Sara Carter
Encyclopedia
Sara Carter was an American
Country music
musician
. Known for her deep and distinctive singing voice, she was the lead singer on most of the recordings of the historic Carter Family
act in the 1920s and 1930s.
, (Rich Valley), she was the daughter of William Sevier Dougherty and Nancy Elizabeth Kilgore. Sara married A. P. Carter
on June 18, 1915, but they were later divorced in 1939. They had three children: Gladys (Millard), Janette (Jett)
, and Joe.
In 1927, she and A.P. began performing as the Carter Family
, perhaps the first commercial rural Country music group. They were joined by her cousin, Maybelle
, who was married to A.P.'s brother, Ezra Carter. She later remarried to Coy Bayes, A.P.'s first cousin, and moved to California
in 1943, and the original group disbanded. In the late 1940s, Maybelle began performing with her daughters Helen
, June
, and Anita
as The Carter Sisters
(the act was renamed The Carter Family during the 1960s).
On some Carter Family recordings, Sara is incorrectly credited as author of the songs "Fifty Miles of Elbow Room" and "Keep on the Firing Line"; in truth she discovered these public domain
songs when they were being sung at a Seventh-day Adventist church she visited. RCA gave her songwriter credit, as it did A. P. Carter on his public domain discoveries. The Carter Family recordings of these tunes did however bring the songs wide fame and are largely responsible for their being known today.
Sara reunited with Maybelle briefly in the 1960s for two albums and briefly performed together during the folk music craze of the time. (See film clip here) The duo were also featured as guests in a late 1960s episode of The Wilburn Brothers
television show.
in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970 along with Bill Monroe
.
In 1993, her image appeared on a U.S. postage stamp honoring the Carter Family. In 2001 she was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor
.
Never particularly enjoying the limelight, Sara Carter lived privately thoroughout her life and left the promotion and care of the Carter Family legacy to others. Nevertheless, her contribution to the group was invaluable and as a country music female vocalist she strongly influenced generations of women, including Kitty Wells
, Jean Shepard
, Skeeter Davis
, and Loretta Lynn
with her blunt, "from the heart" vocals.
On her 2008 album
All I Intended to Be
, Emmylou Harris
includes the song, "How She Could Sing the Wildwood
Flower", co-written with Kate and Anna McGarrigle
, about the relationship between Sara and A.P., inspired by a documentary
that the three of them saw on television
.
Sara Carter is interred in the Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church graveyard in Hiltons, Virginia.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
. Known for her deep and distinctive singing voice, she was the lead singer on most of the recordings of the historic Carter Family
Carter Family
The 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. They were the first vocal group to become country...
act in the 1920s and 1930s.
Biography
Born Sara Elizabeth Dougherty in Copper Creek, VirginiaCopper Creek, Virginia
Copper Creek is an unincorporated community located in Russell County, Virginia.-Notable residents:*Country music legend Sara Carter of the Carter Family was born there.*Appalachian music man Uncle Charlie Osborne lived there....
, (Rich Valley), she was the daughter of William Sevier Dougherty and Nancy Elizabeth Kilgore. Sara married A. P. Carter
A. P. Carter
Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter , best known as A.P. Carter, was an American musician and founding member of The Carter Family, one of the most notable acts in the history of country music.-Life:...
on June 18, 1915, but they were later divorced in 1939. They had three children: Gladys (Millard), Janette (Jett)
Janette Carter
Janette Carter was the last surviving child of A.P. and Sara Carter, of Carter Family musical fame. In 1976, she and community members built an 880-seat amphitheater, the Carter Family Fold, beside the store her father operated in Southwestern Virginia...
, and Joe.
In 1927, she and A.P. began performing as the Carter Family
Carter Family
The 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. They were the first vocal group to become country...
, perhaps the first commercial rural Country music group. They were joined by her cousin, Maybelle
Maybelle Carter
"Mother" Maybelle Carter was an American country musician. She is best known as a member of the historic Carter Family act in the 1920s and 1930s and also as a member of Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters.-Biography:...
, who was married to A.P.'s brother, Ezra Carter. She later remarried to Coy Bayes, A.P.'s first cousin, and moved to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
in 1943, and the original group disbanded. In the late 1940s, Maybelle began performing with her daughters Helen
Helen Carter
Helen Myrl Carter 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 Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters, a pioneering all female country/folk music group...
, June
June Carter Cash
Valerie June Carter Cash was an American singer, dancer, songwriter, actress, comedienne and author who was a member of the Carter Family and the second wife of singer Johnny Cash...
