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Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone? The Carter Family & Their Legacy in American Music By Mark Zwonitzer and Charles Hirshberg © 2004 Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone? is the first major biography of the Carter Family, the musical pioneers who almost single-handedly created the sounds and traditions that grew into modern folk, country, and bluegrass music. Meticulously researched and lovingly written, it is a look at a world and a culture that, rather than passing, has continued to exist in the music that is the legacy of the Carters -- songs that have shaped and influenced generations of artists who have followed them. |
Brilliant in insight and execution, Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone? is also an in-depth study of A.P., Sara, and Maybelle Carter, and their bittersweet story of love and fulfillment, sadness and loss. The result is more than just a biography of a family; it is also a journey into another time, almost another world, and theirs is a story that resonates today and lives on in the timeless music they created.
Considered to be country music's first
family, the Carter Family was a rural country music group
that performed between 1927 and 1943. The original group was a trio comprised of Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter (A.P.), his wife, Sara Dougherty
Carter (autoharp), and Maybelle Carter (guitar). Maybelle was married to A.P.'s brother Ezra (Eck) Carter.
All three were born and raised in southwestern Virginia where they were immersed in the tight harmonies of
mountain gospel music and shape note singing. Maybelle's distinctive and innovative guitar playing style
quickly became a hallmark of the group. Maybelle's daughter, June Carter joined the group in the early 1940s.
The Carters got their start on July 31, 1927 when A.P. convinced Sara and Maybelle (pregnant at the time) to
make the journey from Maces Springs, Virginia to Bristol, Tennessee to audition for record producer Ralph
Peer who was seeking new talent for the relatively embryonic recording industry. They received $50 for each
of the songs they recorded.
In the Fall on 1927 the Victor recording company released a double sided 78 rpm record of the group
performing "Wandering Boy" and "Poor Orphan Child". In 1928 another record was released with "The Storms
Are on the Ocean" and "Single Girl, Married Girl". This one proved very popular.
On May 27, 1928, Peer had the group travel to Camden, New Jersey where they recorded many of what would
become their signature songs, including: "Meet me by the Moonlight Alone," "Keep on the Sunny Side,"
"Little Darling, Pal of Mine," "Forsaken Love," "Anchored in Love," "I Ain't Goin' to Work Tomorrow,"
"Will You Miss Me when I'm Gone," "Wildwood Flower," "River of Jordan," "Chewing Gum," and
"John Hardy Was a Desperate Little Man." The group realized $600 for this effort and left with a contract
that assured a small royalty for sales of their records and sheet music.
During a February 1929 recording session they memorialized: "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes,"
"My Clinch Mountain Home," "Sweet Fern," "Grave on the Green Hillside," "Little Moses," "Don't Forget This
Song," and "Engine 143." By the end of 1930 they had sold 300,000 records nationally.
Realizing that he would benefit financially with each new song he collected and copyrighted, A.P. travelled
around the southwestern Virginia area in search of new songs. In the early 1930s he befriended Lesley (Esley)
Riddle, a black guitar player from Kingsport. Esley accompanied A.P. on his song collecting trips. Riddle's
blues guitar playing style influenced the Carters, especially Maybelle who learned new guitar techniques from
watching him play.
In June, 1931, the Carters did a recording session in Nashville, Tennessee along with country legend, Jimmie
Rodgers.
In the winter of 1938-1939 the Carter Family travelled to Texas where they had a twice-daily program on
border radio station XERA (later XERF) in Villa Acuņa (now Ciudad Acuņa), Mexico, across the border from
Del Rio, Texas. Beginning with the 1939/1940 season, June Carter joined the group, this time in San Antonio,
Texas, where the programs were pre-recorded and distributed to multiple border radio stations (XELO, XEG,
XERB, and XEPN).
In Fall, 1942, the Carters moved their program to 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 a.m.
Throughout their time together, the Carter Family also appeared in many live performances, often in local
schools and churches.
In 1943, the group disbanded after Sara moved permanently to California.
During the 1960s, revivalist folksingers performed much of the material the Carters had collected or written.
For example, on her early Vanguard albums, folk performer Joan Baez sang: "Wildwood Flower", "Little Moses",
"Engine 143", [Little Darling] "Pal of Mine", and "Gospel Ship".
In 1988, the Carter Family was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and received its Award for the
song "Can the Circle Be Unbroken".
In 1993, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative postage stamp honoring A.P., Sara, and Maybelle.
In 2001, the group was in inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Association's Hall of Honor.
Discography 1960 All Time Favorites • Acme Related links: Content Provided by Wikipedia
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"Since migrating from Cambridge,
Mass to Nashville some three decades ago, Mark Brine has carved out a strong
reputation as an uncompromising traditionalist on the country music scene which
has made him one of the elder statesmen of Americana."
-- Shaun Dale, Cosmik Debris Magazine
"I could listen to him sing all night long … he does a good job that boy does." -- Roy Acuff, Ernest Tubb Midnight Jamboree "A fine young man who I think has a great future." -- Hank Snow, Grand Ole Opry "Brine could easily have been added to the cast of 'O Brother, Where Art Thou' without raising an eyebrow. He belongs to that group of artists whose individuality and quirkiness consign them to the periphery of what's commercially viable. But God bless him for not just being another cog in the musical wheel." -- James McSweeney, Flyin Shoes |
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"Brine writes wonderful story songs about ordinary people
and ordinary places. To tell these stories, Mark has a voice that is
as comfortable as a favourite coat."
-- Pete Smith, Country Music Round Up "I think what makes Mark Brine such a gifted songwriter/storyteller is the fact that he seems to be such an obvious fan of many genres of music. He's someone who is like a sponge when it comes to reintegrating influences into his own work." -- Gail Worley, Ink 19 "His career has pursued the path of a truly independent artist - someone who follows his soul and does things his own way … his ability to write and produce has made his name synonymous with quality." -- Doug Floyd, AltCountryTab.com ©2004 Mark Brine Music. All rights reserved. |