Appalachian Collection

The Carter Family: Always a Song


 

Scope

This pathfinder is structured as a beginner's guide to the lives, history, and musical contributions of A.P. Carter and his family. The Carter Family's songs and instrumental styles were very important to the formation and development of early country music. In fact, many famous musicians from all musical genres cite the Carter Family as a major musical influence. Their place in the musical history of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and the music world in general is very important and is worthy of study. This pathfinder will help the interested individual to become aware and appreciative of their contributions and serve as a guide to further research.


Introduction

Stambler, Irwin & Landon, Grelun. Country Music: The Encyclopedia. Saint Martin Press. New York . 1997.

 

Library of Congress Subject Headings

Highly Relevant:

  • Carter Family (musical group)
  • Carter, Maybelle
  • Carter, Janette
  • Carter, A.P.
  • Carter, Sarah
  • Country Music to 1951
  • Old-time music

Also Relevant:

  • Country music groups - U.S.
  • Country musicians biography
  • Guitar methods (country)
  • Ballads, English Appalachian region
  • Women country musicians - U.S. (Biography)
  • Country music
  • Blues music ( Virginia )
  • Documentary films
  • Guitar methods (Folk)
  • Musicians
  • American folk music

General:

  • Bluegrass music
  • Railroad - U.S. songs and music
  • Music social aspects
  • Popular music

 

Appalachian Collection Clippings File Subject Headings

  • See: Music Appalachia
  • Musicians Appalachia . Found within are several newspaper articles about the Carter Family. These are from various newspaper publications.

 

Common Library of Congress Call Numbers

Highly Relevant :

  • ML102
  • ML106
  • ML421
  • M1629
  • ML3930
  • ML419
  • MicF105
  • ML3545
  • M1630
  • ML2811

Also Relevant:

  • ML419
  • ML3524
  • ML420
  • ML156

 

Frequently Mentioned Books

Carter. Janette. Living With Memories. Hiltons, Virginia . Carter Family Memorial Music Center , 1983. ML419.

Country Music Foundation. Country: The Music and the Musicians: From the Beginnings to the '90s. New York : Abbeville Press, 1994 2nd ed. ML3524.

Kahn, Edward A. The Carter Family: A Reflection of Changes in Society.

UCLA, 1970. MicF 105.

 

Academic Journals

Appalachian Journal. "Carter's Little Pillar Lives". By: Kenneth King. Fall, 1990. Pgs. 128-133.

Summary of contents: Tells of Carters' history and mentions the Carter Family Fold.

Now and Then. "If You Build It, They Will Come". By: Tim Stafford. Summer 1995, vol. 12 # 2. Pgs. 14-16.
Summary of contents: Briefly mentions the Carters as one of the first two stars of country music and cites Bristol as the birthplace of country music. Tells a great deal about the Carter Fold.

 

Reviews of Collective Works of The Carter Family

Anderson, Ian." In the Shadow of Clinch Mountain ". Folk Roots. October, 2000.

Goldfield, Steve A. "Book. A People and Their Music: The Story Behind the Story of Country Music by John Rice Irwin". Bluegrass Unlimited.November, 2000.

Goldfield, Steve A." In the Shadow of Clinch Mountain ". Bluegrass Unlimited, March, 2001.

Lofgren, Lyle. "The Original Carter Family: Can the Circle Be Unbroken". The Old-Time Herald. Spring, 2001.

Lofgren, Lyle. "The Original Carter Family in Texas ", Vols. 1&2. The Old-Time Herald. Fall, 2000.

Whiting, Helen H. "Book. Living with Memories", by Janette Carter. Blue Suede News. Summer, 1997.

 

Discographies

Christie, Keith G. Carter Family Discography. Records' Associates. Nashville , Tenn.

Cohen, Norm. Traditional Anglo-American Folk Music: A Discography of Published Sound Recordings. Garland Publishing Inc

Lornell, Kip. Virginia 's Blues, Country & Gospel Records-1902-1943. The University Press of Kentucky . 1989. ML156

 

Recordings found in ASU Appalachian Collection

A Collection of Favorites by the Carter Family. Decca. ML3545

Carter Family, vol.2. Country Songs. Recorded 1936-1938. West Germany . CMH. ML3545.

