https://wiki.sarg.dev/api.php?action=feedcontributions&feedformat=atom&user=2603%3A6010%3ACE00%3A2CD5%3AA8C9%3A1388%3AD872%3AD44EVero - Wikipedia - User contributions [en]2026-08-15T00:08:41ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.44.2https://wiki.sarg.dev/index.php?title=Carter_Family&diff=158536Carter Family2025-10-16T22:13:18Z<p>2603:6010:CE00:2CD5:A8C9:1388:D872:D44E: </p>
<hr />
<div>{{Short description|Traditional American folk music group}}<br />
{{About|the folk music group|the second-generation band|The Carter Sisters|Beyoncé and Jay Z|The Carters|other people with the surname|Carter (surname)}}<br />
{{Distinguish|text=the [[Carter family of Tennessee]], the [[List of United States political families (C)#The Carters of Georgia|family of Jimmy Carter]] or [[Nick Carter]] (member of [[Backstreet Boys]]) and his siblings [[Aaron Carter]] and [[Leslie Carter]], also cast of the reality television show [[House of Carters]]}}<br />
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}<br />
{{Infobox musical artist<br />
| name = The Carter Family<br />
| image = Carter Family 1927.jpg<br />
| caption = A. P., Maybelle, and Sara Carter (L–R) in 1927<br />
| image_size = 200px<br />
| origin = [[Maces Spring, Virginia]], U.S.<br />
| genre = {{hlist|[[Country music|Country]]|[[Folk music|folk]]|[[blues]]|[[gospel music|gospel]]|[[Old-time music|Old-Time]]}}<br />
| years_active = {{flat list|<br />
* 1927–1956<br />
}}<br />
| label = {{flat list|<br />
* [[Bluebird Records|Bluebird]]<br />
* [[Decca Records|Decca]]<br />
* [[RCA Victor]]<br />
* [[Vocalion Records|Vocalion]]<br />
* [[Montgomery Ward Records]] <br />
}}<br />
| website = <br />
| current_members = {{Plain list|<br />
* [[A. P. Carter]]<br />
* [[Ezra Carter]]<br />
* [[Sara Carter]]<br />
* [[Maybelle Carter]]<br />
}}<br />
| past_members = {{Plain list|<br />
* [[Helen Carter]]<br />
* [[Anita Carter]]<br />
* [[June Carter Cash]]<br />
* [[Janette Carter]]<br />
* [[Joseph Dougherty Carter|Joe Carter]]<br />
* Dale Jett Carter<br />
* [[John Carter Cash]]<br />
}}<br />
}}<br />
<br />
'''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 music|bluegrass]], [[country music|country]], [[Southern Gospel|southern gospel]], [[popular music|pop]], and [[rock music|rock]], as well as the [[Folk & blues revival|American folk revival]] in the 1960s.<br />
<br />
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]] under producer [[Ralph Peer]] on August 1, 1927. This was the day before country singer [[Jimmie Rodgers (country singer)|Jimmie Rodgers]] made his initial recordings for Victor under Peer.<br />
<br />
The success of the Carter Family's recordings of songs such as "[[Wabash Cannonball]]", "[[Can the Circle Be Unbroken (By and By)|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 (song)|The Great Speckled Bird]]", [[Hank Thompson (musician)|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.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Definitive Illustrated Encyclopedia of Rock |last=Heatley |first=Michael |year=2007 |publisher=Star Fire |location=London |isbn=978-1-84451-996-5 }}</ref><br />
<br />
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]]. They were immersed in the tight harmonies of mountain [[gospel music]] and [[shape note]] singing. The latter dated to the early 19th century and revivals in the South.<br />
<br />
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 Family picking|Carter Scratch]] (a method for playing both lead and rhythm on the guitar) has become one of the most copied styles of guitar playing.<br />
<br />
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 Records|Okeh]] and various imprint labels.<ref>Zwonitzer, M. & Hirshberg, C. (2002). ''Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone? The Carter Family & Their Legacy in American Music''. New York: Simon & Schuster.</ref><ref>"The Carter Sisters & Mother Maybelle: Living Tradition", in ''The Journal of the Academy for the Preservation of Old-Time Country Music''</ref><ref>''Sunny Side Sentinel: Official Publication for the Carter Family'', Discography Issue (1980)</ref><br />
