Work-Life Balance Part 7: Living for the Weekend
Bobby Carter, a patient transporter at Duke Hospital, spends evenings and weekends as lead vocalist for a Motown and beach band.
Bobby Carter began a recent evening on stage with "Charlie," the six-member Motown and beach band he has been lead vocalist with for 19 years. As the night wore on, he worked the crowd, mingling with wedding guests, crooning songs like Teddy Pendergrass' "The Love I Lost" and Al Green's "Love and Happiness."
"I've been singing all my life," said Carter, 60, who works 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. driving patients between Duke Clinic and Duke Hospital in a large electric golf cart. "I've worked with great musicians like Curtis Mayfield and Betty Wright. Singing feels like my real job. I've done it longer than any nine-to-five job."
Although working full-time and travelling for performances nearly every weekend can be exhausting, Carter says music is invigorating. Five years ago, he took a break from the band and quickly realized it was a mistake. "I got bored, irritable and pretty hard to live with," he said.
"I was real happy when they asked me to come back."
He's content with his schedule, working as a patient transporter by day, rehearsing music Thursday nights and performing whenever he can."I dream of singing full-time, but maybe that's in the future," he said. "For now, I live for the weekends."
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