Carlene Carter to play The Argyros
BY DANA DUGAN
There is kismet in the air. Within a couple of weeks, the Wood River Valley will be graced by two members of an extended family of legendary musicians. First up, appearing at the Argyros Performing Arts Center in Ketchum, on Saturday, March 7, will be Carlene Carter, the daughter of June Carter Cash and her first husband, Carl Smith. Following that will be her stepsister Roseanne Cash, daughter of Johnny Cash and his first wife, Vivian, on Sunday, March 8.
Carter grew up surrounded by the first family of country music, in Tennessee. Her grandparents were Ezra and Maybelle Carter, whose cousin Sara was married to A.P. Carter, Ezra’s brother. Together A.P., Maybelle and Sara arranged, wrote and performed country music that was close to the ground, born in the red dirt of Tennessee, and eventually recorded by the Victor Talking Co. in 1927 as The Carter Family. Over the ensuing years, The Carter Family has included an evolving cast of characters that eventually included Mother Maybelle and her three daughters, June (Carlene’s mother), and her sisters, Anita and Helen.
Carlene Carter began her career singing with The Carter Family at 17, and has been releasing music for more than four decades. She’s on a short tour now with a two-person backup band, and a new album soon to be released, “The Carter Family.”
“There are five generations of us playing on that,” she said in her warm Southern voice. “Two generations have already passed. It’s an interesting record, and not normal—oh, this is a single for the radio—it’s an event kind of record. My cousin Lori, my brother John Carter Cash, and I, other cousins, at the end we sing ‘Will The Circle Be Unbroken.’” [Though there is an original version, the seminal one was written by A.P. Carter and released in 1935 by The Carter Family.]
“We’re together, still carrying on the legacy,” Carter said. “There’ll never be another record like it. My grandmother said to me, ‘When we’re gone, you have to keep the music alive, for Sara and A.P., too.’”
Carter will be on the road for a couple of weeks, including a stayover to hang out in Sun Valley, before going on to more shows in Oregon.
“I tell a lot of stories,” she said, laughing about her shows. “I never know what it’s going to be, stories about the family—I can do that like crazy. I try to include the audience. They’ll have fun, and I may not be back. I’m not exactly a spring chicken.
“I like to go places people don’t go and play that much. They appreciate it and have a good time. I’ve done Carnegie Hall and big theatre, but I like meeting all the people. Country people are my people.”
Carter said she received the key to the City of Sun Valley about seven years ago when she was here for an anniversary trip with her husband.
“I was really flattered,” she said. “We went skiing and had a wonderful time, stayed at the Lodge.”
Carter spent a few years on the road with John Mellencamp on his Plain Spoken tour, both as a support act and joining him on stage nightly to perform duets. She also played a role in the touring production of “Ghost Brothers of Darkland County,” the Southern gothic musical play written by Stephen King, T Bone Burnett and Mellencamp.
“One of my grandkids is a bass player, and one is playing drums. My daughter was more pop, now she’s kind of coming around. They are kind of coming around to our legacy, the music. My sister Cathy’s son is Thomas Gabriel. I didn’t even know he could sing!”
Carter’s father was Carl Smith, also a country music star, but his influence was of a different nature.
“He didn’t talk about the music. He wanted to be a cowboy,” she said. “He became a gentleman rancher, and a cutting champion. But he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, and he came out and sang duet with me, which was quite a feat.”
Her stepfather, Johnny Cash, and June Carter provide inspiration aplenty.
“Big John gave me my first electric guitar when I was about 11,” she said. “He knew I wanted one. My cousin David and I wanted to have a band. Another cousin had a rehearsal spot for us to play in. They all still play music.”
Carter said she didn’t know she could even sing until a time she was brought up on stage to sing, standing between her grandmother and aunt Helen.
“I was so excited my leg was jiggly,” she said, laughing.
Carter recently moved back to Tennessee from California, where she’d been for many years, to a home near the Carter Smith house, where she grew up, with Mother Maybelle in residence, too.
“I’m loving being there with my dogs and my birds,” she said. She also loves the easy access to all the music Nashville has to offer.
“I missed it. When my oldest granddaughter turned 16, I said, that’s it. I moved back. Now I’m around music all the time. Hopefully, I’ll take a break, do some songwriting on my guitar while I’m there in Sun Valley.
“I was just on the Outlaw Country cruise, and got to play and be with all sorts of people. It’s one of the best. Everything was excellent.”
For tickets: Sun Valley Museum of Art (208) 726-9491 or svmoa.org.