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Carter Family

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Biography

about | the original Carter Family| the second generation band | The Carter Sisters Infobox musical artist| name = Carter Family| image = The Carter Family.jpg| caption = A.P., Maybelle and Sara Carter (L–R)| image_size = 5 by 10| background = group_or_band| origin = Maces Spring, Virginia | genre = American folk music|Traditional American folk music | years_active = 1927–1944| label =| associated_acts = Johnny Cash , Jimmie Rodgers | website =| past_members = A. P. Carter
Sara Carter
Maybelle Carter
Helen Carter
Anita Carter
June Carter Cash
Janette Carter
Joe Carter
The Carter Family was a American folk music|traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass music|bluegrass , country music|country , Southern Gospel , popular music|pop and rock music ians as well as on the Folk & blues revival|U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. They were the first vocal group to become country music stars. Their recordings of such songs as " Wabash Cannonball ", " Can the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By)|Can the Circle Be Unbroken ", " Wildwood Flower " and " Keep On the Sunny Side " made them country standards.cite book |title=The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock |last=Heatley |first=Michael |authorlink= |coauthors= |year=2007 |publisher=Star Fire |location=London, United Kingdom |isbn=978 1 84451 996 5

The original group consisted of A.P. Carter|Alvin Pleasant "A.P." Delaney Carter (1891–1960), his wife Sara Carter|Sara Dougherty Carter (1898–1979), and his sister-in-law Maybelle Carter|Maybelle Addington Carter (1909–1978). Maybelle was married to A.P.'s brother Ezra (Eck) Carter and was also Sara's first cousin. All three were born and raised in southwestern Virginia , where they were immersed in the tight harmonies of mountain gospel music and shape note singing.

Throughout the group's career, Sara Carter sang lead vocals; Maybelle sang harmony and accompanied the group instrumentally; on some songs A.P. did not perform at all but at times sang harmony and background vocals and once in a while, lead vocal. Maybelle's distinctive guitar playing style became a hallmark of the group.

History


The Carter Family made their first recordings on August 2, 1927.Interview with Maybelle Carter on Wildflower Pickin , Vanguard compact disc. A.P. had persuaded Sara and Maybelle the day before to make the journey from Maces Spring, Virginia , to Bristol, Tennessee , to audition for record producer Ralph Peer , who was seeking new talents for the relatively embryonic recording industry. They received $50 for each song they recorded.

In the fall of 1927, the Victor Talking Machine Company released a double-sided 78 rpm record of the group performing "Wandering Boy" and "Poor Orphan Child". In 1928, another record was released with "The Storms Are on the Ocean" and "Single Girl, Married Girl". This record became very popular.

On May 27, 1928, Peer had the group travel to the Victor Camden, New Jersey studios, where they recorded many of what would become their signature songs, including: "Meet me by the Moonlight Alone"; " Keep On the Sunny Side "; " Can the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By)|Can the Circle be Unbroken "; "Little Darling, Pal of Mine"; "Forsaken Love"; "Anchored in Love"; "I Ain't Goin' to Work Tomorrow"; "Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone"; " Wildwood Flower "; "River of Jordan"; "Chewing Gum"; and "John Hardy Was a Desperate Little Man".

The group did not receive any money for this effort and left with a contract that assured a small royalty for sales of their records and sheet music. "Wildwood Flower" in both vocal and instrumental forms has endured as a signature tune for traditional country and bluegrass artists. During a February 1929 session they recorded: "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes"; "My Clinch Mountain Home", "Sweet Fern"; "Grave on the Green Hillside"; "Little Moses"; "Don't Forget This Song"; and " Engine One-Forty-Three|Engine 143 ".

By the end of 1930 they had sold 300,000 records in the U.S. Realizing that he would benefit financially with each new song he collected and copyright ed, A.P. traveled around the southwestern Virginia area in search of new songs. In the early 1930s, he befriended Lesley Riddle|Lesley "Esley" Riddle , a black guitar player from Kingsport, Tennessee . Esley accompanied A.P. on his song-collecting trips. In June 1931, the Carters did a recording session in Louisville, Kentucky along with Jimmie Rodgers (country singer)|Jimmie Rodgers . In 1933, Maybelle met The Cook Family Singers at the World's Fair in Chicago and fell in love with their signature sound. She asked them to tour with the Carter Family.

Second generation


In the winter of 1938–39, the Carter Family traveled to Texas , where they had a twice-daily program on the border radio station XERA-AM|XERA (later XERF-AM|XERF ) in Villa Acuρa (now Ciudad Acuρa, Mexico ), across the border from Del Rio, Texas . In the 1939–40 season, the children of A.P. and Sara ( Janette Carter , Joe Carter) and those of Maybelle ( June Carter , Anita Carter , Helen Carter ) joined the group for radio performances, now in San Antonio, Texas , where the programs were prerecorded and distributed to multiple border radio stations. (The children did not perform however on the group's records). In the fall of 1942, the Carters moved their program to WBT (AM)|WBT radio in Charlotte, North Carolina , for a one-year contract. They occupied the sunrise slot, with the program airing between 5:15 and 6:15 a.m.

