| Relationships | Original Members:
A.P. Carter (1927-1944, 1952-1956),
Sara Carter (1927-1944, 1952-1956, 1960-1971),
Maybelle Carter (1927-1978)
Current Members:
John Carter Cash (2012-)
Dale Jett (2012-)
Carlene Carter (1987-)
Past Members:
Anita Carter (1939-1940, 1944-1996),
June Carter Cash (1939-1940, 1944-1969, 1971-1996),
Helen Carter (1939-1940, 1944-1996),
Janette Carter (1939-1940, 1952-1956),
Joe Carter (1952-1956) |
| Biography | The Carter Family is 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.
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 Tennessee, under producer Ralph Peer in 1927, the day before country singer Jimmie Rodgers also made his initial recordings under Peer. Their 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 tune 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", making the song a hit all over again in other incarnations.
The original group consisted of Sara Carter, her husband A.P. Carter, and her sister-in-law Maybelle Carter. However, by 1936, A.P. and Sara's marriage had dissolved. Sara married A.P.'s cousin, Coy Bayes, and moved to California, and the group disbanded in 1944. Maybelle continued to perform with her daughters Anita Carter, June Carter, and Helen Carter as "The Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle." Chet Atkins joined them playing electric guitar in 1949 at WNOX radio in Knoxville. In the 1950s. A.P., Sara, and their children Joe and Janette recorded 3 albums under the name of The A.P. Carter Family. Mother Maybelle Carter and the Carter Sisters began using the name "the Carter Family" after the death of A.P. Carter in 1960 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.
Throughout the group's career, Sara Carter sang lead vocals and played rhythm guitar or autoharp, and 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, and her Carter Scratch has become one of the most copied styles of guitar playing. |