11A: The Carter Family

The Carter Family is considered one of the founders of American country music. They were formed in 1927 in southwest Virginia. (Question 1 — Can you find Virginia on a map? See answers below.)

The group consisted of Sara Carter; her husband A.P. Carter; and her sister Maybelle Carter. (Maybelle was married to A.P.’s brother, Eck.)

A.P. Carter’s home in Virginia.

Some of their songs have become American standards — which means they’re widely known songs that are sung in classrooms, camps, churches, and elsewhere. Here’s one you might know. This was recorded in 1928.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

Maybelle’s guitar-playing style was very influential. It sounded like two guitars playing at once and became known as the “Carter Scratch.” This style is used to this day in American roots music. Here’s how it works:

Here's a sample from The Guitar Styles of the Carter Family - Taught by Mike Seeger. Catalog number DVD-SEG-CF21, available at https://www.homespun.com/shop/...

The Great Depression started in 1929. (Question 2 — Do you know what the Great Depression was?) The Carter Family’s song “No Depression” came out in 1936. Here’s what it sounded like:

No Depression in Heaven by The Carter Family

Since then, the song has been recorded many times. In the 1990s, No Depression was a magazine about American roots music. And the song was recorded by a band called Uncle Tupelo. Here they are singing it in their hometown of St. Louis.

Uncle Tupelo performs No Depression Live at Mississippi Nights, St. Louis, MO April 30, 1994 This was the first night of Uncle Tupelo's farewell concerts. so...

The Carter Family and their descendants played together until the 1950s. (Question 3 —What are descendants? Who are you a descendant of?) Maybelle’s daughter June Carter became the most famous of the Carter family. Here’s mother and daughter singing together in 1971.

From the March 17, 1971 episode of "The Johnny Cash Show," June and Mother Maybelle duet on "No Hiding Place Down Here."

It has been said the Carter Family is like “the George Washington of country music.” (Question 4 — What do you think that means?) Over the years they have influenced musicians in country, folk, bluegrass, and Southern Gospel. Here’s a commercial for a movie made about them in 2015.

The official trailer for the new documentary 'The Winding Stream: The Carters, the Cashes and the Course of Country Music' (2014, Beth Harrington)

Answers:

1 — Virginia is in the east central section of the United States. Its eastern border is the Atlantic Ocean.

2 — The Great Depression was a period of time in the United States — mostly in the 1930s — when many people were poor, out of work, and hungry. It was a very hard time.

3 — Descendants are people who came from certain ancestors. You’re descendants of your parents and grandparents. Your kids and grandkids will be your descendants.

4 — George Washington was the first president of the United States. The Carter Family was one of the first country artists in the country. They set the standard for what country music would become.