<br />
==History==<br />
[[File:Birthplace log cabin of A.P. Carter at the Carter Fold at Maces Springs, Virginia now Hiltons, Virginia.jpg|thumb|Birthplace log cabin of A.P. Carter at the [[Carter Fold]] at [[Maces Springs, Virginia]] near [[Hiltons, Virginia]].]]<br />
<br />
The Carter Family made their first recordings on August 1, 1927.<ref name="Carter_Clifton">{{cite AV media | people = Maybelle Carter, Bill Clifton | title = Wildwood Pickin' | at = "1: Introduction: Bill Clifton" | medium = audio CD | publisher = Vanguard Records | asin = B000000EHH}}</ref> The previous day, [[A. P. Carter|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]] (later [[RCA Victor]]) released a double-sided [[78 rpm]] 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.<br />
<br />
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]]ed, A.P. traveled around southwestern Virginia to find songs to record; he also composed new songs. In the early 1930s, he befriended [[Lesley Riddle|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 (country singer)|Jimmie Rodgers]]. In 1933, Maybelle met the [[Speer Family]] at a fair in [[Ceredo, West Virginia]], fell in love with their signature sound, and asked them to tour with the Carter Family.<br />
<br />
==Second generation==<br />
[[File:A.P. Carter General Store Museum at the Carter Fold at Maces Springs, Virginia now Hiltons, Virginia.jpg|thumb|A.P. Carter General Store Museum at the Carter Fold at Maces Springs, Virginia near Hiltons, Virginia]]<br />
In the winter of 1938–39, the Carter Family traveled to [[Texas]], where they had a twice-daily program on the [[Border blaster|border radio]] station [[XERA-AM|XERA]] (later [[XERF-AM|XERF]]) in Villa Acuña (now [[Ciudad Acuña|Ciudad Acuña, Mexico]]), across the border from [[Del Rio, Texas]].<br />
<br />
In the 1939–40 season, the children of A.P. and Sara ([[Janette Carter|Janette]] and [[Joseph Dougherty Carter|Joe Carter]]) and those of Maybelle ([[Helen Carter|Helen]], [[June Carter Cash|June]], and [[Anita Carter|Anita]]) joined the group for radio performances, by then in [[San Antonio, Texas]]. 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 (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&nbsp;a.m.<br />
<br />
By 1936, A.P. and Sara's marriage had dissolved. After Sara married A.P.'s cousin, Coy Bayes, they moved to [[California]]. The Carter Family disbanded in 1944.<br />
<br />
Maybelle continued to perform with her daughters [[Anita Carter]], [[June Carter]], and [[Helen Carter]] and recorded on 3 labels (RCA Victor, Columbia and Coronet) as "[[The Carter Sisters|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]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wolfe|first1=Charles K.|title=Classic Country: Legends of Country Music|date=2000|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=9780415928267|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kwaUAgAAQBAJ&pg=PT50 |access-date=16 January 2015}}</ref> 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.<br />
<br />
[[Chet Atkins]] joined them playing electric guitar in 1949 at [[WNML (AM)#WNOX|WNOX]] radio in [[Knoxville, Tennessee]]. He moved with them in October 1949 to [[KWTO (AM)|KWTO]] radio in [[Springfield, Missouri]].<br />
<br />
Opry management didn't want the Carters to bring Chet when they were offered a regular spot on the [[Grand Ole Opry]] 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 (AM)|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.<ref name="Atkins_Neely"><br />
{{cite book<br />
| last1 = Atkins<br />
| first1 = Chet<br />
| last2 = Neely<br />
| first2 = Bill<br />
| year = 1974<br />
| title = Country Gentleman<br />
