MusicRowPics: Carlene Carter

When selecting songs for her latest album, Carter Girl, Carlene Carter certainly had no shortage of material to choose from. Carter, a third generation member of the Carter Family, comes from an immensely talented bloodline. Her grandmother is Mother Maybelle Carter, and her mother is June Carter Cash. June, along with sisters Helen and Anita, comprised The Carter Sisters. Carlene’s father is Country singer Carl Smith.
Carlene Carter comes full circle on Carter Girl (Rounder Records), reviving several classic Carter songs, along with some of her own creations. The album includes several songs penned by A.P. Carter, Mother Maybelle and Sara Carter, the original Carter Family, as well as songs written by her mother and aunts, and a couple of her own compositions, including “Me and the Wildwood Rose” and “Lonesome Valley 2003″ (featuring Vince Gill).
“Mom dubbed [Rosie Nix Adams] Rosie ‘The Wildwood Rose,'” said Carter before performing “Me and the Wildwood Rose” for MusicRow staff. “We would get on the floorboard of the car, and grandma drove. I remember driving all night and getting to a fair and we would watch them perform. After grandma passed in 1978, I wanted to write about what those days meant.” The song was originally included on Carlene’s 1990 project, I Fell In Love.
Other guest vocalists on the project include Kris Kristofferson offers harmony on “Black Jack David.” Elizabeth Cook guests on “Blackie’s Gunman,” while Willie Nelson guests on “Troubled Waters.” Carter Girl also boasts a new version of “I Ain’t Gonna Work Tomorrow,” featuring the guitar work of Cowboy Jack Clement and the voices of Helen, Anita, June and Johnny Cash. “The musicians played along to Cowboy’s original guitar work,” said Carlene. “I redid my vocal on it, and of course at that time [of the original recording], John always wanted to be in the studio, so his voice is on there.”
During her MusicRow visit, she offered up “Lonesome Valley 2003” and  “Little Black Train,” a song the Carter family performed, that Carlene Carter later discovered when she was selecting songs for the project. “Give Me Roses” is a well-crafted reminder to appreciate loved ones while they are still alive. “This is how I view my life and how I want to live it,” she said. Her voice took center stage throughout each song, backed only by her self-accompanying guitar picking in the famous “Carter Scratch” style of guitar playing, characterized by the thumb picking out the melody while the fingers simultaneously brush the strings in rhythm. The Carter Scratch, of course, helped shape the sound of Country music.
Don Was produced the project. “I always wanted to work with Don and I waited to work with him,” said Carlene. “I think that’s the reason it came out so well. He got me to trust my instincts.” she shares. “I wanted to fire myself from playing guitar because I felt we had so many talented guitarists in the studio, but Don said no, they were playing with me. I came to really own these songs as my own, to take them out into the world and keep alive the legacy of the Carter family.”
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