ALBUMS

• THE CARTER FAMILY: ANCHORED IN LOVE: THEIR COMPLETE VICTOR RECORDINGS 1927-28: 1993: COUNTRY: GRADE: A+. CD: The Carter Family -A.P. Carter, his wife Sara and A.P.’s sister-in-law Maybelle went from rural southwestern Virginia to Bristol, Tennessee and made their first recordings for record producer Ralph Peer on August 1, 1927. A couple days later Peer made the first recordings of Jimmie Rodgers. A pretty productive week! With The Carter Family and Rodgers country music would have their first stars. Rounder in the 1990’s put out nine albums of The Carter Family”s Victor recordings- going in chronological order from 1927- until their final Victor recordings in 1941. In covering the Carter Family I will listen to all 9 albums. Sara Carter was the first great country vocalist, Maybelle played a variety of string instruments most notably the guitar and is recognized as the first great country instrumentalist. Maybelle was known for The Carter Scratch – a method for playing both rhythm and lead guitar . A.P’s big contribution was going around collecting songs from rural Appalachian musicians in nearby eastern Tennessee, southeastern West Virginia, western North Carolina and eastern Kentucky and in their native Virginia- the Carter’s lived 25 miles from all four of these states. While Jimmie Rodgers represented the rambling, other side of the tracks, wild living kind of life-the Carter’s represented the family, religious side of country music. Some of their most notable songs: “Keep On The Sunnyside.”,”Wildwood Flower”, “Wabash Cannonball.”, “Can The Circle Be Unbroken”, “Single Girl, Married Girl”, “I’m Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes”, “The Storms Are On The Ocean” among others. There were no record charts until 1944 well after Jimmie Rodgers and the recordings of the first generation of The Carter Family.

• THE CARTER FAMILY: MY CLINCH MOUNTAIN HOME: THEIR COMPLETE VICTOR RECORDINGS: 1928-29:1993: COUNTRY: GRADE: A+. CD.

• THE CARTER FAMILY: WHEN THE ROSES BLOOM IN DIXIELAND: THEIR COMPLETE VICTOR RECORDINGS: 1929-30: 1995: COUNTRY: GRADE: A+. CD.

• ANTHOLOGY OF AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC: 1952: BALLADS:  COUNTRY, FOLK: GRADE A++ IPOD: These folks recordings originally came out in the years 1926-33. Harry Smith compiled the 78’s he had collected and in 1952 this box set was released. A total of 84 folk, country and blues songs. They were divided into three categories – Ballads, Social Music and Songs- today I listed to the two discs of Ballads. This box set was a major spark in the folk music explosion of the 1950’s and 1960s- an essential collection. In 2000 a 4th volume of folk songs would be released as a sequel containing songs from 1927-40. A treasury of musical magic.