| location = Chicago<br />
| publisher = Harry Regnery Company<br />
| isbn = 0-8092-9051-0<br />
| url-access = registration<br />
| url = https://archive.org/details/countrygentleman00atki<br />
}}</ref><br />
A.P., Sara, and their children Joe and Janette recorded 3 albums in the 1950s under the name of The A.P. Carter Family.<br />
<br />
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]]'s popularity.<ref name="YT_Sara&Maybelle_video"><br />
{{cite AV media<br />
| people = Sara Carter, Maybelle Carter<br />
| title = Maybelle & Sara Carter Cannonball Blues <br />
| medium = video<br />
| publisher = [[YouTube]] ("bluesriff")<br />
| url = https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlFyGPNmOvI&mode=related&search<br />
| access-date = April 29, 2013<br />
}}</ref><br />
<br />
A film documentary about the family, ''[[Sunny Side of Life]]'', was released in 1985.<br />
<br />
In 1987, reunited sisters June Carter Cash and Helen and Anita Carter, along with June's daughter [[Carlene Carter]], appeared as the Carter Family. They were featured on a 1987 television episode of ''[[Austin City Limits]]'', along with June's husband [[Johnny Cash]].<ref name="AustinCityLimits"><br />
{{cite web<br />
| title = Austin City Limits: 1987: Johnny Cash with The Carter Family<br />
| url = https://www.pbs.org/klru/austin/artists/program170.html<br />
| access-date = April 29, 2013<br />
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071019051131/http://www.pbs.org/klru/austin/artists/program170.html<br />
| archive-date = October 19, 2007<br />
| publisher = [[PBS]]<br />
| location = Austin, Texas<br />
}}</ref><br />
<br />
== Third generation ==<br />
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 White|Laura (Weber) Cash]]. They released their first album, ''Past & Present'', in 2010.<ref>{{cite web|title=Past & Present|url=https://johncartercash.bandcamp.com/album/past-present|website=Johncartercash.bandcamp.com|access-date=12 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160430174039/http://johncartercash.bandcamp.com/album/past-present|archive-date=2016-04-30|url-status=dead}}</ref><br />
<br />
[[Rosie Nix Adams]], daughter of June Carter Cash and her second husband, was also a semi-regular performing member of the Carter Family.<br />
<br />
Third Generation family member [[Carlene Carter]] (granddaughter of Maybelle Carter) had ventured into pop music before becoming part of the 1987 Carter Family's second generation revival.<br />
<br />
==Personnel==<br />
*[[A. P. Carter]] (1927–1944, 1952–1956)<br />
*[[Maybelle Carter]] (1927–1978)<br />
*[[Sara Carter]] (1927–1944, 1952–1956, 1960–1971)<br />
*[[Janette Carter]] (1939–1940, 1952–1956)<br />
*[[Helen Carter]] (1939–1940, 1944–1996)<br />
*[[June Carter Cash]] (1939–1940, 1944–1969, 1971–1996)<br />
*[[Anita Carter]] (1939–1940, 1944–1996)<br />
*[[Joseph Dougherty Carter|Joe Carter]] (1952–1956)<br />
*[[John Carter Cash]] (2012–present)<br />
*Dale Jett (2012–present)<br />
*[[Carlene Carter]] (1987–present)<br />
*[[Laura Cash]] (2012–2016)<br />
<br />
==Extended family==<br />
June Carter and her sisters were distant cousins of U.S. president [[Jimmy Carter]].{{Sfn | Carter | 1978 | p = 1115 (Conference on HIRE, June 14)}}<br />
<br />
This family tree shows the extended Carter family back four generations.<br />
<br />
{{chart top|Cash Carter family tree }}<br />
{{unreferenced section|date=April 2015}}<br />
{{Tree chart/start|line-height:100%;}}<br />
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | }}<br />
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|.| | | | | | }}<br />
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |WSDOU|y|NEKIL| |RCCAR|y|MABAY| |MSKIL|y|HJADD| | WSDOU=William Sevier Dougherty | NEKIL=Nancy Elizabeth Kilgore | MSKIL=Margaret S. Kilgore | HJADD=Hugh Jackson Addington | MABAY=Mollie Arvell Bays | RCCAR=Robert C. Carter}}<br />
