Wayne Carter

1960s-1970s soul artist active in Decatur, Illinois.

Wayne Carter was born in Carol County, Tennessee in 1936. When he was around eight years old, his father bought a piano for the family. Wayne taught himself to play songs he learned from the radio. By the time he was fifteen he left home to play in the Buster "B.W." Morrison Band. They played in Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, and Illinois. During the following years Wayne played with the Nat Story Band and the Billy Ray Band. In the early 1960s Wayne and family moved to Decatur, Illinois where he bought an A 100 Hammond Organ and started up his own band: Wayne Carter & The Organ Twisters.

During the late 1960s Wayne joined drummer Virgil "Pat" Patton as a duo called Wayne Carter Duo. They played on the road for five or six years when Wayne finally bought his own B3 Hammond Organ. On a trip back from Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Wayne picked up the yellow pages and called a local studio to arrange a recording session. The Mootrey's studio was a "custom" studio, owned and operated by Chet Mootrey. Nobody knows exactly who the Organ Twisters were for Peter In Or Out b/w Let's Run Away From The World, except that it was an eleven-piece, all black band.

The line-up on Wahoo, Wahoo, Wahoo b/w Mad Mouth Woman is a bit clearer: Virgil Patton on drums, Luther Taylor on tenor sax, and Wayne on organ. Wayne was a Supper Club musician, which meant, "Funk was not permitted." This standard precluded him from selling his record at gigs. So he tucked his records away, handing out a few to friends and family without any professional distribution. Wayne remained active in the music business and has played in several different band projects. Today, he is playing with a group called the Dan Rivero Band.