Though John Carter isn't a household name, many of his songs are.  "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat," "Beach Baby," and "Little Bit O' Soul" are just a handful of Carter's timeless pop confections.  His is also the familiar voice of The New Vaudeville Band's chart-topping "Winchester Cathedral."  Sunshine pop aficionados might know him best for "My World Fell Down," the spellbinding song he wrote for The Ivy League which was covered by Sagittarius (featuring Glen Campbell, Bruce Johnston, Gary Usher, and Terry Melcher).  It's now lent its title to a 4-CD anthology of the Carter oeuvre out now from Cherry Red's Grapefruit imprint.  My World Fell Down: The John Carter Story features a whopping 105 tracks (and more than five hours of music) drawn from the songwriter's various recording affiliations including singles, demos, deep cuts, and more.

While self-contained groups such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, and The Kinks were changing the U.K. pop landscape, Tin Pan Alley-style songwriters were still thriving on London's Denmark Street.  Mitch Murray, Geoff Stephens, Roger Cook and Roger Greenaway, and Tony Macaulay were just a few of the writers regularly placing songs on the pop charts.  John Carter, born John Shakespeare, was one of this prolific bunch.  Carter's first major partner was Ken Lewis (real name: Kenneth Hawker), and many of their collaborations are featured on the first disc of this set.  Signed to Noel Gay Music, the venerable firm set up by the Me and My Girl songwriter, and then Southern Music, the young twosome began recording their own material.  Carter, Lewis, and The Southerners recorded for various labels between 1961 and 1964; the session men comprising The Southerners included Clem Cattini, Big Jim Sullivan, and Jimmy Page (who's heard here on "Somebody Told My Girl," the B-side of "Your Momma's Out of Town").  Carter and Lewis kept busy singing backgrounds for the likes of The Who ("I Can't Explain") and Tom Jones ("It's Not Unusual") while placing songs with top artists including Herman's Hermits.  Carter and Lewis' demo of "Can't You Hear My Heartbeat," a No. 2 U.S. hit in 1965 for Peter Noone and his bandmates, is among the highlights on CD 1.

Soon, Carter and Lewis formed The Ivy League with Perry Ford.  All four of The Ivy League's U.K. hits are here: "Funny How Love Can Be" (No. 8, 1965), "That's Why I'm Crying" (No. 22, 1965), "Tossing and Turning" (No. 3, 1965), and "Willow Tree" (No. 50, 1966) as well as choice other cuts showcasing the group's resplendent three-part harmonies.  A 1966 single introduced the original "My World Fell Down" which inspired Sagittarius' even more stunning remake.  But the original group only released one LP, and Carter left The Ivy League in early 1966.  Lewis followed out the door around a year later, with Tony Burrows and Neil Landon replacing them.

During the period in which Lewis remained in The Ivy League, Carter teamed with songwriter Geoff Stephens to sing the demo of "Winchester Cathedral."  So convincing was his nostalgic vaudeville vocal that Stephens retained it for The New Vaudeville Band's hit single version.  Carter and Stephens jointly wrote The New Vaudeville Band's follow-up "Peek-a-Boo."  The U.K. No. 7 hit is also heard here in demo form.  Another studio outfit, The Flower Pot Men, reunited Carter and Lewis.  Their "Let's Go to San Francisco" was inspired by the American counterculture even though Carter admitted that he and Lewis had never heard the Bay Area bands the song sought to emulate.  The ambitious two-part single became a No. 4 hit in the U.K. and charted internationally despite not making much noise in the United States.  "San Francisco" opens the second disc of this collection along with two more Flower Pot Men tracks.  Carter and Lewis quickly relinquished the band to fellow songwriter Roger Greenaway, and before long, The Flower Pot Men had morphed into "My Baby Loves Lovin'" hitmakers White Plains.

Carter and Lewis continued toiling in their songwriting offices, with the majority of the second disc filled with demos of tunes that incorporated growing strains of psychedelia into their pure pop sound.  Carter and Lewis also extended their circle to writers including Russ Alquist and Peter Barnfather and began an association with the U.S.-based Kasenetz-Katz production company.  Kasenetz-Katz was perhaps the country's biggest purveyor of bubblegum pop; their Music Explosion covered Carter and Lewis' "Little Bit O' Soul" to huge success (No. 2 in the U.S., but sadly not included here) and they also helmed The Ohio Express, The 1910 Fruitgum Company, and Crazy Elephant (among others).  Carter and Lewis were now placing songs on both sides of the Atlantic.  They continued to use various aliases including The Carlew Choir, The Haystack, Stamford Bridge, and The Running Jumping Standing Still Band; rare singles by all of the above can be heard on CD 3.

The 1970s hardly saw John Carter slow down even as Ken Lewis was retreating due to health problems. Carter began writing with his wife Gillian, yielding hits for the mysterious Kincade ("Dreams Are Ten a Penny") - there's a story in and of itself about the singer who posed as Kincade without appearing on the original records - and The First Class.  Carter enlisted his old friend, prolific session vocalist Tony Burrows, for the project.  Their "Beach Baby" conjured the classic sound of The Beach Boys and charted both in the U.S. (No. 4) and the U.K. (No. 13); the joyful anthem is still an oldies radio staple today.  (The liner notes inform us that Cherry Red will soon be releasing a First Class anthology, shedding further light on their discography.)  The music of First Class brings My World Falls Down's fourth and final disc to an ebullient close in 1977.

There have been numerous other John Carter compilations from labels including Westside, RPM, and Rev-Ola, but Grapefruit's set is the most comprehensive.  Carter began releasing material from his archives in digital form in 2008; many of those tracks make their physical CD debuts on this collection, too.  The four discs are housed in a slipcase, and the enclosed 20-page booklet contains compiler David Wells' liner notes chronicling Carter's career and music.  Simon Murphy has remastered the audio.