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | |,|-|-|-|^|-|-|-|.| | | |!| | | | }}<br />
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |SCART|y|APCAR| | | | | |ECART|y|MCART| | | | APCAR=[[A. P. Carter]] | ECART=[[Ezra Carter|Ezra J. Carter]] | MCART=[[Maybelle Carter]] | SCART=[[Sara Carter]]}}<br />
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |,|-|-|-|+|-|-|-|.| | | | |,|-|-|+|-|-|.| | | }}<br />
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |GLACA| |JANCA| |JOECA| | |HCART| |!| |ACART| | | HCART=[[Helen Carter]] | ACART=[[Anita Carter]] | GLACA=Gladys Carter | JANCA=[[Janette Carter]] | JOECA=[[Joseph Dougherty Carter|Joe Carter]]}}<br />
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | | | | }}<br />
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |,|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|'| | | | | | }}<br />
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | |VILIB|y|JCASH|y|JCART|V|~|~|~|~|~|~|y|SMITH| | | | | | | | | | | JCASH=[[Johnny Cash]] | VILIB=[[Vivian Cash|Vivian Liberto]] | JCART=[[June Carter Cash]] | SMITH=[[Carl Smith (country musician)|Carl Smith]]}}<br />
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |!| | | |!| | | |L|y|ERNIX| | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | | ERNIX = Edwin "Rip" Nix}}<br />
{{Tree chart| | |,|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|v|-|-|-|(| | | |!| | | | |!| | | | | |!| | | | | | | | | | | | | }}<br />
{{Tree chart| |RCASH| |KCASH| |CCASH| |TCASH| |JCCAS| | |RNIXA| | | |RCSMI|V|~|~|~|~|~|~|NICKL| | | RCASH=[[Rosanne Cash]] | KCASH=Kathleen Cash | CCASH=[[Cindy Cash]] | TCASH=Tara Cash | JCCAS=[[John Carter Cash]] | RNIXA=[[Rosie Nix Adams]] | RCSMI=[[Carlene Carter]] | NICKL=[[Nick Lowe]]}}<br />
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |L|~|JOBRE| | | | | | | | JOBRE=Joseph Breen}}<br />
{{Tree chart| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | }}<br />
{{Tree chart/end}}<br />
'''Notes:'''<br />
{{notelist-lr}}<!--- use either{{Efn-lr}} and/or <ref group=lower-roman /> To fill this notelist --><br />
{{chart bottom}}<br />
<br />
==Legacy and musical style==<br />
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 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.<br />
<br />
Before the Carter family's recordings, the guitar was rarely used as a lead or solo instrument among musicians.{{citation needed|date=June 2017}} 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.<br />
<br />
{{blockquote|It has been noted 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)<ref name="Wolfe_Olson"><br />
{{cite book<br />
| first1 = Charles K.<br />
| last1 = Wolfe<br />
| first2 = Ted<br />
| last2 = Olson<br />
| year = 2005<br />
| title = The Bristol Sessions: Writings About the Big Bang of Country Music<br />
| page = 74<br />
| publisher = McFarland, Incorporated, Publishers<br />
| isbn = 0-7864-1945-8<br />
}}</ref>}}<br />
<br />
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".<ref name="CMHF"><br />
{{cite web<br />
| last = Wolfe<br />
| first = Charles<br />
| title = Carter Family<br />
| publisher = Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum<br />
| url = http://www.countrymusichalloffame.org/full-list-of-inductees/view/carter-family<br />
| access-date = April 29, 2013<br />
| url-status = dead<br />
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110807062544/http://countrymusichalloffame.org/full-list-of-inductees/view/carter-family<br />
| archive-date = August 7, 2011<br />
}}</ref><br />
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]].<br />
<br />
''Keep on the Sunny Side'', a musical play chronicling the Carter Family's rise to stardom, premiered at the [[Barter Theatre]] in [[Abingdon, Virginia]], in 2001. Conceived and written by Douglas Pote, the play enjoyed a multiyear run, a national tour spanning 23 states, and an [[cast recording|original cast recording]]; the Barter has also mounted numerous revivals amid lasting popularity.<br />
