The Carter Family was a country music group that performed and recorded bet… Read Full Bio ↴The Carter Family was a country music group that performed and recorded between 1927 and 1943. Their music had a profound impact on later bluegrass, country, pop and rock musicians, as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s.
The original group consisted of Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter (A.P.; 1891-1960), his wife, Sara Dougherty Carter (autoharp and guitar; 1898-1979), and Maybelle Addington Carter (guitar; 1909-1978). Maybelle Carter (later popularly known as Mother Maybelle Carter) was married to A.P.'s brother Ezra (Eck) Carter. All three were born and raised in southwestern Virginia where they were immersed in the tight harmonies of mountain gospel music and shape note singing. Maybelle Carter's distinctive and innovative guitar playing style quickly became a hallmark of the group.
The Carters got their start on July 31, 1927 when A.P. convinced Sara and Maybelle (pregnant at the time) to make the journey from Maces Springs, Virginia to Bristol, Tennessee to audition for record producer Ralph Peer who was seeking new talent for the relatively embryonic recording industry. They received $50 for each song they recorded.
In the Fall of 1927 the Victor recording company released a double-sided 78 rpm record of the group performing "Wandering Boy" and "Poor Orphan Child". In 1928 another record was released with "The Storms Are on the Ocean" and "Single Girl, Married Girl". This one proved very popular.
They stopped touring and recording in 1943.
In 1987, the three daughters of Maybelle Carter - June Carter (also known as June Carter Cash, following marriage to Johnny Cash), Helen Carter and Anita Carter, along with June Carter's daughter Carlene Carter, appeared as the Carter Family and were featured on a 1987 television episode of Austin City Limits along with Johnny Cash.
The Carters were elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970 and were given the nickname "The First Family of Country Music". In 1988, the Carter Family was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and received its Award for the song "Will the Circle Be Unbroken". In 1993, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative postage stamp honoring A.P., Sara, and Maybelle. In 2001, the group was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor. In 2005, the group received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Carter Family III carries on the tradition. The group consists of A.P. Carter and Sarah Carter’s grandson Dale Jett, Maybelle Carter’s grandson John Carter Cash and his wife Laura Cash.
For more details, see the Carter Family biography at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carterfamily/peopleevents/p_carters.html
The original group consisted of Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter (A.P.; 1891-1960), his wife, Sara Dougherty Carter (autoharp and guitar; 1898-1979), and Maybelle Addington Carter (guitar; 1909-1978). Maybelle Carter (later popularly known as Mother Maybelle Carter) was married to A.P.'s brother Ezra (Eck) Carter. All three were born and raised in southwestern Virginia where they were immersed in the tight harmonies of mountain gospel music and shape note singing. Maybelle Carter's distinctive and innovative guitar playing style quickly became a hallmark of the group.
The Carters got their start on July 31, 1927 when A.P. convinced Sara and Maybelle (pregnant at the time) to make the journey from Maces Springs, Virginia to Bristol, Tennessee to audition for record producer Ralph Peer who was seeking new talent for the relatively embryonic recording industry. They received $50 for each song they recorded.
In the Fall of 1927 the Victor recording company released a double-sided 78 rpm record of the group performing "Wandering Boy" and "Poor Orphan Child". In 1928 another record was released with "The Storms Are on the Ocean" and "Single Girl, Married Girl". This one proved very popular.
They stopped touring and recording in 1943.
In 1987, the three daughters of Maybelle Carter - June Carter (also known as June Carter Cash, following marriage to Johnny Cash), Helen Carter and Anita Carter, along with June Carter's daughter Carlene Carter, appeared as the Carter Family and were featured on a 1987 television episode of Austin City Limits along with Johnny Cash.
The Carters were elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970 and were given the nickname "The First Family of Country Music". In 1988, the Carter Family was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and received its Award for the song "Will the Circle Be Unbroken". In 1993, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative postage stamp honoring A.P., Sara, and Maybelle. In 2001, the group was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Honor. In 2005, the group received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Carter Family III carries on the tradition. The group consists of A.P. Carter and Sarah Carter’s grandson Dale Jett, Maybelle Carter’s grandson John Carter Cash and his wife Laura Cash.
For more details, see the Carter Family biography at http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carterfamily/peopleevents/p_carters.html
Theme / Why Is There A Tear In My Eye
The Carter Family Lyrics
I once loved a beautiful maiden
As fair as the blue skies above
And each night as we wondered together
The moon seemed to smile on our love
We vowed to be true to each other
And nothing could cause us to part
But we never once dreamed that the future
Held only a broken heart
Then there came the night when we parted
We quarrelled as all sweethearts do
And I learned what it was to be jealous
When she told me our love was untrue
She told me she had always been faithful
She swore that her love could not die
And then when I did not believe her
She kissed me and told me goodbye
Oh-de lay-ee oh, de lay-ee yo-de lay-ee
I found I had falsely accused her
And went back to make her my bride
And there in the door stood her mother
She told me my sweetheart had died
I went in and knelt down beside her
And there in the hush of that room
I prayed that my maker would take me
And send my soul down to it's doom
So now I have told you the reason
There's always a tear in my eye
For long weary years I've repented
But I'm longing to lay down and die
And I wonder if I'll be forgiven
When I face the master someday
And I wonder if I'll see my sweetheart
On that beautiful shore far away
Oh-de lay-ee oh, de lay-ee yo-de lay-ee
As fair as the blue skies above
And each night as we wondered together
The moon seemed to smile on our love
We vowed to be true to each other
And nothing could cause us to part
But we never once dreamed that the future
Held only a broken heart
Then there came the night when we parted
We quarrelled as all sweethearts do
When she told me our love was untrue
She told me she had always been faithful
She swore that her love could not die
And then when I did not believe her
She kissed me and told me goodbye
Oh-de lay-ee oh, de lay-ee yo-de lay-ee
I found I had falsely accused her
And went back to make her my bride
And there in the door stood her mother
She told me my sweetheart had died
I went in and knelt down beside her
And there in the hush of that room
I prayed that my maker would take me
And send my soul down to it's doom
So now I have told you the reason
There's always a tear in my eye
For long weary years I've repented
But I'm longing to lay down and die
And I wonder if I'll be forgiven
When I face the master someday
And I wonder if I'll see my sweetheart
On that beautiful shore far away
Oh-de lay-ee oh, de lay-ee yo-de lay-ee
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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