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 Appalachian music is the music of the region of Appalachia in the Eastern United States. Traditional Appalachian music is derived from various influences, including the ballads, hymns and fiddle music of the British Isles (particularly Scotland ...

. Carter was born on July 2, 1923, in Maces Spring, Virginia. She and her brother Joe performed with their parents on a series of recordings for the Acme label. Janette and Joe later recorded material together consisting of works they had written and songs previously recorded by members of the Carter family. In 1976, Carter and community members built an 880-seat amphitheater, the Carter Family Fold, beside the A. P. Carter Store which her father had operated after the

Carter Family Carter Family was a traditional American folk music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. ...

had disbanded as a musical group. The Carter Family Fold attracts more than 50,000 visitors a year. Carter performed there weekly, until shortly before she died. Carter had three children with her first husband, James Jett: Donald William, Rita Janette, and James Delaney (Dale). She died on January 22, 2006, in

Kingsport, Tennessee Kingsport is a city in Sullivan and Hawkins counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 55,442. Lying along the Holston River, Kingsport is commonly included in what is known as the Mountain Empire, ...

, after battling

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

and other illnesses. She was buried next to her mother, Sara Carter Bayes, and her brother, Joe, at the Mount Vernon United Methodist Church Cemetery in Maces Spring. Carter is a recipient of a 2005

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's ...

awarded by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federa ...

, which is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts, in recognition for her lifelong advocacy for the performance and preservation of Appalachian music.

References

External links

Official Carter Family Fold Website
Bluegrass musicians from Virginia American women country singers American country singer-songwriters 1923 births 2006 deaths National Heritage Fellowship winners People from Scott County, Virginia 20th-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Virginia Cash–Carter family The Carter Family members 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women Deaths from Parkinson's disease {{US-country-musician-stub