Ina Anita Carter (March 31, 1933 – July 29, 1999) was an American singer who played upright bass, guitar, and
autoharp
An autoharp or chord zither is a string instrument belonging to the zither family. It uses a series of bars individually configured to mute all strings other than those needed for the intended chord. The term ''autoharp'' was once a trademark of ...
. She performed with her sisters, Helen and June, and her mother,
Maybelle, initially under the name The Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle. Carter had three top ten hits as well as other charting singles. She was the first to record the songs "
Blue Boy" and "
Ring of Fire
The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur. The Ring o ...
". Carter was also a songwriter, most notably co-writing the Johnny Cash hit "
Rosanna's Going Wild
"Rosanna's Going Wild" is a song written by June, Helen and Anita Carter for Johnny Cash.
Cash released it as a single (Columbia 4-44373, with "Roll Call" on the opposite side) in November 1967. The song made it to number 2 on U.S. ''Billboard' ...
."
Carter recorded for a number of labels, both as a solo artist and with her family, including
RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also Aris ...
,
Cadence
In Western musical theory, a cadence (Latin ''cadentia'', "a falling") is the end of a phrase in which the melody or harmony creates a sense of full or partial resolution, especially in music of the 16th century onwards.Don Michael Randel (1999) ...
,
Columbia, Audiograph,
United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...
,
Liberty
Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom.
In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...
and
Capitol
A capitol, named after the Capitoline Hill in Rome, is usually a legislative building where a legislature meets and makes laws for its respective political entity.
Specific capitols include:
* United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.
* Numerous ...
.
Biography
Born in
Maces Spring, Virginia
Maces Spring is a small unincorporated community in Scott County, Virginia, United States, along State Route 614, in an area known as Poor Valley. The settlement consists of a small number of houses. There are no longer any stores in Maces Spring; ...
, she scored two top ten hits in 1951 with "Down The Trail of Achin' Hearts" and "Blue Bird Island," both duets with
Hank Snow
Clarence Eugene "Hank" Snow (May 9, 1914 – December 20, 1999) was a Canadian-American country music artist. Most popular in the 1950s, he had a career that spanned more than 50 years, he recorded 140 albums and charted more than 85 singles on t ...
. In 1962, she recorded "
Love's Ring of Fire," written by her sister June and
Merle Kilgore
Wyatt Merle Kilgore (August 9, 1934 – February 6, 2005) was an American singer, songwriter, and manager. Born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, he was raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. At the time of his death, he was the personal manager of Hank Wil ...
. After the song failed to make the charts, Johnny Cash recorded it as "Ring of Fire" in March 1963 with the horns and the Carter Sisters (along with Mother Maybelle). This version became a hit for Cash.
She reached the top ten again in 1968 with "I Got You," a duet with
Waylon Jennings
Waylon Jennings (June 15, 1937 – February 13, 2002) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. He pioneered the Outlaw Movement in country music.
Jennings started playing guitar at the age of eight and performed at age f ...
.
Carter also reached the top 50 with hits like "I'm Gonna Leave You" in 1966 and "Tulsa County" in 1971.
On March 26th, 1952, she appeared on ''
The Kate Smith Evening Hour
Kathryn Elizabeth Smith (May 1, 1907 – June 17, 1986) was an American contralto. Referred to as The First Lady of Radio, Smith is well known for her renditions of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" & "When The Moon Comes Over The Mountain". ...
'' with her family band "
The Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle" as the first females to represent hillbilly/country music and Music City
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
on national television. On April 23rd, she returned to the program, where she performed a duet with
Hank Williams
Hank Williams (born Hiram Williams; September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Regarded as one of the most significant and influential American singers and songwriters of the 20th century, he reco ...
, on his song "
I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)
"I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)" is a song written and originally recorded by Hank Williams on MGM Records. It hit number two on the ''Billboard'' country singles chart in 1951. In his autobiography, George Jones printed the fir ...
". Then on May 21st, she became the first female star of the Grand Ole Opry to sing a solo on
The Kate Smith Evening Hour
Kathryn Elizabeth Smith (May 1, 1907 – June 17, 1986) was an American contralto. Referred to as The First Lady of Radio, Smith is well known for her renditions of Irving Berlin's "God Bless America" & "When The Moon Comes Over The Mountain". ...
when she sang "
Just When I Needed You
Just or JUST may refer to:
__NOTOC__ People
* Just (surname)
* Just (given name)
Arts and entertainment
* ''Just'', a 1998 album by Dave Lindholm
* "Just" (song), a song by Radiohead
* "Just", a song from the album ''Lost and Found'' by Mudva ...
".
Marriages
Carter married fiddler Dale Potter in 1950 (marriage was annulled shortly thereafter),
session musician
Session musicians, studio musicians, or backing musicians are musicians hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a ...
Don Davis in 1953 (divorced and then remarried), and
Bob Wootton
Robert "Bob" Wootton (March 4, 1942 – April 9, 2017) was an American guitarist. He joined Johnny Cash's backing band, the Tennessee Three, after original lead guitarist Luther Perkins died in a house fire. He remained Cash's guitarist for n ...
(lead guitarist for Johnny Cash's band
The Tennessee Three) in 1974 (divorced). She had two children, Lorrie Frances and John Christopher (Jay) Davis.
Death
Carter suffered from
rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and hands are involv ...
for many years, and the drugs used to treat it severely damaged her pancreas, kidneys, and liver. She died on July 29, 1999, at the age of 66,
a year after eldest sister Helen and four years before middle sister June. She was under hospice care at the home of Johnny and June Carter Cash in
Hendersonville, Tennessee
Hendersonville is the largest city in Sumner County, Tennessee, on Old Hickory Lake. The population was 61,753 at the 2020 census.
Hendersonville is the fourth-largest city in the Nashville metropolitan area after Nashville, Murfreesboro, an ...
. Her interment was in
Hendersonville Memory Gardens
Hendersonville Memory Gardens is a cemetery located at 353 East Main Street in Hendersonville, Tennessee, United States, a few miles northeast of Nashville. Formerly known as Woodlawn Memorial Park East, it is the burial site of Johnny Cash as w ...
in
Hendersonville, Tennessee
Hendersonville is the largest city in Sumner County, Tennessee, on Old Hickory Lake. The population was 61,753 at the 2020 census.
Hendersonville is the fourth-largest city in the Nashville metropolitan area after Nashville, Murfreesboro, an ...
.
Album discography apart from Carter Family
Singles chart activity apart from Carter Family
Selected Studio & Guest Artist Appearances
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carter Family
1933 births
1999 deaths
People from Scott County, Virginia
American women country singers
American country singer-songwriters
American folk singers
Apex Records artists
RCA Victor artists
Cash–Carter family
Country musicians from Virginia
Folk musicians from Virginia
Cadence Records artists
20th-century American singers
The Carter Family members
20th-century American women singers
Singer-songwriters from Virginia