Mariah Carey, The #14 Artist of the Rock Era, Part One

"This woman is gold.  She is I-N-C-O-M-P-A-R-A-B-L-E!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Her voice cuts straight through the very fabric of my soul."

"One of the greatest vocalists of all time."

"Mariah's catalog is timeless."

"I loved young Mariah".

"I miss the Mariah Carey of 1990-1995."

"A voice that touches the soul."

"Forever an inspiration and talent."

"One-of-a-kind incredible voice."

"Untouchable singer and talent unequalled."

"Pure magic with soulful vocals and heartfelt lyrics."

"A legend. Absolutely fantastic."

"You genuinely forget how good she was, incredibly talented, voice that takes your breath away"

"Eternally epic."

"Mariah is a LEGEND!"

"Her voice is just phenomenal."

"Mariah's earlier music is just golden."

"Her vocal talent is just inhuman."

"Pure talent indeed!!  I'm just sad because I feel she somehow lost her way."

"Her old songs are my favorite ones of all times ... her new  songs are unbearable to me."

"Her voice is unbelievable."

"She is awesome!"

"This woman is talented beyond belief."

"What a beautiful gift. Thank you God for Mariah!"

"She has the voice of an angel."

"Love Mariah in the 90's--great voice."

"Her sounds really touch the heart."

With a five-octave vocal range, she could sing anything she wanted and showed unprecedented potential early in her career:

Mariah Carey was born on March 27, 1970 in Huntington, New York.  She was named after the song "They Call the Wind Maria" from the classic Broadway musical and movie Paint Your Wagon.  After her parents divorced, Mariah's mother worked several jobs to support the family.  Mariah began singing at the age of three, imitating her mother Patricia, who was an opera singer.

Carey excelled in music and literature and began writing poetry and lyrics while at Harborfields High School in Greenlawn, New York.  She began vocal training with the help of her mother. 

Soon, Mariah began working with Ben Margulies to write songs for her demo tape.  "We needed someone to play keyboards for a song I did with Gavin Christopher," Carey told Fred Bronson of Billboard.  "We called someone and he couldn't come, so by accident we stumbled on Ben," she said.  "Ben came to the session, and after that day, we kept in touch, and we just sort of clicked as writers."  Carey moved to New York City and worked several jobs to pay living expenses--she completed 500 hours of beauty school.  

Mariah eventually got a job singing backup for Brenda K. Starr.  In 1988, Carey went with Starr to a gala with CBS record executives and gave her demo tape to Tommy Mottola, leader of Columbia Records.  Mottola listened to the tape on the way home and was so impressed that he had the driver turn around and go back to the event.  Carey had already left, and Mottola spent the next two weeks looking for her.  Finally, Mottola signed Carey to a recording contract and brought in experienced producers Narada Michael Walden, Rhett Lawrence, and Ric Wake.  Immediately, promoting Carey was the #1 priority for the label.

In 1990, Carey released her self-titled debut album.  Carey recorded one of the songs on her demo tape at Skyline Studios in New York City.  Co-producer Rhett Lawrence, who also played keyboards, used the previously-recorded vocal as background vocals for the song.  

"Vision Of Love" is one of The Top Debut Singles in the Rock Era*, as it catapulted Mariah to stardom immediately and introduced us to her use of the whistle register, or melisma.  It was an across-the-board #1 (#1 Adult Contemporary for three weeks, #1 Popular for four weeks and #1 R&B for two weeks) in the U.S., also reached #1 in Canada and New Zealand and was a Top 10 smash in nearly every country in the world.  The single sold over two million copies.

Carey captured Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Vision Of Love", while she won Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female, with "Vision Of Love" nominated in the prestigious categories of Record of the Year and Song of the Year and the album nominated for Album of the Year. 

"Love Takes Time", also written by Mariah and Ben, made it onto the album almost by accident.  Carey was going to save it for her second album and work on her debut was nearly completed.  She played it on an airplane to Don Ienner, CEO of Columbia Records and after he heard it, Ienner insisted it be included on her debut.  

The decision was so last-minute that the song wasn't listed on the first copies of the album that were pressed.  "(On) some of the original first copies of the record, they didn't have time to print the name of the song," Margulies told the Wayback Machine.  "And so the song's on there, but it doesn't say that it's on there," he continued.  "It was a song that actually was strong enough to stop the pressing."

Carey was overlooked in a blunder for New Artist of the Year (they gave the award to Vanilla Ice!) and Favorite Pop (Rock) Female Artist, and was nominated for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist her first year as well.  "Love Takes Time" matched "Vision Of Love" as a triple #1 (#1 for three weeks overall) and went Gold.