By 1936, A.P. and Sara's marriage had dissolved. Sara married A.P.'s cousin, moved to California , and the group disbanded in 1944.

Maybelle continued to perform with her daughters, Anita Carter|Anita , June Carter Cash|June , and Helen Carter|Helen , as "The Carter Sisters" (sometimes billed as "Maybelle Carter and the Carter Sisters" or "Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters"). Chet Atkins joined them playing electric guitar in 1949 until leaving in 1950.Atkins, Chet and Neely, Bill. (1974). "Country Gentleman". Chicago. Harry Regnery Company. ISBN 0-8092-9051-0. A.P., Sara, and their children Joe and Janette Carter|Janette recorded some material in the 1950s. The Carter Sisters reclaimed the name The Carter Family for their act during the 1960s and 1970s. Maybelle and Sara briefly reunited, recorded a reunion album, and toured in the 1960s during the height of folk music 's popularity. http://www.youtube.com/watch? v=GlFyGPNmOvI& mode=related& search Maybelle and Sara Carter in concert

In 1987, reunited sisters June Carter Cash and Helen and Anita Carter, along with June's daughter Carlene Carter , appeared as the Carter Family and were featured on a 1987 television episode of Austin City Limits along with Johnny Cash . http://www.pbs.org/klru/austin/artists/program170.html Johnny Cash with The Carter Family, Austin City Limits , 1987

Revivalist folksingers during the 1960s performed much of the material the Carters had collected or written. For example, on her early Vanguard Records|Vanguard albums, folk performer Joan Baez sang "Wildwood Flower", "Little Moses", "Engine 143", "Little Darling, Pal of Mine", and "Gospel Ship". The Carter Family Song "Wayworn Traveller" was covered by a young Bob Dylan , who wrote his own words to the melody and named it "Paths Of Victory"; this recording is featured on Bootleg Series Vol. 1-3 . After writing that song, he wrote new words to the melody and changed the time signature to 3/4, thus creating one of his most famous songs, " The Times They Are a-Changin' (song)|The Times They Are a-Changin' ".Goodman, Elizabeth. http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2007/01/04/in-which-we-all-want-to-be-bob-dylan/ "In Which We All Want To Be Bob Dylan". January 4, 2007. http://www.rollingstone.com.

Extended family



This family tree shows the extended Carter family through several generations.


Cash Carter Familytree

Legacy and musical style


As important to country music as the family's repertoire of songs was Maybelle's guitar playing. She developed her innovative guitar technique largely in isolation; her style is today widely known as the "Carter scratch" or "Carter style" of picking (see Carter Family picking ). While Maybelle did use a flatpick on occasion, her major method of guitar playing was the use of her thumb (with a thumbpick) along with one or two fingers. What her guitar style accomplished was to allow her to play melody lines (on the low strings of the guitar) while still maintaining rhythm using her fingers, brushing across the higher strings. Before the Carter family's recordings, the guitar was rarely used as a lead or solo instrument among white musicians. Maybelle's interweaving of a melodic line on the bass strings with intermittent strums is now a staple of steel string guitar technique. Flatpickers such as Doc Watson , Clarence White and Norman Blake (American musician)|Norman Blake took flatpicking to a higher technical level, but all acknowledge Maybelle's playing as their inspiration.

quote|It has been noted by that 'by the end of the twenties, Maybelle Carter scratch ... was the most widely imitated guitar style in music. Nobody did as much to popularize the guitar, because from the beginning, her playing was distinctive as any voice.'"|quoted in The Bristol Sessions: Writings About the Big Bang of Country Music (2005)Charles K. Wolfe, Ted Olson (2005). The Bristol Sessions: Writings About the Big Bang of Country Music , p.74. ISBN 0786419458.
The Carter Family was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970 and were given the nickname "The First Family of Country Music".cite web | last = Wolfe | first = Charles | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Carter Family | work = | publisher = Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum | date = | url = http://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/full-list-of-inductees/view/carter-family | format = | doi = | accessdate = February 17, 2010 In 1988, the Carter Family was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and received its List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients A-D|Award for the song "Will the Circle Be Unbroken". In 1993, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative List of people on stamps of the United States|postage stamp honoring A.P., Sara, and Maybelle . In 2001, the group was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor . In 2005, the group received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award .

Selected Discography


Selected 78 rpm Records


The Carter Family's career predated any sort of best-selling chart of country music records ( Billboard (magazine)|Billboard did not have a country best sellers chart until 1944). Below is a select list of their 78 rpm releases.

