VA Locksmiths

Sara was a great singer (and my favourite singer in the world). She contributed as much to the Carter Family sound as Maybelle and A.P. Without the three, there would not be that classic, unique and brilliant Carter Family Music.

And as for “anonymous”!! What? Should not even be on this list? Where are your ears, and where is your heart?

The Carter Family created a synthesis of Appalachian folk, Irish & English folk music and English & American parlor songs preserving a rich musical heritage that otherwise been lost

Of the sisters Maybelle was ultimately much the more important. Maybelle was a superior guitar player who influence can be heard through the likes of Earl Scruggs, Chet Atkins and every good folk and bluegrass guitarist to come down the pike. Maybelle also produced three extremely talented daughters, two of whom, Helen and Anita were extremely talented vocalists. If I have to say anything about the third daughter June, then you simply haven’t been paying attention.

You can get a large perecentage of the classic original Carter Family material for a total investment of about $60 thanks to the British reissue label JSP which has issued two boxed setsof five CDS apiece (1928-1934 with 128 songs and 1935-1941 with 130 songs) . The sets contain decent liner notes and good sound – far better than you would expect from recordings of that vintage

Maybelle of course continued performing beyond 1941 with her daughters. Much of this material is out of print, although you can sometimes find the vinyl albums in used record shops. A British label called Country Routes has put out a series of radio transcriptions from the late 1940s. The act also included a young fiddle player/guitarist named Chet Atkins who achieved a measure of fame later.

Here are some good sources to come up with this music:

http://www.jsprecords.com/ JSP focuses mostly on Jazz & Blues but the country stuff they do have is outstanding

http://www.propermusic.com/ Another British reissue label – this one ha more country music than JSP

http://www.ccmusic.com/ Collectors Choice Music – for classic music of any genre this site cannot be topped. They have both of the Carter Family boxes available for sale at $24.98 apiece . They also have some of the later Carter material. Be sure to check for “Maybelle Carter” also. Collectors Choice Music carries a lot of the JSP and Proper box sets

http://www.etrecordshop.com/ The Ernest Tubb Record Shop has items for sale that you never imagined existed. ET is country, bluegrass, country comedy and country gospel