The Carter Family: The First Family of Country Music

A foundational pillar of American roots music, The Carter Family transformed localized mountain folk traditions into the bedrock of the modern country music industry. Characterized by Sara Carter's stark, haunting lead vocals, dense family vocal harmonies, and Maybelle Carter's revolutionary instrumental precision, the trio established a massive catalog of traditional ballads and gospel hymns. Their historic recordings not only preserved the musical heritage of the Appalachian hills but also provided a primary lyrical and structural template that deeply influenced subsequent generations of folk, country, and rock artists across the globe.

The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers are the two artists most responsible for the early development of the country music industry. Before them, the folk music of the Appalachian region of the United States was folk music played by locals for their own amusement, and it remained a regional art form. The music was casually referred to as just “hillbilly music.” The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers were not the first country artists to record; Charlie Poole, Ernest Stoneman, Eck Robertson, and others had made recordings before them, but Rodgers and the Carters turned hillbilly music into pop music.

The original Carter Family consisted of the sisters, guitarist Maybelle and lead singer Sara, and occasional backup singer A.P., Sara’s husband. The family hailed from Clinch Mountain, Virginia.

The Carter Family first recorded in Bristol, Tennessee, for record producer Ralph Peer in 1927. They were paid 50 dollars for each song they recorded. Among those songs were “Wandering Boy” and “Poor Orphan Child,” which Victor released as a single in the fall of 1927.

The next year, 1928, saw the Carter Family in the Victor studios in Camden, New Jersey, where they recorded their classics, “Keep on the Sunny Side,” “Can the Circle be Unbroken,” “Wildwood Flower,” “River of Jordan,” and many others. They were not paid for these recordings but were promised royalties based on sales. By 1930, the Carter Family had sold over 300,000 records in the United States.

Technical Catalog Spotlight: The Original and Great Carter Family (1962)

This monumental historical document compiles the foundational shellac masters that established old-time acoustic country music on a commercial scale. The monaural production perfectly preserves the crisp definition of Maybelle's thumb-lead guitar style, allowing the family's raw, religious vocal harmonies to carry incredible warmth and weight without studio artifice.

• Released: 1962
• Label: RCA Victor
• Producer: Ralph Peer
• Core Personnel: Sara Carter (Vocals, Autoharp), Maybelle Carter (Guitar, Vocals), A.P. Carter (Vocals)
• Key Tracks: Keep on the Sunny Side, Wildwood Flower, Wabash Cannonball

Not only are these recordings historically significant, but they are also aesthetically pleasing, too. The Carters were a great string band that displayed technical brilliance and perfectly sung harmonies. Mother Maybelle was a brilliant guitarist who invented a guitar-picking technique that was adopted by scads of country guitarists in subsequent years.

The Carter Family is one of the most important artists of the 20th century, and they must be heard by anyone who wishes to understand the development of American popular music. The best compilations of the Carter Family’s classic sides include the following releases: "The Original and Great Carter Family” (1962), “In the Shadow of Clinch Mountain” (2000), “Wildwood Flower” (2000), and “1927-1934” (2002).

Technical Catalog Spotlight: In the Shadow of Clinch Mountain (2000)

A meticulously comprehensive multi-disc historical box set that serves as the gold standard for pre-war roots music restoration. The digital transfers masterfully scrub away decades of heavy surface crackle from early Victor and Decca master discs, showcasing the incredible consistency of Maybelle's iconic Carter Scratch technique and the group's unparalleled polyphonic string interplay.

• Released: January 2000
• Label: Bear Family Records
• Producer: Richard Weize
• Core Personnel: Sara Carter (Vocals, Autoharp), Maybelle Carter (Guitar, Vocals), A.P. Carter (Vocals)
• Key Tracks: Can the Circle Be Unbroken, River of Jordan, Single Girl Married Girl

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