Carter Family, vols. 3 and 4. Recorded 1935-1940. United States CMH. ML3545

Diamonds in the Rough. Copper Creek. Roanoke , Va. 1990. Cdisc#193

Gold Watch and Chain. Rounder Records. Cambridge Ma. One copy on order.

Great Sacred Songs-The Original Carter Family. New York : Harmony. ML3545

Home Among the Hills. Harmony HL. ML3545

In the Shadow of Clinch Mountain/Carter Family. Bear Family Records.

Joe and Janette Carter Sing Carter Family Favorites. New York , N.Y. County Records . ML3545

'Mid the Green Fields of Virginia . RCA Victor. 1963. ML3545

More Golden Gems from the Original Carter Family. Camden CAS 2554. 1972 ML3545

My Old Cottage Home. New York : RCA Camden . 1973. ML3545

The Carter Family on Border Radio. The John Edwards Memorial Foundation at the Folklore & Mythology Center . University of California . 1972. ML3545

The Famous Carter Family. Harmony HL 7280. ML3545

The Happiest Days of All. RCA. 1974. ML3545

Meeting in the Air. Chicago . Flying Fish. 1980. ML3545

The Original Carter Family. A Sacred Collection. 1983. ML3545

The Original Carter Family: An Anthology of Country Music. ML3545

 

Other recordings of importance found elsewhere:

The Bristol Sessions. Nashville , TN. Country Music Foundation Records. 1991. Can be found at WCU.

The Complete Victor Recordings. Vols. 1-9. Rounder Records. 1993-98.

 

Videos

Videos that can be found in the ASU Appalachian Collection:

Carter Family: Maybelle, A. P. and Sara. Brighton , Mich. Old Homestead Productions. VC324

Guitar Styles of the Carter Family. By Mike Seeger and Alexia Smith. Woodstock , NY . Homespun Video. 2000. VC396

Mother Maybelle's Carter Scratch. Mebcon Production. 1990. VC63

Sunny Side of Life. Produced by Appalshop, Inc. Whitesburg , KY. 1985. VC85

That High Lonesome Sound. Films by John Cohen. Shanachie Entertainment Corp. Newton , NJ . Shanachie, 1996. VC154

 

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

Carlin, Richard. The Big Book of Country Music. Penguin Books. 1995.Ml102

Country Music Foundation. Country: The Music and the Musicians: From the Beginnings to the '90s. See "Carter Family." NewYork: Abbeville Press, 1994. ML102

Dellar, Fred. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Country Music. New York : Harmony Books, 1977. See "Carter Family." ML102

Malone, Bill C. Country Music, U.S.A. Austin : University of Texas Press, 1985.

McCloud, Barry. Definitive Country: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Country Music and its Performers. Ml102

Stambler, Irwin and Landon, Grelun. Country Music: The Encyclopedia. Saint Martin Press. 1997. ML102

Wolfe, Kurt. Country Music-The Rough Guide. See "Carter Family." ML102

 

Internet Resources

There are many Internet sights that relate to the Carter Family and there are many that pertain to the original Carter Family. To just say there are many is an understatement. The best thing to do is to go to a search engine such as Yahoo or Google.com and search the Carter Family for a wealth of information. Many good links are to be found as well.

One can often find website addresses listed in journals and magazines such as "Bluegrass Unlimited" or "Old-Time Herald" that give information about the history, performances, and recordings of the Carter Family and information about the Carter Family Fold.

One can search, RILM on OCLC as a source and find several abstracts that pertain to the Carter Family. These abstracts tell what sources to look up and give dates and specific titles to magazines, books, and journals.

Here are some of good Internet sites that tell of the Carter Family and their history:

www.fmp.com/orthey/carter

www.halloffame.org/hall/mem/carter-family

 

Bibliographies

Appalachian Studies Selected Bibliography. Compiled 1994.

Country: The Music and the Musicians: From the Beginnings to the '90s. Bibliographical references (p. 423-424)

 

 

Compiled by: Rhonda Gouge, November 2001