John Carter's timeless pop songs have endured for the past sixty years and will continue to do so; anyone with an interest in mid-'60s pop will find a lot to like on this deep dive into his vaults.

Various Artists, My World Fell Down: The John Carter Story (Cherry Red/Grapefruit CRSEG108X, 2022) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

CD 1

1. Back On The Scene - Carter, Lewis, and The Southerners
2. Two Timing Baby - Carter, Lewis, and The Southerners
3. Here's Hopin' - Carter-Lewis
4. Poor Joe - Carter-Lewis
5. Tell Me - Carter, Lewis, and The Southerners
6. Sweet And Tender Romance - Carter, Lewis, and The Southerners
7. Somebody Told My Girl - Carter, Lewis, and The Southerners
8. Skinny Minnie - Carter, Lewis, and The Southerners
9. Easy To Cry - Carter, Lewis, and The Southerners
10. Can't You Hear My Heartbeat? (Demo)
11. What More Do You Want -The Ivy League
12. Funny How Love Can Be - The Ivy League
13. Lonely Room - The Ivy League
14. That's Why I'm Crying - The Ivy League
15. Tossing And Turning - The Ivy League
16. Our Love Is Slipping Away - The Ivy League
17. Running Round In Circles - The Ivy League
18. Don't Worry Baby - The Ivy League
19. One Little Smile (Demo)
20. It's Your Turn To Cry (Demo)
21. Winchester Cathedral (Demo)
22. Peek-A-Boo (Demo)
23. Willow Tree - The Ivy League
24. My World Fell Down - The Ivy League
25. White Collar Worker - Ministry of Sound
26. Back Seat Driver - Ministry of Sound
27. Time And Motion Man (Demo)
28. Little Ray of Sunshine (Demo)
29. Goodbye To Rosalie (Demo)
30. Publicity Girl (Demo)
31. Brown And Porters (Meat Exporters) (Demo)
32. Am I Losing You (Demo)

CD 2:

1. Let's Go To San Francisco Pts 1 and 2 - The Flower Pot Men
2. A Walk In The Sky - The Flower Pot Men
3. You Can Never Be Wrong - The Flower Pot Men
4. Mythological Sunday - Friends
5. Conversation (In A Station Light Refreshment Bar) (Demo)
6. Sunshine Girl (Demo)
7. Hip Hip Hooray (Demo)
8. My Sentimental Friend (Demo)
9. Knock Knock Who's There (Demo)
10. Birmingham Brass Band (Demo)
11. Geranium Pot (Demo)
12. A Good Talk To Myself (Demo)
13. She Won't Show Up Tonight (Demo)
14. The Cooks Of Cake And Kindness (Demo)
15. Blow Away (Demo)
16. Say Goodbye To Yesterday (Demo)
17. Children Of Tomorrow (Demo)
18. Rain Rain Rain (Demo)
19. Magic People (Demo)
20. Mr Light (Demo)
21. You're Playing With Fire - The Wheels
22. What's The Matter With Juliet - The Wheels
23. Midsummer Dreaming - John Carter & Russ Alquist

CD 3:

1. The Laughing Man - John Carter & Russ Alquist
2. Life Is Living (Demo)
3. Roberto Billow (Demo)
4. Sunday In The Park (Demo)
5. Three In The Morning (Demo)
6. Angels Get Out of Bed (Demo)
7. Love Equals Love (Demo)
8. When I Was Born (Demo)
9. Huma Luma - The Carlew Choir
10. Give A Hand To The Clown - The Carlew Choir
11. Aye-O - The Running Jumping Standing Still Band
12. Why Be Blue - The Running Jumping Standing Still Band
13. A Letter To Josephine - The Haystack
14. Tahiti Farewell - The Haystack
15. Pantomime People - The Haystack
16. A Night To Be Remembered - Dawn Chorus
17. Wish I Were a Child - Sweet Chariot
18. Going Round and Round (Demo)
19. Cowboy Convention - Ohio Express
20. Highway Of Your Dreams - Fat Man's Music Festival
21. Boats Of Angel Bay - Fat Man's Music Festival
22. Roly Poly - Stamford Bridge
23. Little Boy Blue - Stamford Bridge
24. Vicar's Daughter - Stamford Bridge
25. The Elephant Song - Philwit & Pegasus
26. Pseudo Phoney Mixed-Up Croney - Philwit & Pegasus

CD 4:

1. Radio One jingle #1 - Stamford Bridge
2. World Of Fantasy - Stamford Bridge
3. Radio One jingle #2 - Stamford Bridge
4. Move Out Of Town - Stamford Bridge
5. Mother Of Nature - Stamford Bridge
6. Sweet Talking Mama - Red Line Explosion
7. I Want To Be Where You Are - Scarecrow
8. Hello, Hello, Hello - Stormy Petrel
9. The Light Of Day - Stormy Petrel
10. Eyes Of Kazan - The London Boys
11. Mississippi Lady - Sequoia
12. Take Off - Kentucky Freeway
13. My Sweet Potato - Butterwick
14. Dreams Are Ten A Penny - Kincade
15. Big Hand For Annie - Kincade
16. Beach Baby - The First Class
17. Bobby Dazzler - The First Class
18. What Became of Me - The First Class
19. I Was Always A Joker - The First Class
20. Let It Roll - Pete Kircher
21. Oh California - Magic
22. I Was a Star - The First Class
23. Private Eye - Kincade
24. Too Many Golden Oldies - The First Class