The Carter Family was an
American folk music
The term American folk music encompasses numerous music genres, variously known as ''traditional music'', ''traditional folk music'', ''contemporary folk music'', ''vernacular music,'' or ''roots music''. Many traditional songs have been sung ...
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,
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. When referring to a specific polity, the term "country" may refer to a sovereign state, state with limited recognition, constituent country, ...
,
southern gospel,
pop, and
rock, as well as the
American folk revival in the 1960s.
They were the first vocal group to become country music stars, and were among the first groups to record commercially produced country music. Their first recordings were made in
Bristol, Tennessee, for the
Victor Talking Machine Company
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 ...
under producer
Ralph Peer on August 1, 1927. This was the day before country singer
Jimmie Rodgers made his initial recordings for Victor under Peer.
The success of the Carter Family's recordings of songs such as "
Wabash Cannonball", "
Can the Circle Be Unbroken", "
Wildwood Flower", "
Keep on the Sunny Side", and "
I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes" made these songs country standards. The melody of the last was used for
Roy Acuff's "
The Great Speckled Bird",
Hank Thompson's "
The Wild Side of Life" and
Kitty Wells' "
It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels". The song became a hit all over again in these other incarnations.
The original group consisted of
Sara Carter, her husband
A. P. Carter, and her sister-in-law
Maybelle Carter. Maybelle was Sara's first cousin, and was married to A. P.'s brother
Ezra Carter (Eck). All three were born and raised in
southwest Virginia
Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. Located within the broader region of western Virginia, Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all V ...
. They were immersed in the tight harmonies of mountain
gospel music
Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...
and
shape note
Shape notes are a musical notation designed to facilitate congregational and Sing-along, social singing. The notation became a popular teaching device in American singing schools during the 19th century. Shapes were added to the noteheads in ...
singing. The latter dated to the early 19th century and revivals in the South.
Throughout the group's career, Sara Carter sang lead vocals and played rhythm guitar or
autoharp. Maybelle sang harmony and played lead guitar. On some songs A. P. did not perform at all; on some songs he sang harmony and background vocals, and occasionally he sang lead. Maybelle's distinctive guitar-playing style became a hallmark of the group. Her
Carter Scratch (a method for playing both lead and rhythm on the guitar) has become one of the most copied styles of guitar playing.
The group (in all its incarnations, see below) recorded for a number of labels, including RCA Victor (and subsidiary label, Bluebird), ARC group, Columbia,
Okeh and various imprint labels.
History
The Carter Family made their first recordings on August 1, 1927.
The previous day,
A.P. Carter had persuaded his wife
Sara Carter and his sister-in-law
Maybelle Carter to make the journey from
Maces Spring, Virginia, to
Bristol, Tennessee, to audition for record producer
Ralph Peer. Peer was seeking new talent for the relatively embryonic recording industry. The initial sessions are part of what are now called the
Bristol Sessions. The band received $50 for each song recorded, plus a half-cent royalty on every copy sold of each song for which they had registered a copyright. On November 4, 1927, the
Victor Talking Machine Company
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 ...
(later
RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic ...
) released a double-sided
78 rpm
A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English) or a vinyl record (for later varieties only) is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The g ...
record of the group performing "Wandering Boy" and "Poor Orphan Child". On December 2, 1928, Victor released "The Storms Are on the Ocean" / "
Single Girl, Married Girl", which became very popular.
By the end of 1930, the Carter Family had sold 300,000 records in the United States. Realizing that he would benefit financially with each new song he collected and
copyright
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...
ed, A.P. traveled around southwestern Virginia to find songs to record; he also composed new songs. In the early 1930s, he befriended
Lesley "Esley" Riddle, a black guitar player from
Kingsport, Tennessee. Lesley accompanied A.P. on his song-collecting trips. In June 1931, the Carters did a recording session in
Benton, Kentucky, along with
Jimmie Rodgers. In 1933, Maybelle met the
Speer Family
The Speer Family was a Southern gospel family musical group. It was founded in 1921 by George Thomas ("Dad") Speer (1891–1966), his wife, Lena Darling ("Mom") Speer (née Brock; 1899–1967), and his sister and brother-in-law, Pearl Claborn ( ...
at a fair in
Ceredo, West Virginia, fell in love with their signature sound, and asked them to tour with the Carter Family.
Second generation
In the winter of 1938–39, the Carter Family traveled to
Texas
Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, where they had a twice-daily program on the
border radio station
XERA (later
XERF) in Villa Acuña (now
Ciudad Acuña, Mexico), across the border from
Del Rio, Texas
Del Rio (in Spanish language, Spanish, ''Del Río'', "from the river") is a city in and the county seat of Val Verde County, Texas, Val Verde County in southwestern Texas, United States. As of 2020 United States census, 2020, Del Rio had a popul ...