<br />
Renewed attention to the Carter Family tune "When I'm Gone" occurred after several covers performed [[a cappella]] with a cup used to provide percussion, as in [[the cup game]] and dubbed the [[Cups (song)|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]].<br />
<br />
The [[A. P. and Sara Carter House]], [[A. P. Carter Homeplace]], [[A. P. Carter Store]], [[Maybelle and Ezra Carter House]], and [[Mt.&nbsp;Vernon Methodist Church]] are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] as components of the Carter Family Thematic Resource.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref><ref>{{NRHP url|id=64000880|title=Carter Family Tree}}</ref><br />
<br />
In 2017, the Carter Family's story was told in the award-winning [[Documentary film|documentary]] series ''[[American Epic (documentary)|American Epic]].''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/arena-american-epic|title=BBC – Arena: American Epic – Media Centre|website=Bbc.co.uk|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-06-29}}</ref> The film featured unseen film footage of The Carter Family performing and being interviewed,<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.mensjournal.com/entertainment/mule-calls-and-outlaws-a-conversation-of-with-american-epic-director-bernard-mcmahon-w483800/|title=Mule Calls and Outlaws: A Conversation With 'American Epic' Director Bernard MacMahon|date=2017-05-23|work=Men's Journal|access-date=2018-06-29|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.udiscovermusic.com/news/american-epic-recreates-music-history-with-elton-john-beck-more/|title='American Epic' Recreates Music History With Elton John, Beck & More|website=Udiscovermusic.com|date=10 May 2017|language=en-US|access-date=2018-06-29}}</ref> and radically improved restorations of their 1920s recordings.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.stereophile.com/content/american-epic|title=American Epic|date=2017-06-12|work=Stereophile.com|access-date=2018-06-29|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/music/la-et-ms-american-epic-20170513-story.html|title='American Epic' explores how a business crisis ignited a musical revolution|last=Lewis|first=Randy|website=[[Los Angeles Times]]|date=14 May 2017|access-date=2018-06-29}}</ref> Director [[Bernard MacMahon (filmmaker)|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."<ref>{{Cite book|title=American Epic {{!}} The First Time America Heard itself|last1=Wald|first1=Elijah|last2=McGourty|first2=Allison|author3-link=Bernard MacMahon (filmmaker)|last3=MacMahon|first3=Bernard|publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]]|year=2017|isbn=9781501135606|location=New York|pages=74|author2-link=Allison McGourty|author1-link=Elijah Wald}}</ref> The Carter Family's story was profiled in the accompanying book, ''[[American Epic: The First Time America Heard Itself]]''.<ref>{{Cite book|url=http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/American-Epic/Bernard-MacMahon/9781501135606|title=American Epic|date=2017-05-02|isbn=9781501135606|language=en|last1=MacMahon|first1=Bernard|last2=McGourty|first2=Allison|last3=Wald|first3=Elijah|publisher=Simon and Schuster }}</ref><br />
<br />
==Discography==<br />
{{See also|Carter Family discography}}<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
{{columns-list|colwidth=22em|<br />
'''[[Bluebird Records]]'''<br />
* "Anchored in Love"<br />
* "I'll Be All Smiles Tonight"<br />
* "[[Keep on the Sunny Side]]"<br />
* "Little Moses"<br />
* "Mid the Green Fields of Virginia"<br />
* "My Clinch Mountain Home"<br />
* "Picture on the Wall"<br />
* "[[Wabash Cannonball]]"<br />
* "[[Wildwood Flower]]"<br />
* "[[Worried Man Blues]]"<br />
'''[[Victor Records]]'''<br />
* "[[Bury Me Beneath the Willow]]"<br />
* "Foggy Mountain Top"<br />
* "Gold Watch and Chain"<br />
