CARTER FAMILY

singing group consisting of Alvin Pleasant Carter, known as A.P. Carter born April 15, 1891, Maces Spring, Va., U.S. died Nov. 7, 1960, Kentucky his wife Sara, ne Dougherty (b. July 21, 1898, Flatwoods, Va.d. Jan. 8, 1979, Lodi, Calif.), and his sister-in-law Maybelle Carter, ne Addington (b. May 10, 1909, Nickelsville, Va.d. Oct. 23, 1978, Nashville, Tenn.), a leading force in the spread and popularization of Appalachian Mountain folk songs. The family's recording career began in 1927 in response to an advertisement placed in a local newspaper by a talent scout for Victor records. Over the next 14 years, with two of Sara's children and three of Maybelle's (Helen, June, and Anita) also appearing, they recorded more than 300 songs for various labels, representing a significant cross section of the mountain-music repertory, including old ballads and humorous songs, sentimental pieces from the 19th and early 20th century, and many religious pieces. They later performed extensively on radio and popularized many songs that became standards of folk and country music; some of these were Jimmy Brown, the Newsboy, Wabash Cannonball, It Takes a Worried Man To Sing a Worried Song, and Wildwood Flower. After the Carter family's original group broke up in 1941, subsequent groups of one or more of the original members plus various relatives continued to perform under the Carter Family name. Maybelle (Mother) Carter performed regularly with her daughters, as a soloist, and later with her son-in-law, the singer Johnny Cash. The Original Carter Family was the first group admitted to the Country Music Hall of Fame.