Carter Family
LaserWolf
Portland Oregon 11,517 Posts
I just got done reading this book. Not the best music bio ever written, but one of the best stories in American roots music. My knowledge of Carters was mostly their repetoir as performed by a host of others, Maybelle's 60s and 70s recordings, and June. So I learned loads.Anyhow, there is going to be a TV show on PBS tonight about the Carters. Check local listings.
Comments
By the way, there have been a few good music programs lately, including a piece on the New York Dolls and that hip hop documentary. I missed the latter, unfornately.
your old coworker says i need to go to one of your parties...nice.
I've heard of Nick and Aaron, Nick was in a boy band and Aaron was his younger cuter brother. But who are those women? Are they Nick and Aaron's wives? Are they Morman? Can they wear a skirt as well as Joss Stone?
I've been scouring the country bins for the last month. I found the Johnny Cash version of "Were You There When They Crucified My Lord". Great song, Helen (or maybe it's Anita) sings a haunting high note somewhere above high C I would guess. But I need to hear more of the original family like that collection you've got. Also found Johnny Cash's song Big Foot which is about the massacre at Wounded Knee, I've been looking for that for years. Also found a Johnny Cash song called Tony with a Bareback Mountain theme.
http://www.mediaed.org/videos/MediaGenderAndDiversity/HipHopBeyondBeatsAndRhymes
Beyond Beats and Rhymes
I don't know why, but I've been seeing tons of those RCA Camden comp's as well as the Columbia Harmony ones this year... always cheap but I had to stop myself before I had too many
There's plenty around so it won't take long before you find them...
I'm kinda interested in the CD boxsets though for the real schitt - collecting all their 78s w/complete documentation
which album is that on?
Dan, if I see this I'll pick it up for you. I've seen it a couple of times recently. Truly the song "Rock" is that song.
Johnny Cash and June Carter Johnny Cash And His Woman is the lp, the song is Tony.
Tony
This is the story of Tweedle-O-Twist
And a cowboy that I knew named Tony
From Blithe Fresno ol' Sant Joe Washoe go rodeo
Pendleton Santa Ana Baker Bozeman and Burley
From Chambers to Payson Rapid City to Akron
We'd sing just to ease all the hurts that we gained
A bandage to wrap the aches and a few turns of tape
Held us together and stopped the blood stains
Well sometimes we'd draw bad and the stock wouldn't buck
And there was times when the luck wasn't goin' our way
But a credit card that I'd found would get us to the next town
With just a switch of his Montana plates
I remember at Evanston when a bull broke his arm
And we had to make it on into Beulah the next day
I broke out the CB and the only doctor Tony seen
Was me and a can of ether there in the Beulah shoot gates
And it was at Louisville that I went down in the well
And a suicide wrap I held in my hand
The clown just shook his boom while I dangled near doom
It was Tony that saved my life then
Then a year from that week we pulled up at Mesquite
Where I drew number twelve from the herd
And Tony my side kick pulled Tweedle-O-Twist
That bull's famous from Prairie to Evansburg
All right now cowboys kinda clear the way
Let that ambulance through there let that ambulance on through
Looks like a pretty bad wreck out there folks
Hold up folks we go one more ride left down there in the shoots
Wait a minute it looks like they're turnin' ole number twelve out
So that's all for today folks
I'll finish the story of Tweedle-O-Twist
And the cowboy that I knew named Tony
From Sterling to Abilene Loveland to New Orleans
I've got a new partner travelin' with me
But I never could explain why I called him the wrong name
When I get drunk I call him Tony
And sometimes he'll ask me why I pass Montana by
You know at Butte they got money
But that's where I met him my side kickin' friend
I've got more than enough of his memories
For down in Mesquite there's a cowboy sleeping
Where bulls ain't a buckin' ain't a buckin' ole Tony
this one has weak documentation but ALL their songs from 1927-1934, which is the classic period for sure, and its ULTRA cheap - $26 for 5 full cds:
its got everything in its original form...
including the moses song mentioned above and the devastating ones like single girl, married girl, etc...
buy this set and that book mentioned above and youve got all the imprtant stuff and then some.
The first time I heard "Were You There When They Crucified My Lord" was on a Diamanda Galas record (faux_rills field day).
My dearest friend Nathan, from Last of the Blacksmiths, has an endearing crush on Anita Carter. He tells me about these dreams he has with he and her singing. He's a unique guy (ask JRoot or RossHogg for confirmation), and his stories always come from left field, and while listening one can't help but wonder what the..., but in the end, like any good epiphany, the joyousness in the twist-and-turn prove to be the best part of the journey. He's turned me on to the charm and wonder of a great number of my favorites today, Carter Family among them.
When I was out west at the end of last year I found a University of Los Angeles pressed Carter Family LP, complete with songbook. Of course, I bought it. And of course, I gave it to Nathan later that night. He happened to be at a recording studio, working on their new album. When I arrived the band was going through a particularly frustrating moment in their recording process, and when I gave Nathan the record he stammered and said in his warble, "Awww gosh, man." It was terribly cute.
Anyway, that's all to say I can't think of The Carter Family and not think of my friend Nathan, who has a huge crush on Anita (in all her matching outfit weirdness) and claims that a pops Carter sung tune is a rarity that's worth finding.
To illustrate this interconnectedness, a photo of Nathan playing an instore at Amoeba:
We were going through a stack, weeding out photos for our slideshow, and Nathan told me this was his favorite picture of him, like ever, and he'd like it to be included in the slideshow. So, I kinda studied it and drew my own conclusions as to why this might be a favorite picture, like ever (eyes closed, enthralled? getting to play in a favorite record store? some moment in life type thing?). Finally, I decided the picture wasn't that remarkable, and asked him why it was his favorite.
In all his uniqueness, he answered, "Man, it's me and The Carter Family box set in the same picture."
A post in this thread would not be complete without mention of "Farewell" by Anita Carter.
Like the book it concentrated more on the personal than the musical.
It was more the AP Sara story, than the Carter Family story, but that's ok given their time restraints.
It had a few weird talking heads. Marty Staurt, who is apparently a country singer with a really really bad hair cut. I mean he makes Phil Spector's barber look good. I thought at first he was from the Cumberland Mts and was going to educate us about mt life, but no.
Gillen Welch, who is great, was given the job of explaining the "Carter Scratch". Only problem was she plays with a flat pick and Maybelle plays with a thumb pick and the back of her index finger to strum and her index and middle to pick. They could have gotten Mike Segger or Doc Watson to demonstrate, but no.
Like most documentries these days they got actors to play key scenes. Like most ducumentries these days they got generic photos and film clips to illustrate the narrations. And like mosts they don't tell you what is real and what is generic and what is reenacted. So when they zoom in an abandond cabin we don't know if it is the cabin that Sara grew up in, or just a typical Appalachin cabin. Likewise there were some film clips of the Carters, but also clips of actors reenacting. I think documentries owe it to history to say which is which.