Carey's third single was another taken from her original demo tape.  Producer Ric Wake said that it was his favorite song from the beginning of recording sessions.  "I loved that song right from the beginning," he told Chris Nickson for the 1998 book Mariah Carey Revisited:  An Unauthorised Biography.   "Then Mariah called me one day and said 'I'd love to do it if you want me to do it'".  "Someday" topped charts in the U.S. and Canada and also sold over one million copies and it was nominated for an American Music Award for Favorite Dance Single.

Thanks to three #1 singles, the album rose to #1 for 11 weeks, was the top-selling album of the year, and has now sold over 15 million copies worldwide.  But Mariah wasn't done.  

 

She wrote this song with Narada Michael Walden.  "The label was very excited for me to work with him because of his collaborations with hugely successful vocalists," Carey said in liner notes of the 2015 compilation #1 To Infinity.

"I Don't Wanna' Cry" also rocketed to #1 on both the more important Adult Contemporary chart as well as overall and reached #2 in Canada.  It tied Mariah with the Jackson 5 as the only artists in history to reach #1 with each of their first four singles.

 

Early on, Mariah became involved with the Fresh Air Fund and co-founded Camp Mariah in Fishkill, New York which enables youth from the inner cities to embrace the arts and introduces them to career opportunities.  There are several other worthy cuts on this smashing debut--here is "There's Got To Be A Way".

Carey won Billboard Music Awards for Top pop Artist, Top Adult Contemporary Artist, Top Hot 100 Singles Artist and Album of the Year.  

Mariah wrote this one with Margulies as well--"All In Your Mind".

"Vanishing" is near the top of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.  Never released as a single, Mariah gave another stupendous vocal performance.  

Mariah co-wrote and co-produced her sophomore album, Emotions, which was released in 1991.  She brought in Walter Afanasieff as well as Robert Clivilles and David Cole from the group C + C Music Factory to assist.  

The title song was the perfect vehicle to show off Carey's amazing range.  In her performance at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards, she hit a G-sharp three-and-a-half octaves above middle C, which was one of the highest notes produced by a human voice in the history of music.  

When the title song reached #1, Carey became the first artist in history to score #1 singles with each of their first five released.  "Emotions" has sold over two million singles to date and Carey earned a Grammy nomination for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female for the song and Producer of the Year, Non-Classical, for the album.  

Afanasieff, who produced "Love Takes Time" for Mariah, co-wrote this after her songwriting relationship with Margulies ended when she refused to give him more of a percentage of her immense royalties.  

"Can't Let Go" stopped just short at #2, although it was a huge AC #1.

 

Mariah wrote one of her most inspirational songs that was the next single.  "I'll always remember recording it," she told the magazine Blues & Soul in October of 1995:

         It was four in the morning at the studio and I

           was messing around at it and David (Cole, 

           producer) was actually asleep at the board.

           We used to work non-stop.  Then when I

           came up with the part that goes "If you believe

           in your soul", David woke up and put his hand

           in the air and just said "Yes!".  

Mariah won an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist and was nominated for Favorite Pop (Rock) Female Artist.  "Make It Happen" is a bit underrated at #5 in the U.S. and #7 in Canada.

This twist on the album was originally a jazz instrumental, written by Russell Freeman in the 1950's, according to Chris Nickson's book Mariah Carey:  Revisited.  Nickson wrote, "Walter Afanasieff had discovered [the song] on a record by the pianist Keith Jarrett."  "When Walter played it for Mariah," Nickson continued, "the melody touched her, inspiring a gorgeous set of lyrics about a friend who had died in a drunk-driving accident."  Here is "The Wind".

 

The album has now sold over eight million copies.  In lieu of a world tour, Carey appeared on MTV Unplugged, performing the Jackson 5's cover song "I'll Be There".  The song was released as a single and it too went to #1, leading to the release of the show as an EP.  Carey's Unplugged has been certified Triple-Platinum and has topped seven million in sales worldwide.

Carey won American Music Awards for Favorite Pop (Rock) Female Artist and Favorite Adult Contemporary Album and she was nominated for Favorite Adult Contemporary Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Female Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Pop (Rock) Single (for "I'll Be There".  Carey was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female at the Grammy Awards. 

 

"If It's Over" is the result of an idea Carole King had to collaborate with Mariah.  "She called and wanted me to do a cover of 'Natural Woman'" (a song King wrote that was made popular by Aretha Franklin), Carey told New York Magazine in September of 1991.  "I didn't want to, because Aretha's one of my idols and that's an untouchable performance," Carey said.  So King flew to New York City from her home near Stanley, Idaho and spent a day improvising with Mariah.  The two superstars wrote "If It's Over" in about an hour and a half.

She was phenomenal in those early years.  Catch Part Two of Mariah Carey on Inside The Rock Era!