, and Anita
Anita Carter
Ina Anita Carter , the youngest daughter of Ezra and Mother Maybelle Carter, was a versatile American singer who experimented with several different types of music and played stand-up bass with her sisters Helen Carter and June Carter Cash as The Carter Sisters...
as The Carter Sisters
The Carter Sisters
The Carter Sisters, were an American singing quartet consisting of Maybelle Carter and her daughters June Carter Cash, Helen Carter, and Anita Carter...
(the act was renamed The Carter Family during the 1960s).
On some Carter Family recordings, Sara is incorrectly credited as author of the songs "Fifty Miles of Elbow Room" and "Keep on the Firing Line"; in truth she discovered these public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
songs when they were being sung at a Seventh-day Adventist church she visited. RCA gave her songwriter credit, as it did A. P. Carter on his public domain discoveries. The Carter Family recordings of these tunes did however bring the songs wide fame and are largely responsible for their being known today.
Sara reunited with Maybelle briefly in the 1960s for two albums and briefly performed together during the folk music craze of the time. (See film clip here) The duo were also featured as guests in a late 1960s episode of The Wilburn Brothers
The Wilburn Brothers
The Wilburn Brothers were a popular American country music duo from the 1950s to the 1970s consisting of brothers Doyle Wilburn and Teddy Wilburn .-Biography:...
television show.
Legacy
Carter was inducted as part of The Carter FamilyCarter Family
The 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. They were the first vocal group to become country...
in the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970 along with Bill Monroe
Bill Monroe
William Smith Monroe was an American musician who created the style of music known as bluegrass, which takes its name from his band, the "Blue Grass Boys," named for Monroe's home state of Kentucky. Monroe's performing career spanned 60 years as a singer, instrumentalist, composer and bandleader...
.
In 1993, her image appeared on a U.S. postage stamp honoring the Carter Family. In 2001 she was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor
International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor
Induction to the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame, called the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor from its creation in 1991 through 2006, is managed by the International Bluegrass Music Association, and the Hall itself is maintained at the International Bluegrass Music Museum in...
.
Never particularly enjoying the limelight, Sara Carter lived privately thoroughout her life and left the promotion and care of the Carter Family legacy to others. Nevertheless, her contribution to the group was invaluable and as a country music female vocalist she strongly influenced generations of women, including Kitty Wells
Kitty Wells
Ellen Muriel Deason , known professionally as Kitty Wells, is an American country music singer. Her 1952 hit recording, "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", made her the first female country singer to top the U.S. country charts, and turned her into the first female country star...
, Jean Shepard
Jean Shepard
Ollie Imogene Shepard , better known as Jean Shepard, is an American honky tonk singer-songwriter who was a pioneer for women in country music. Shepard released a total of 73 singles to the Hot Country Songs chart, one of which reached the #1 spot...
, Skeeter Davis
Skeeter Davis
Mary Frances Penick , better known as Skeeter Davis, was an American country music singer best known for crossover pop music songs of the early 1960s. She started out as part of The Davis Sisters as a teenager in the late 1940s, eventually landing on RCA Records. In the late '50s, she became a solo...
, and Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn
Loretta Lynn is an American country music singer-songwriter, author and philanthropist. Born in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky to a coal miner father, Lynn married at 13 years old, was a mother soon after, and moved to Washington with her husband, Oliver Lynn. Their marriage was sometimes tumultuous; he...
with her blunt, "from the heart" vocals.
On her 2008 album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
All I Intended to Be
All I Intended to Be
Harris stated that “Sailing Round the Room” was inspired by Terri Schiavo and is a celebration of life and death; “How She Could Sing the Wildwood Flower” refers to the relationship between A. P. and Sara Carter and was inspired by a documentary that Harris, together with Kate and Anna McGarrigle,...
, Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris
Emmylou Harris is an American singer-songwriter and musician. In addition to her work as a solo artist and bandleader, both as an interpreter of other composers' works and as a singer-songwriter, she is a sought-after backing vocalist and duet partner, working with numerous other artists including...
includes the song, "How She Could Sing the Wildwood
Flower", co-written with Kate and Anna McGarrigle
Kate and Anna McGarrigle
Kate and Anna McGarrigle, were a pair of Canadian singer-songwriters from Quebec, who performed as a duo until Kate McGarrigle's death on January 18, 2010.-Profile:...
, about the relationship between Sara and A.P., inspired by a documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
that the three of them saw on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
.
Sara Carter is interred in the Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church graveyard in Hiltons, Virginia.
Sources
- Wolfe, Charles (1998). "The Carter Family". In The Encyclopedia of Country Music. Paul Kingsbury, Editor. New York: Ixford University Press. pp. 84–5, 617.