

After Scott was seriously injured in an auto accident, Carter continued as a solo singer, and recorded for the Fame label. The duo performed regularly in clubs in Birmingham, Alabama in 1966. In 1965, the duo recorded "Step by Step" at Rick Hall's FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals it was released on the Atlantic Records' subsidiary Atco label, but it also failed to chart.

After the 1962 release of "I Don't Know (School Girl)," the pair joined Duke Records, renaming themselves the C & C Boys and releasing four singles for the label, though none were commercially successful. His professional music career began with friend Calvin Scott, signing to the Fairlane label to release "I Wanna Dance But I Don't Know How", as Clarence & Calvin, the following year. Born blind in Montgomery, Alabama on January 14, 1936, Carter attended the Alabama School for the Blind in Talladega, Alabama, and Alabama State University in Montgomery, graduating in August 1960 with a Bachelor of Science degree in music.
