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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 (LR)| image_size = 5 by 10| background = group_or_band| origin = Maces Spring, Virginia | genre = American folk music|Traditional American folk music | years_active = 19271944| 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 (18911960), his wife Sara Carter|Sara Dougherty Carter (18981979), and his sister-in-law Maybelle Carter|Maybelle Addington Carter (19091978). 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 193839, 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 193940 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 (19271928)
Rounder Records
1993
My Clinch Mountain Home: Their Complete Victor Recordings (19281929)
1995
When the Roses Bloom in Dixieland: Their Complete Victor Recordings (19291930)
1995
Worried Man Blues: Their Complete Victor Recordings (1930)
1996
Sunshine in the Shadows: Their Complete Victor Recordings (19311932)
1997
Give Me the Roses While I Live: Their Complete Victor Recordings (19321933)
1998
Gold Watch and Chain: Their Complete Victor Recordings (19331934)
1998
Longing for Old Virginia: Their Complete Victor Recordings (1934)
1998
Last Sessions: Their Complete Victor Recordings (19341941)
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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