.
In the 1939–40 season, the children of A.P. and Sara (
Janette and
Joe Carter) and those of Maybelle (
Helen,
June
June is the sixth and current month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars—the latter the most widely used calendar in the world. Its length is 30 days. June succeeds May and precedes July. This month marks the start of su ...
, and
Anita) joined the group for radio performances, by then in
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...
. Here the programs were prerecorded and distributed to multiple border radio stations. (The children did not, however, perform on the group's records.) In the fall of 1942, the Carters moved their program to
WBT radio in
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 United ...
, 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. After Sara married A.P.'s cousin, Coy Bayes, they moved to
California
California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
. The Carter Family disbanded in 1944.
Maybelle continued to perform with her daughters
Anita Carter
Ina Anita Carter (March 31, 1933 – July 29, 1999) was an American singer who played upright bass, guitar, and autoharp. She performed with her sisters, Helen and June, and her mother, Maybelle, initially under the name The Carter Sisters a ...
,
June Carter, and
Helen Carter
Helen Myrl Carter Jones (September 12, 1927 – June 2, 1998) was an American country music singer. The eldest daughter of Maybelle Carter, she performed with her mother and her younger sisters, June Carter and Anita Carter, as a member of ...
and recorded on 3 labels (RCA Victor, Columbia and Coronet) as "
The Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle" (sometimes billed as "The Carter Sisters" or "Maybelle Carter and the Carter Sisters" or "Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters"). In 1943, Maybelle Carter and her daughters, using the name "the Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle" had a program on
WRNL in
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...
. Maybelle's brother, Hugh Jack (Doc) Addington Jr., and Carl McConnell, known as the Original Virginia Boys, also played music and sang on the radio show.
Chet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins (June 20, 1924 – June 30, 2001), also known as "Mister Guitar" and "the Country Gentleman", was an American musician who, along with Owen Bradley and Bob Ferguson (musician), Bob Ferguson, helped create the Nash ...
joined them playing electric guitar in 1949 at
WNOX radio in
Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...
. He moved with them in October 1949 to
KWTO radio in
Springfield, Missouri
Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...
.
Opry management didn't want the Carters to bring Chet when they were offered a regular spot on the
Grand Ole Opry
The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...
but Ezra Carter (their father and manager) insisted that Chet come with them, as he was a part of their band now. Finally the Opry management agreed and Chet went with them when they were hired by
WSM and the Grand Ole Opry; their first day was May 29, 1950. Chet worked with them when they did "personals" off and on for 8 years, but mostly on the live Grand Ole Opry performances.
[
]
A.P., Sara, and their children Joe and Janette recorded 3 albums in the 1950s under the name of The A.P. Carter Family.
After the death of A.P. Carter in 1960, Mother Maybelle Carter and the Carter Sisters began using the name "the Carter Family" for their act during the 1960s and 1970s. Maybelle and Sara briefly reunited, recorded a reunion album (''An Historic Reunion''), and toured in the 1960s during the height of
folk music
Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
's popularity.
[
]
A film documentary about the family, ''
Sunny Side of Life'', was released in 1985.
In 1987, reunited sisters June Carter Cash and Helen and Anita Carter, along with June's daughter
Carlene Carter
Carlene Carter (born Rebecca Carlene Smith; September 26, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter Cash and her first husband, Carl Smith (country musician), Carl Smith.
Since 1978, Carter has ...
, appeared as the Carter Family. They were featured on a 1987 television episode of ''
Austin City Limits
''Austin City Limits'' is an American Concert, live music Television show, television program recorded and produced by KLRU, Austin PBS. The show helped Austin become widely known in the United States as the "Live Music Capital of the World", an ...
'', along with June's husband
Johnny Cash
John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American singer-songwriter. Most of his music contains themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially songs from the later stages of his career. ...
.
[
]
Third generation
The Carter Family name was revived for a third time, under the name Carter Family III. It was a project of descendants of the original Carter Family,
John Carter Cash (grandson of Maybelle Carter, son of June Carter Cash and Johnny Cash) and Dale Jett (grandson of A.P. and Sara Carter), along with John's wife
Laura (Weber) Cash. They released their first album, ''Past & Present'', in 2010.
Rosie Nix Adams, daughter of June Carter Cash and her second husband, was also a semi-regular performing member of the Carter Family.
Third Generation family member
Carlene Carter
Carlene Carter (born Rebecca Carlene Smith; September 26, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter Cash and her first husband, Carl Smith (country musician), Carl Smith.
Since 1978, Carter has ...
(granddaughter of Maybelle Carter) had ventured into pop music before becoming part of the 1987 Carter Family's second generation revival.
