Sara Carter (born Sara Elizabeth Dougherty; later Sara Carter 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 most of the recordings of the historic Carter Family act in the 1920s and 1930s. In her earliest recordings her voice was pitched very high. (More from Wikipedia)
I first learned of the Carter Family when I saw original member “Mother Maybelle” Carter joined by her children, the Carter Sisters.
This newer incarnation has a makeup that one would expect of a “family” singing group; there have actually been many singing groups that are composed of various members of the Carter Family. The classic line-up of the Carter Family is somewhat unusual in this regard, being made up of Alvin P. Carter and his wife Sara Dougherty Carter, plus their sister-in-law Maybelle Addington Carter; additionally, Sara and Maybelle were first cousins.
The entry on the Carter Family in Allmusic (by David Vinopal) includes: “Comprised of a gaunt, shy gospel quartet member named Alvin P. Carter and two reserved country girls – his wife, Sara [Dougherty Carter], and their sister-in-law, Maybelle [Addington Carter] – the Carter Family sang a pure, simple harmony that influenced not only the numerous other family groups of the ’30s and the ’40s, but folk, bluegrass, and rock musicians like Woody Guthrie, Bill Monroe, the Kingston Trio, Doc Watson, Bob Dylan, and Emmylou Harris, to mention just a few. It’s unlikely that bluegrass music would have existed without the Carter Family.”
(February 2015)
