KINGSTON, Jamaica —In 1981, Carl Carlton took his disco infused hit song She’s a Bad Mama Jama (She’s Built, She’s Stacked) straight into the Top 10 of the JBC Radio One Top 30 chart.

The song was also a Top 20 hit on the RJR Top 40.

She’s a Bad Mama Jama made Carlton a household name locally and the song continues to impact retro- themed parties.

Carlton passed away on December 14 at the age of 73. His son Carlton Hudgens II confirmed his death on Facebook.

“RIP Dad, Legend Carl Carlton, singer of She’s a Bad Mama Jama. Long hard fight in life and you will be missed,” Hudgens II wrote.

The cause of Carlton’s death was not revealed.

The R&B and funk star, born Carlton Hudgens, began his career under the moniker “Little Carl” Carlton.

Among his first singles were I Think of How I Love Her and I Love True Love, followed by So What and Don’t You Need a Boy Like Me.

The Detroit native’s cover of Robert Knight’s Everlasting Love, became his highest-charting hit, landing at No 6 on Billboard Hot 100 in November 1974. She’s A Bad Mama Jama also reached No 22 on the chart in 1981 and earned him a Grammy nomination for best R&B vocal performance, male.

During his career, Carlton released several albums, six of which charted on Billboard’s R&B Albums chart. The highest charting album is 1981’s Carl Carlton, which contained She’s a Bad Mama Jama.

His last album was 2010’s God Is Good.

On the Billboard Hot 100, Carlton charted five entries, with a cover of Everlasting Love soaring to #6 in 1974.

But, She’s a Bad Mama Jama is the song he is best remembered for. The song was certified gold in the United States. It also spent eight weeks at #2 on the Billboard R&B chart and is one of 16 entries that he charted.

She’s a Bad Mama Jama would 16 years later find a new audience, when rapper Foxy Brown and Dru Hill sampled it in their Billboard Hot 100 hit Big Bad Mama.

That song was featured on the soundtrack of the film How to Be a Player in 1997.