* "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes"<br />
* "Keep on the Firing Line"<br />
* "My Old Cottage Home"<br />
* "On the Sea of Gallee"<br />
* "[[The Church in the Wildwood]]"<br />
* "The Storms are on the Ocean" <br />
'''[[Montgomery Ward]] Records'''<br />
* "Lonesome Pine Special"<br />
* "Two Sweethearts"<br />
* "Where We'll Never Grow Old"<br />
'''[[Decca Records]]'''<br />
* "Coal Miner Blues"<br />
* "Hello Stranger"<br />
* "My Dixie Darling"<br />
* "You Are My Flower"<br />
* "[[Freeda Bolt|Young Freeda Bolt]]"<br />
'''[[Vocalion Records]]'''<br />
* "Broken Hearted Love"<br />
* "Can the Circle Be Unbroken"<br />
}}<br />
<br />
== Citations ==<br />
{{Reflist}}<br />
<br />
== General and cited references ==<br />
* {{Cite book | last = Carter | first = James 'Jimmy' | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=biqLkX0CCzQC | title = Public papers of the presidents of the United States: Jimmy Carter, 1977 | publisher = Government Printing Office | year = 1978}}<br />
* ''Among My Klediments'', June Carter Cash, Grand Rapids, MI, Zondervan, 1979. {{ISBN|0-310-38170-3}}<br />
* ''In the Country of Country: A Journey to the Roots of American Music'', Nicholas Dawidoff, Vintage Books, 1998. {{ISBN|0-375-70082-X}}<br />
* ''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<br />
<br />
==External links==<br />
{{commons category}}<br />
* [https://www.npr.org/programs/morning/features/2002/jul/carter/index.html Country Music's First Family]<br />
* [https://www.carterfamilyfold.org The Carter Family Memorial Music Center, Inc.]<br />
* [https://www.bluegrasswest.com/ideas/carterdex.html The Carter Family Complete Song Texts]<br />
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20051019193037/http://www.virginia.org/site/description.asp?AttrID=31750 Carter Family Fold, Hiltons, Virginia]<br />
* [http://www.hankwilliamsdiscography.com/p/carterfamily/ The Carter Family Discography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111006075236/http://www.hankwilliamsdiscography.com/p/carterfamily/ |date=2011-10-06 }}<br />
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVarpbPDJCE/ The Carter Family: Will the Circle be Unbroken]<br />
* [https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/103002 Carter Family recordings] at the [[Discography of American Historical Recordings]].<br />
<br />
{{s-start}}<br />
{{s-ach|aw}}<br />
{{succession box<br />
| before = [[Gram Parsons]]<br />
| title = [[Americana Music Association|AMA Presidents Award]]<br />
| years = 2004<br />
| after = [[John Hartford]]<br />
}}<br />
{{s-end}}<br />
{{Carter Family|state=expanded}}<br />
{{June Carter Cash}}<br />
{{American Music Award for Favorite Country Band/Duo/Group}}<br />
{{International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame}}<br />
{{1970s Country Music Hall of Fame}}<br />
{{Authority control}}<br />
<br />
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter Family}}<br />
[[Category:Cash–Carter family| ]]<br />
[[Category:1927 establishments in Virginia]]<br />
[[Category:1956 disestablishments in Virginia]]<br />
[[Category:American country music groups]]<br />
[[Category:American folk singers]]<br />
[[Category:Banner Records artists]]<br />
[[Category:Country Music Hall of Fame inductees]]<br />
[[Category:Family musical groups]]<br />
[[Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners]]<br />
[[Category:Johnny Cash]]<br />
[[Category:Liberty Records artists]]<br />
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1956]]<br />
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1927]]<br />
[[Category:Musical groups from Appalachia]]<br />
[[Category:Musical groups from Virginia]]<br />
[[Category:RCA Victor artists]]<br />
[[Category:Victor Records artists]]<br />
[[Category:Culture of Virginia]]<br />
[[Category:Vocalion Records artists]]</div>2603:6010:CE00:2CD5:A8C9:1388:D872:D44E