A. P. Carter
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Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter (December 15, 1891 – November 7, 1960) was an American musician and a founding member of the
Carter Family The Carter Family was an American folk music group that recorded and performed between 1927 and 1956. Regarded as one of the most important music acts of the early 20th century, they had a profound influence on the development of bluegrass, c ...
, one of the most notable acts in the history of
country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...
. A.P. suffered from a tremor in his right hand, which his mother ascribed to a lightning strike when she was pregnant. Despite this, he successfully learned to play the fiddle and guitar during his childhood. A.P., Sara, and Maybelle Carter started the Carter Family with Maybelle's husband and A.P.'s brother, Ezra, as manager in 1927. They played up until Sara and A.P.'s divorce in 1936, but reunited in 1956.


Biography

A.P. Carter was born to Robert C. Carter and Mollie Arvelle Bays in
Maces Spring, Virginia Maces Spring is a small unincorporated community in Scott County, Virginia, United States, along State Route 614, in an area known as Poor Valley. The settlement consists of a small number of houses. There are no longer any stores in Maces Sprin ...
, an area in what is now
Hiltons, Virginia Hiltons is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Scott County, Virginia, United States. It is part of the Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is a component of the Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA Combined Statistical A ...
, located in Poor Valley. A.P. was sometimes called "Doc." On June 18, 1915, he married Sara Dougherty; they had three children: Gladys (Millard), Janette (Jett), and Joe. In 1927, he formed the
Carter Family The Carter Family was an American folk music group that recorded and performed between 1927 and 1956. Regarded as one of the most important music acts of the early 20th century, they had a profound influence on the development of bluegrass, c ...
band together with his wife. They were joined by Sara's cousin, Maybelle, who was married to A.P.'s brother,
Ezra Carter Ezra J. Carter (also known as Eck Carter; October 21, 1898 – January 22, 1975) was a member of the Carter Family of Virginia. Ezra Carter managed the Carter Family, a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. He ...
(father of
June Carter Cash Valerie June Carter Cash (June 23, 1929 – May 15, 2003) was an American country singer and songwriter. A five-time Grammy Award–winner, she was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash. Prior to her marria ...
). Since A.P. worked as a traveling salesman, Carter was known for traveling extensively throughout Central Appalachia. His home in Poor Valley, in deep southwestern Virginia, is centrally located among eastern Tennessee, western North Carolina, eastern Kentucky, and southeastern West Virginia. (The distance from Maces Spring to the state lines of each of those four other states is less than 25 miles). Carter was often accompanied by his friend Lesley Riddle, collecting and blending songs, particularly from
Appalachia Appalachia ( ) is a geographic region located in the Appalachian Mountains#Regions, central and southern sections of the Appalachian Mountains in the east of North America. In the north, its boundaries stretch from the western Catskill Mountai ...
n musicians, and from attending church services in many isolated localities, the source of the Carter Family's many religious songs. Some of the songs became so closely identified with A.P. Carter that he has been popularly, but mistakenly, credited with writing them. For example, " Keep on the Sunny Side of Life" was published in 1901 with the words being credited to Ada Blenkhorn and the music credited to Howard Entwisle, and "The Meeting in the Air" has been published with credit given for music and words to I.G. Martin. In a case of perfect timing,
Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became ...
was very interested in 1927 in widening the scope of its recordings and records so as to sell more of their record players, called "
Victrola The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became ...
s". Victor Records sent a "mobile" recording team around the country, seeking popular music. One of their stops was in
Bristol, Tennessee Bristol is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 27,147 at the 2020 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The boundary be ...
, just a few miles from Maces Spring, and the Carter Family went there to record some songs, which soon became popular country-wide. A.P. and Sara separated in 1932, in part as a result of Sara's having an affair with A.P.'s cousin—A.P. was away from home for long periods in his job as a traveling salesman—and his search for new musical ideas. They divorced in 1939. The band remained together for several years afterwards, but broke up in 1943. While Maybelle and her daughters continued to tour as the Carter Family, A.P. left the music business to run a general store in Hiltons, Virginia. left, A. P. Carter Store, which A.P. ran after retiring from the music business Beginning in 1952, A.P. reunited with Sara, along with their children Janette and Joe, to record for the Kentucky based Acme Records. The majority of these recordings were made in the same building in Bristol where the original family first recorded in 1927. The new Carter Family was featured on stations such as WCKY, WWVA, KXEL, and many more. The family also appeared on a national CBS program. These records would prove to be A.P. Carter's final recordings, with records with the new lineup being made well into 1956. A.P. Carter died in Kingsport, Tennessee, on November 7, 1960, after long illness, at the age of 68. He was buried in the
Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church Mt. Vernon Methodist Church is a historic United Methodist Church, Methodist church in Maces Spring, Virginia, Maces Spring, Virginia, United States. It was built about 1895 and is a one-story, rectangular frame structure with gable roof and sim ...
cemetery in the Maces Springs area of Hiltons, Virginia.


