Morgan, George, 284
“Motherless Children Sees a Hard Time,” 128
Mother Maybelle Carter, 339, 370–71
Mount Vernon Methodist Church, 30–31, 72, 73, 125, 154, 192–93
cemetery at, 155, 331–33, 395, 397
“My Clinch Mountain Home,” 34, 120, 122–23, 141, 170–71, 177, 269
“My Darling’s Home at Last,” 255
“My Little Pup with the Patent-Leather Nose and the Wiggily-Waggily Tail,” 279
“My Virginia Rose Is Blooming,” 178
Nash, Graham, 364
National Barn Dance, 235, 260
National Public Radio, 109
NBC, 260, 294
Neal, Beverly, 155
Neal, John, 23, 52
Neal, Leonard, 52, 53, 112, 155, 174
Neal, Vivian, 155
Neal’s Store, 23, 26–27, 52–53, 174, 190, 196, 239, 317, 320, 329
Nelson, Willie, 6–7
New Lost City Ramblers, 340–43, 378
Newport Folk Festival, 343–45, 355, 380
New York Times, 9–10
Nickels, Melinda (Aunt Nick), 39–40, 47–48, 65, 164, 165, 178, 379
Nickels, Milburn (Uncle Mil), 35, 39–40, 46, 65, 122, 164, 165, 178, 379
Nickels, Susie, 35
Nita, Rita, and Ruby, 311
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, 4, 366–69, 392–93
Nix, Edwin “Rip,” 347, 348, 349
Nix, Rosie, 360, 363, 369, 371, 372
“No More Goodbyes,” 383
Noontime Neighbors, 286
“No Swallowing Place,” 289
Obenreder, Ruth, 362, 390, 391
Oberstein, Eli, 175, 176
Okeh, 86–92, 93, 95, 139, 157, 175
Old Dominion Barn Dance, 261–63
“Old Joe Clark,” 255
“Old Texas Trail, The,” 6
“On a Hill Lone and Gray,” 137
O’Neill, Harry, 197, 217, 226, 230, 246
O’Neill, Henrietta “Hattie” Nickels, 129, 130
O’Neill, Kate, 130, 172
O’Neill, William, 129–30
“One Little Word,” 232
“One Toke Over the Line,” 372
“On My Way to Canaan’s Land,” 137
“On the Sea of Galilee,” 168
Original Carter Family, 5, 76–250, 256, 299, 354, 365
auditions of, 76–78, 95, 97–101, 103
beginnings of, 62–63, 65, 76–79, 95, 97–105
border-radio broadcasts of, 4, 5–9, 10–11, 197, 213–18, 222, 225–26, 229–30, 232–38, 241, 242, 245–46, 267, 328
Carter children performing with, 115–16, 215, 226–27, 229–30, 232–34, 236–37, 247, 248–50
celebrity of, 6, 8, 10, 104, 142–43, 145, 241, 245, 246
Charlotte radio broadcasts of, 246, 247, 248–50
contracts of, 110, 156–57, 175–76
disbanding of, 9, 226, 246–47, 250–51
earnings of, 105, 107, 110, 123–24, 156–57, 171, 176–77, 181, 214, 230, 313, 321, 332, 378
entertainments (live shows) of, 106, 113–16, 114, 145, 172, 185, 237
harmonies of, 5, 6, 108, 109
inducted into Country Music Hall of Fame, 365, 380
Janette’s festivals and, 375, 380–84, 387
legacy of, 4–7, 9–10, 109, 371
“lining out” of songs for, 120–22, 131
loyal audience of, 117
Maybelle as most musically adventurous of, 184–85
New York trip of, 167–70
personal pain as subject matter of, 7, 10, 101–2
photographs of, xiv, 107, 111, 126, 127, 242
privacy maintained by, 8–9
recording sessions of, 98–101, 104–5, 107–10, 112–13, 116–23, 139, 141–42, 156, 157, 159, 166–68, 171–72, 174–77, 181, 183–84, 241–42
rehearsals of, 108, 118, 183, 186
re-release of recordings by, 332
reunion album of, 355
reunion performances of, 375, 380–84, 387
revival of interest in (late 1950s), 328–29, 333, 337–45
Sara and A.P.’s separation and, 165–68, 170, 177, 178, 180, 181
songs gathered for, 5, 107–8, 111, 118–22, 127–38, 145–46, 148–49, 159, 165, 175, 177, 186–87, 328, 337
standards of, played by Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle, 253, 271, 272, 302
translating melodies of, into sheet-music notes, 113
see also Carter, Alvin Pleasant Delaney; Carter, Maybelle Addington; Carter, Sara Dougherty
“Orphan Child, The,” 236
Our Southern Highlanders (Kephart), 14
Owens, Buck, 236
Owens, Price, 63, 101
Page, Patti, 287
Parham, Charles Fox, 134
Parker, Colonel Tom, 306, 307, 308, 310
Parker, Everett, 320, 329
Parker, Jerry, 241
Parker, Marie, 308
