Clarence Carter, the blind Southern soul singer whose raw, direct voice powered “Slip Away” and “Patches,” died Wednesday at 90.

Reports indicate Carter died on May 14 after a diagnosis of Stage 4 prostate cancer and a battle with pneumonia and sepsis. Rolling Stone first reported his death, according to the news signal. The loss lands hard for fans of Southern soul, where Carter carved out a sound that felt plainspoken, bruised and deeply human.

Key Facts

  • Clarence Carter died on May 14 at age 90.
  • He was known for the hits “Slip Away” and “Patches.”
  • Reports indicate he had Stage 4 prostate cancer.
  • Sources also point to pneumonia and sepsis in his final illness.

Carter stood apart in an era crowded with giant personalities. He did not need ornament or mystery; he delivered songs with force and clarity. “Slip Away” and “Patches” turned him into a chart force in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and they also cemented his place in a tradition that prized emotional truth over polish.

Clarence Carter sang Southern soul with a voice that sounded lived-in, wounded and impossible to mistake.

His death also revives attention to a career that reached far beyond two signature songs. Even in a crowded field, Carter remained instantly recognizable, a singer who could make heartbreak sound blunt and survival sound hard-won. For listeners who came to soul through radio hits, he offered an entry point; for longtime fans, he represented the genre’s unvarnished core.

Now the focus shifts to how Carter’s music will continue to travel after him. His best-known recordings still carry the weight of the era that produced them, but they also speak to something durable: plain emotion, delivered without disguise. That matters because artists like Carter do more than fill a playlist — they define the emotional vocabulary of American music long after the charts move on.