Carter's Chord was an American
country music
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...
group composed of sisters Becky Scott, Emily Fortney, and Joanna Ott, all of whom are singer-songwriters and vocalists. They are also the three daughters of Barny and Carter Roberston, both of whom played in
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 ...
' road band The Waylors in the 1970s; Emily Fortney is also married to Marc "Butter" Fortney of
Trailer Choir
Trailer Choir was an American country music group composed of vocalists Marc "Butter" Fortney, Crystal Hoyt, and Vincent "Big Vinny" Hickerson. The trio was signed to Show Dog Nashville, a label owned by Toby Keith, in 2007. After recording the s ...
, another country music group.
After several years of performing locally, the trio was signed in 2006 to Show Dog Nashville (now
Show Dog-Universal Music
Show Dog Nashville is an American independent record label specializing in country music artists. It was founded in 2005 by singer Toby Keith. It was later merged with Universal South Records into Show Dog-Universal Music in December 2009 until ...
), a record label owned by country singer
Toby Keith
Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's ''Toby Keith'', 1994's ''Boomtown'', 1996' ...
. Their debut single, "Young Love", reached the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...
charts, as did its followup "Different Breed." Both are included on the group's debut album, which was issued to digital retailers in June 2008.
Biography
Becky, Emily, and Joanna Robertson were raised in a musically inclined household in southern California.
Their parents—keyboardist and producer Barny Robertson, and vocalist Carter Robertson—were both members of
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 ...
' road band The Waylors in the 1970s.
Having performed together at their home from an early age, the three sisters made their recording debut on Jennings' 1998 album ''
Cowboys, Sisters, Rascals & Dirt'', which their father produced.
The sisters would also charge for the shows that they performed at home; among the artists who paid to see them at their house included Jennings and members of
The Crickets
The Crickets were an American rock and roll band from Lubbock, Texas, formed by singer-songwriter Buddy Holly in January 1957. Their first hit record, "That'll Be the Day", released in May 1957, peaked at number three on the Billboard Hot 100, ...
.
Later on, the three sisters moved to
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the List of muni ...
, where they began honing their singing and songwriting skills. Eventually, they were discovered by
Toby Keith
Toby Keith Covel (born July 8, 1961), known professionally as Toby Keith, is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and record producer. He released his first four studio albums—1993's ''Toby Keith'', 1994's ''Boomtown'', 1996' ...
; after the trio held a showcase on February 14, 2006, Keith signed them to his own
Show Dog Nashville label.
The group's first release was a recording of the Christmas standard "
O come, O come, Emmanuel", which was placed into rotation on the television network
CMT.
They also recorded the song "Song of Blue" on the soundtrack to the 2008 film ''
Beer for My Horses
"Beer for My Horses" is a song recorded by American country music artists Toby Keith and Willie Nelson. It was written by Keith and Scotty Emerick for Keith's seventh studio album, ''Unleashed''. The song was released as the album's fourth and fi ...
'', in which Keith starred.
"Young Love", their debut single, was released to radio in January 2008, and entered the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
''
Hot Country Songs
Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States.
This 50-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly by collecting airplay data from Nielsen BDS along with digital sal ...
charts.
A second single, "Different Breed", was released to radio in April 2008. In addition, Carter's Chord released its debut album to digital retailers in June 2008.
"You Knock Me Out" was released to radio in January 2010 as the trio's third single, but it failed to chart. Their fourth single, "A Little Less Comfortable", was released a year later in January 2011. This song also failed to chart.
Personal lives
Joanna married Mark Ott in mid-2009. Emily married Marc "Butter" Fortney of
Trailer Choir
Trailer Choir was an American country music group composed of vocalists Marc "Butter" Fortney, Crystal Hoyt, and Vincent "Big Vinny" Hickerson. The trio was signed to Show Dog Nashville, a label owned by Toby Keith, in 2007. After recording the s ...
, another act on the Show Dog-Universal label, in September 2010. Becky got engaged to longtime boyfriend, music producer Jeremiah Scott on August 23, 2011, and married him on April 21, 2012.
In March 2014, Ott released a solo EP called ''Machinery''.
Discography
Extended plays
Singles
Music videos
References
External links
{{Authority control
Country music groups from Tennessee
Sibling musical trios
Musical groups from Nashville, Tennessee
Vocal trios
Musical groups established in 2006
Show Dog-Universal Music artists