Bluebird Records
  • "Anchored in Love"

  • "I'll Be All Smiles Tonight"

  • " Keep on the Sunny Side "

  • "Little Moses"

  • "Mid the Green Fields of Virginia"

  • "My Clinch Mountain Home"

  • "Picture on the Wall"

  • " Wabash Cannonball "

  • " Wildwood Flower "

  • "Worried Man Blues"

  • Montgomery Ward Records
  • "Lonesome Pine Special"

  • "Two Sweethearts"

  • "Where We'll Never Grow Old"

  • Decca Records
  • "Coal Miner Blues"

  • "Hello Stranger"

  • "My Dixie Darling"

  • "You are My Flower"

  • Victor Records
  • "Bury Me Beneath the Weeping Willow"

  • "Foggy Mountain Top"

  • "Gold Watch and Chain"

  • "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes"

  • "Keep on the Firing Line"

  • "My Old Cottage Home"

  • "On the Sea of Gallee"

  • " The Church in the Wildwood "

  • "The Storms are on the Ocean"

  • Vocalion Records
  • "Broken Hearted Love"

  • "Can the Circle Be Unbroken"


  • Selected Vinyl Albums


    The long-playing album did not debut until several years after The Carter Family disbanded. Most of the full-length LPs issued on The Carter Family were budget albums as was traditional on most vintage recordings.

    Year Album Label
    1960 All Time Favorites ACME Records
    1963 Mid the Green Fields of Virginia RCA Victor Records
    1964 More Favorites by The Carter Family Decca Records
    1965 Great Sacred Songs Harmony Records
    1966 Home Among the Hills Harmony Records
    The Happiest Days of All RCA Camden Records
    1967 More Golden Gems
    1972 Lonesome Pine Special
    1973 My Old Cottage Home
    1974 Legendary Performers RCA Records


    Charted albums


    Year Album Top Country Albums>US Country Label
    1972 ''Travelin' Minstrel Band 44 Columbia
    1973 Mother Maybelle Carter 44
    1976 ''Country's First Family 49


    Rounder CD compilations


    Year Album Label
    1993 Anchored in Love: Their Complete Victor Recordings (1927–1928) Rounder Records
    1993 My Clinch Mountain Home: Their Complete Victor Recordings (1928–1929)
    1995 When the Roses Bloom in Dixieland: Their Complete Victor Recordings (1929–1930)
    1995 Worried Man Blues: Their Complete Victor Recordings (1930)
    1996 Sunshine in the Shadows: Their Complete Victor Recordings (1931–1932)
    1997 Give Me the Roses While I Live: Their Complete Victor Recordings (1932–1933)
    1998 Gold Watch and Chain: Their Complete Victor Recordings (1933–1934)
    1998 Longing for Old Virginia: Their Complete Victor Recordings (1934)
    1998 Last Sessions: Their Complete Victor Recordings (1934–1941)


    Singles


    Year Single Chart Positions Album
    US Country CAN Country
    1928 "Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow" — — singles only
    " Wildwood Flower " — —
    1929 "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes" — —
    1935 " Can the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By) " — —
    1971 "A Song to Mama" (with Johnny Cash ) 37 42 ''Travelin' Minstrel Band
    1972 "Travelin' Minstrel Band" 42 —
    "The World Needs a Melody" (with Johnny Cash) 35 55
    1973 "Praise the Lord and Pass the Soup"
    (with Johnny Cash & The Oak Ridge Boys )
    57 65 singles only
    "Pick the Wildwood Flower" (with Johnny Cash) 34 —


    Guest singles


    Year Single Artist US Country Album
    1963 "Busted" Johnny Cash 13Blood, Sweat and Tears


    Notes


    Reflist

    References


  • Among my klediments , June Carter Cash, Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan, 1979. ISBN 0-310-38170-3

  • In the Country of Country: A Journey to the Roots of American Music , Nicholas Dawidoff, Vintage Books, 1998. ISBN 0-375-70082-X

  • ''Will you miss me when I'm gone? : the Carter Family and their legacy in American music , Mark Zwonitzer with Charles Hirshberg, New York, Simon & Schuster, 2002


  • External links


    External links|date=August 2010
  • http://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/jul/carter/index.html Country Music's First Family

  • http://bluegrasslyrics.com/carter_index.cfm.htm Songs of the Carter Family

  • http://www.carterfamilyfold.org The Carter Family Memorial Music Center, Inc.

  • http://www.bluegrasswest.com/ideas/carter.htm Complete song texts of the original Carter Family 1927-1941

  • http://www.nativeground.com/carterfamily.asp Native Ground Music article

  • http://www.virginia.org/site/description.asp? AttrID=31750 Carter Family Fold, Hiltons, Virginia

  • http://www.friendsofthefold.com Friends of the Carter Family Fold

  • http://www.carterfoldlegacy.com The Carter Fold Legacy

  • http://www.hankwilliamsdiscography.com/p/carterfamily/ The Carter Family Discography


  • s-starts-ach|awsuccession box| before = Gram Parsons
    | title = Americana Music Association|AMA Presidents Award
    | years = 2004
    | after = John Hartford
    s-endJohnny Cash
    DEFAULTSORT:Carter Family Category:American country music groups
    Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees
    Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
    Category:International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor inductees
    Category:Liberty Records artists
    Category:Musical families
    Category:Musical groups established in 1927
    Category:Virginia culture
    Category:Vocalion Records artists
    Category:Family musical groups
    Category:Johnny Cash

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    Copyright Citations

    This article is licensed under the GNU License
    Click here for original article: Carter Family


    Carter Family Photo by: www.zipcon.net



          

     
       
     
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