
Suddenly and without warning, something startling happened
Can't turn off the lightning
I can't stop the intense feelings and emotions that you bring out in me
Can't hold back the flood
I can't control or contain my emotions, they overwhelm me like a flood
Can't stay away from you, girl
Despite my best efforts, I can't resist you and keep coming back to you
Turn off the lightning
I wish I could stop feeling so intensely about you
Hold the flood
I wish I could control my emotions and not feel overwhelmed
Stay away from you
I wish I could avoid you and break free from this hold you have on me
'Cause you're in my blood
But I can't escape you, you are a part of me and always will be
Contributed by Bentley D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.