Single Girl, Married Girl is a folk song made famous by

The Carter Family The Carter Family was an American folk music group that recorded and performed between 1927 and 1956. Regarded as one of the most important music acts of the early 20th century, they had a profound influence on the development of bluegrass, c ...

, about the differences in lifestyle between the two title characters. The song was originally released on

Victor Records The Victor Talking Machine Company was an American recording company and phonograph manufacturer, incorporated in 1901. Victor was an independent enterprise until 1929 when it was purchased by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and became ...

in January 1928 as the a-side of Victor 20937, the Carter Family’s second 78-rpm record for the label. It was recorded on August 2, 1927, the second day of their first session with producer and engineer

Ralph Peer Ralph Sylvester Peer (May 22, 1892 – January 19, 1960) was an American talent scout, recording engineer, record producer and music publisher in the 1920s and 1930s. Peer pioneered field recording of music when in June 1923 he took remote re ...

, and released in January 1928.Zwonitzer, Mark, and Hirshberg, Charles. Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone?: The Carter Family & Their Legacy in American Music. New York. Simon and Schuster. This version was later included in Harry Smith’s

Anthology of American Folk Music ''Anthology of American Folk Music'' is a three-volume compilation album released in August 1952 by Folkways Records. The album was compiled by experimental filmmaker Harry Smith from his own personal collection of 78 rpm records. It consists ...

, Vol. 3. Notably, the song does not feature A.P. Carter, but is instead a solo by

Sara Carter Sara Elizabeth Carter (née Dougherty, later Bayes; July 21, 1898 – January 8, 1979) was an American country music musician, singer, and songwriter. Remembered mostly for her deep, distinctive, mature singing voice, she was the lead singer on ...

playing

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 t ...

accompanied by her cousin

Maybelle Carter "Mother" Maybelle Carter (born Maybelle Addington; May 10, 1909 – October 23, 1978) was an American country musician and "among the first" to use the Carter scratch, with which she "helped to turn the guitar into a lead instrument." It ...

playing lead guitar (Maybelle Carter used an inexpensive Stella guitar during the August 1-2, 1927 sessions). The song was re-recorded during the last months of Sara and A.P. Carter’s marriage, on May 8, 1935, during a 4-day recording session with Ralph Peer. The tempo of this version is much slower, and

sings at a much lower pitch. This version was first released on Arc Records, along with the song “No Other’s Bride I’ll Be,” as ARC 8733.

Personnel

: Vocals,

: Guitar *

: Recording producer/engineer

Notable Versions

Artist:

The Haden Triplets The Haden Triplets, Petra, Tanya, and Rachel (born October 11, 1971, in New York City), are musicians who have performed individually in bands and together. They are the daughters of jazz double-bassist Charlie Haden and Ellen David. The triple ...

Album: ''The Haden Triplets'' Artist: Charlie Haden Family and Friends (featuring Petra Haden, Tanya Haden, and Rachel Haden); Album: '' Rambling Boy'' Artist: Petra Haden Album: ''The Harry Smith Project: Anthology Of American Folk Music Revisited'' Artist: Ruby Vas

Artist: Jody Stecher and Kate Brislin Album: ''Songs of the Carter Family'' Artist:

Levon Helm Mark Lavon "Levon" Helm (May 26, 1940 – April 19, 2012) was an American musician who achieved fame as the drummer and one of the three lead vocalists for The Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. Hel ...

Album: ''

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'' Artist: The

Kossoy Sisters The Kossoy Sisters are identical twin sisters (Irene Saletan and Ellen Christenson) who performed American folk and old-time music. Irene sang mezzo-soprano vocal, and Ellen supplied soprano harmony, with Irene on guitar and Ellen playing the fi ...

Album: ''

Bowling Green A bowling green is a finely laid, close-mown and rolled stretch of turf for playing the game of bowls. Before 1830, when Edwin Beard Budding of Thrupp, near Stroud, UK, invented the lawnmower, lawns were often kept cropped by grazing sheep ...

'' Heard on: soundtrack of ''

Obvious Child ''Obvious Child'' is a 2014 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Gillian Robespierre (in her directorial debut) and stars Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffmann and David Cross. The story follows Donna, a stand-up com ...

'' Artist: Alex De Grassi Album: ''Now And Then: Folk Songs for the 21st Century'' Artist: Promise and the Monster Album: ''Transparent Knives'' Artist:

16 Horsepower 16 Horsepower was an American country rock band based in Denver, Colorado, United States. Their music often invoked religious imagery dealing with conflict, redemption, punishment, and guilt through David Eugene Edwards's lyrics and the heavy ...

Album: ''

Folklore Folklore is the body of expressive culture shared by a particular group of people, culture or subculture. This includes oral traditions such as Narrative, tales, myths, legends, proverbs, Poetry, poems, jokes, and other oral traditions. This also ...

'' Artist:

Peter, Paul and Mary Peter, Paul and Mary were an American Contemporary folk music, folk group formed in New York City in 1961 during the American folk music revival. The trio consisted of Peter Yarrow (guitar, tenor vocals), Paul Stookey (guitar, baritone vocals), ...

Album: ''

In Concert (Peter, Paul and Mary album) ''In Concert'' is a live album by the American folk music trio Peter, Paul & Mary, released in 1964 (see 1964 in music). It was compiled from concerts at San Francisco, Sacramento, Long Beach in California; Daytona Beach, Florida and Terre Haute ...

Personnel

Notable Versions

References

Further reading