Legacy

Despite dying in relative obscurity, A. P. Carter was inducted into the
Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame was established in 1970 by the Nashville Songwriters Foundation, Inc. in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. A non-profit organization, its objective is to honor and preserve the songwriting legacy that i ...
in 1970. Carter was inducted as part of the
Carter Family The Carter Family was an American folk music group that recorded and performed between 1927 and 1956. Regarded as one of the most important music acts of the early 20th century, they had a profound influence on the development of bluegrass, c ...
in the
Country Music Hall of Fame The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, is one of the world's largest museums and research centers dedicated to the preservation and interpretation of American vernacular music. Chartered in 1964, the museum has amass ...
in 1970. In 1993, his image appeared on a U.S. postage stamp honoring the Carter Family. In 2001 he was inducted posthumously into the
International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor For a professional in the bluegrass music field, election to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame is the highest honor the genre can bestow. An invitation can be extended to performers, songwriters, promoters, broadcasters, musicians, a ...
. The song "A.P. Carter" by the
Phipps Family The Phipps family of the United States is a prominent American family that descends from Henry Phipps Jr. (1839–1930), a businessman and philanthropist. His father was an English shoemaker who immigrated in the early part of the 19th century ...
is dedicated to A.P. and was released in 1962.
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
aired a one-hour show on A.P. Carter and the Carter Family in 2005 on ''
American Experience ''American Experience'' is a television program airing on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. The program airs documentaries, many of which have won awards, about important or interesting events and people in American his ...
'' titled "Will The Circle Be Unbroken". In recent years,
Barter Theatre Barter Theatre, in Abingdon, Virginia, opened on June 10, 1933. It is the longest-running professional Equity theatre in the United States. History Concept In 1933, when the United States was in the middle of the Great Depression, many peo ...
in
Abingdon, Virginia Abingdon is a town in and the county seat of Washington County, Virginia, United States, southwest of Roanoke. The population was 8,376 at the 2020 census. The town encompasses several historically significant sites and features a fine arts a ...
, has performed a play by Douglas Pote based on A.P.'s life, called ''Keep on the Sunny Side'' . On her 2008 album ''
All I Intended to Be ''All I Intended to Be'' is the 25th studio album from Emmylou Harris and her third release on Nonesuch Records. It was released in the United States on June 10, 2008. The album debuted at number 22 on the Billboard 200, and number four on Top C ...
'',
Emmylou Harris Emmylou Harris (born April 2, 1947) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, bandleader, and activist. She is considered one of the leading music artists behind the country rock genre in the 1970s and the Americana (music), Americana genre ...
includes the song "How She Could Sing the Wildwood Flower", co-written with
Kate and Anna McGarrigle Kate McGarrigle (February 6, 1946 – January 18, 2010) and Anna McGarrigle (born December 4, 1944) were a duo of folk rock and country folk Canadian singer-songwriters (and sisters) from Quebec, who performed together until Kate's death in 2 ...
, about the relationship between A.P. and Sara, inspired by a documentary that the three of them saw on television. The song " When I'm Gone", written by A.P. Carter and performed by the Carter Family in 1931, was revived in 2009 when Lulu and the Lampshades created a reworked version, using the
cup game The cup game is a children's clapping game that involves tapping and hitting a cup using a defined rhythm. The game can be played by many players seated around a table and is often played in large groups. Each player possesses a cup and in unison ...
as percussion, titled " Cups (When I'm Gone)," which in turn was famously covered by
Anna Kendrick Anna Cooke Kendrick (born August 9, 1985) is an American actress. Known for playing upbeat and endearing characters in comedies and musicals, List of awards and nominations received by Anna Kendrick, her accolades include nominations for an Aca ...
for her 2012 film "
Pitch Perfect ''Pitch Perfect'' is a 2012 American musical comedy film directed by Jason Moore and written by Kay Cannon. It features an ensemble cast, including Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Rebel Wilson, Adam DeVine, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, Hana M ...
". The A. P. and Sara Carter House,
A. P. Carter Homeplace A. P. Carter Homeplace is a historic home located at Maces Spring, Virginia, Maces Spring, Scott County, Virginia. It is a small, one-story, half-dovetailed log cabin, with a single room on the first floor and loft above. The house is most notabl ...
,
A. P. Carter Store A. P. Carter Store is a historic general store museum located at Maces Spring, Scott County, Virginia. It was built in 1945, and is a one-story frame building with a cross-gable roof. The store is most notable for its association with the Carte ...
,
Maybelle and Ezra Carter House Maybelle is a feminine given name that may refer to * Maybelle Blair (born 1927), American baseball player *Maybelle Carter (1909–1978), American country musician * Maybelle Gilliland (1906–1971), American track athlete * Maybelle Goodlander (18 ...
, and
Mt. Vernon Methodist Church Mt. Vernon Methodist Church is a historic United Methodist Church, Methodist church in Maces Spring, Virginia, Maces Spring, Virginia, United States. It was built about 1895 and is a one-story, rectangular frame structure with gable roof and sim ...
are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
as components of the Carter Family Thematic Resource. In keeping with A. P.'s dying wishes, his daughter
Janette Carter Janette Carter (July 2, 1923 – January 22, 2006), daughter of musicians A.P. and Sara Carter, was an American musician involved in the preservation of Appalachian music. Carter was born on July 2, 1923, in Maces Spring, Virginia. She and her ...
restarted regular performances at A. P. Carter's general store venue, and the organization became known as the
Carter Family Fold The Carter Family Fold is a musical performance and concert venue located near Hiltons, Virginia. It is dedicated to the preservation and performance of old time country and bluegrass music. It is named in honor of the original Carter Family, ...
, which continues to offer regular Appalachian music performances.


Family tree


See also

*
Songs written by A. P. Carter A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usually ...


References


External links


Nashville Songwriters Foundation


. * ttps://web.archive.org/web/20080425042928/http://www.friendsofthefold.com/ Friends of the Carter Family Fold
The Carter Family: Will the Circle Be Unbroken

A. P. Carter recordings
at the
Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Carter, A P 1891 births 1960 deaths People from Scott County, Virginia Country musicians from Virginia American male singer-songwriters Cash–Carter family Singer-songwriters from Virginia American country singer-songwriters 20th-century American singer-songwriters The Carter Family members 20th-century American male singers