Personnel
*
A. P. Carter (1927–1944, 1952–1956)
*
Maybelle Carter (1927–1978)
*
Sara Carter (1927–1944, 1952–1956, 1960–1971)
*
Janette Carter (1939–1940, 1952–1956)
*
Helen Carter
Helen Myrl Carter Jones (September 12, 1927 – June 2, 1998) was an American country music singer. The eldest daughter of Maybelle Carter, she performed with her mother and her younger sisters, June Carter and Anita Carter, as a member of ...
(1939–1940, 1944–1996)
*
June Carter Cash (1939–1940, 1944–1969, 1971–1996)
*
Anita Carter
Ina Anita Carter (March 31, 1933 – July 29, 1999) was an American singer who played upright bass, guitar, and autoharp. She performed with her sisters, Helen and June, and her mother, Maybelle, initially under the name The Carter Sisters a ...
(1939–1940, 1944–1996)
*
Joe Carter (1952–1956)
*
John Carter Cash (2012–present)
*Dale Jett (2012–present)
*
Carlene Carter
Carlene Carter (born Rebecca Carlene Smith; September 26, 1955) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter Cash and her first husband, Carl Smith (country musician), Carl Smith.
Since 1978, Carter has ...
(1987–present)
*
Laura Cash (2012–2016)
Extended family
June Carter and her sisters were distant cousins of U.S. president
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...
.
This family tree shows the extended Carter family back four generations.
Notes:
Legacy and musical style
As important to country music as the family's repertoire of songs was Maybelle's
guitar
The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...
playing. She developed her innovative guitar technique largely in isolation; her style is today widely known as the "Carter scratch" or "
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 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 took flatpicking to a higher technical level, but all acknowledge Maybelle's playing as their inspiration.
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".
[
]
In 1988, the Carter Family was inducted into the
Grammy Hall of Fame and received its
Award
An award, sometimes called a distinction, is given to a recipient as a token of recognition of excellence in a certain field. When the token is a medal, ribbon or other item designed for wearing, it is known as a decoration.
An award may be d ...
for the song "Will the Circle Be Unbroken". In 1993, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative
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
The Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award is a special Grammy Award
The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achiev ...
.
''Keep on the Sunny Side'', a musical play chronicling the Carter Family's rise to stardom, premiered at the
Barter Theatre 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 ...
, in 2001. Conceived and written by Douglas Pote, the play enjoyed a multiyear run, a national tour spanning 23 states, and an
original cast recording; the Barter has also mounted numerous revivals amid lasting popularity.
Renewed attention to the Carter Family tune "When I'm Gone" occurred after several covers performed
a cappella
Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...
with a cup used to provide percussion, as in
the cup game and dubbed the
Cups song, went viral and culminated with a short performance in the movie ''
Pitch Perfect''. Afterwards it was released as a single 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 ...
.
The
A. P. and Sara Carter House,
A. P. Carter Homeplace,
A. P. Carter Store,
Maybelle and Ezra Carter House, and
Mt. Vernon Methodist Church 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 2017, the Carter Family's story was told in the award-winning
documentary
A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
series ''
American Epic.'' The film featured unseen film footage of The Carter Family performing and being interviewed, and radically improved restorations of their 1920s recordings. Director
Bernard MacMahon commented that "we first came to the Carters through their records, but one of the other things that struck us about them is that they were involved in both of the main waves of America hearing itself for the first time. They made their first impact in that early wave of rural recordings, and then the next stage was the arrival of radio, and in the late 1930s, they went to Texas and were on XERA, a border station based in Mexico that could be heard all over the central and western United States." The Carter Family's story was profiled in the accompanying book, ''
American Epic: The First Time America Heard Itself''.
Discography
Selected 78 rpm records: The Carter Family's career predated any sort of best-selling chart of country music records. (''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' did not have a country best sellers chart until 1944.) Below is a select list of their 78 rpm releases.
Citations
General and cited references
*
* ''Among My Klediments'', June Carter Cash, Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan, 1979.
* ''In the Country of Country: A Journey to the Roots of American Music'', Nicholas Dawidoff, Vintage Books, 1998.
* ''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
Country Music's First FamilyThe Carter Family Memorial Music Center, Inc.Carter Family Fold, Hiltons, VirginiaThe Carter Family Discography
The Carter Family: Will the Circle be UnbrokenCarter Family recordingsat the
Discography of American Historical Recordings.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter Family
1927 establishments in Virginia
1956 disestablishments in Virginia
American country music groups
American folk singers
Banner Records artists
Country Music Hall of Fame inductees
Family musical groups
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners
Johnny Cash
Liberty Records artists
Musical groups disestablished in 1956
Musical groups established in 1927
Musical groups from Appalachia
Musical groups from Virginia
RCA Victor artists
Victor Records artists
Virginia culture
Vocalion Records artists