Parker, Ruby, 31, 33, 61, 62, 109, 193, 196
parlor songs, 130–31
Pearl, Minnie, 242–43, 286, 287, 300
Peer, Abraham, 86
Peer, Anita Glander, 81, 98, 99, 112, 166, 169, 322
A.P. and Sara’s marital difficulties and, 166, 180, 181
background and early career of, 86–93
black musicians and, 83, 84, 87
Carter Family’s audition for, 77–78, 95, 98–101, 103
Carter Family’s contracts with, 110, 156–57, 175–76
Carter Family’s recording sessions with, 98–101, 104–5, 107–10, 112–13, 116–23, 139, 141–42, 156, 157, 159, 166–68, 171–72, 174–77, 181, 183–84
Carter home visited by, 112–13, 319
copyright and royalty arrangements of, 93, 94, 107, 113, 157, 175–76
hillbilly music and, 83, 84, 87–95
personality and demeanor of, 81–83
RCA Victor’s conflict with, 175–76
Rodgers and, 113, 139–42, 174
scouting expeditions of, 77–78, 81–82, 93–95, 98–101, 113
Pentecostalism, 133–36, 177–78
Perkins, Carl, 306, 311, 365
Persley, George, 120
Peter, Paul and Mary, 353
Phillips, Bud, 235
Phillips, Sam, 306, 307, 311, 346
phonograph technology, 85–86, 93
Pickard Family, 4, 216
“Plain Old Country Girl,” 271, 275–76
Poole, Charlie, 132
“Poor Orphan Child,” 104
Poor Valley, Va., 6, 39, 51
churchgoing in, 30–31
competitiveness of men in, 188–89
economic opportunities outside of, 54–57
heating fuel in, 51–52
party affiliation in, 238–39
railroad tracks in, 51–52, 317–18
water in, 52
women of, 22–23, 60–61
Porter, Myrtle, 43
Porterfield, Nolan, 139, 142
Potter, Dale, 298–99
Powell, Barbara, 48, 219, 222, 246–47, 379, 385, 394
Prairie Sweethearts (Essie and Kay), 216
Presley, Elvis, 4, 275, 288, 306–11, 332, 392
attracted to Anita, 309–11
female admirers of, 307–8, 309–10
personality and demeanor of, 307, 308
Presley, Priscilla Beaulieu, 311
“Prisoner’s Song,” 122
radio, 87
border stations and, 187, 245–46; see also XERA
live audiences and, 235
power of, 2–3, 234, 266
recording technology and, 230, 278
Radio City Music Hall, 167, 168, 169
RadiOzark, 278, 287, 291
“Railroading on the Great Divide,” 325, 378
RCA, 273, 274–75, 290, 311, 321, 332, 335
RCA Victo
r, 157, 171–72, 241, 289
Peer’s arrangements with, 157, 175–76
records and record business:
early days of, 85–86
ethnic markets and, 87
race music and, 83, 84, 87
southern mountain music and, 87–95
three-minute maximum and, 108
Red Clay Ramblers, 397
Red Star Flour, 279–80, 281
Reeves, Jim, 335
Renfro Valley Barn Dance, 260
Rich Valley, Va., 39
musical traditions in, 41–45
social life in, 45–46
“Ricochet Romance,” 309
Riddle, Jimmy, 323
Riddle, Lesley “Esley,” 146, 171, 175, 240, 241
A.P.’s song-hunting expeditions with, 128–33, 136–38
blues as viewed by, 137
Maybelle’s guitar playing and, 184
Rinehart, Cowboy Slim, 4, 7, 216, 233
“Ring of Fire,” 349
Ritter, Tex, 262
Tex Ritter Award, 370
“River of Jordan,” 109, 121, 177
Roach, Hal, 157
Robbins, Rita, 311
Robin, Lou, 363
“Rock of Ages,” 137
Rodgers, Jimmie, 83–84, 113, 127, 139–42, 153, 174, 365, 371, 379, 380
Carter Family’s recording with, 139, 141–42, 156
Rolling Stone, 392–93
Romaniuk, Ed, 213–14, 328–29
Romaniuk, Elsie, 213–14, 328–29
Ronstadt, Linda, 4
Rose, Pete, 391
Rounder, 4
royalties, 94, 105, 123, 156, 157, 181, 313, 321, 328, 332, 378
Peer’s deals and, 93, 94, 107, 113, 175–76, 214
Ryman, Thomas, 284–85
Ryman Auditorium, 284–85
“Sad and Lonesome Day,” 177
Salyers, Fern Carter, 121, 173, 179, 197, 228, 243, 248, 250
“San Antonio Rose, The,” 344
Oscar Schmidt Company, 353
Schwarz, Tracy, 340–43
Scruggs, Earl, 4, 338–39, 366–67, 392
Scruggs, Louise, 338
Seeger, Mike, 71, 128, 132, 133, 185, 340–45, 380
Seeger, Pete, 340, 365
“See That My Grave Is Kept Clean,” 177, 339–40
Seymour, William Joseph, 134–36
shape-note singing, 32
sheet-music business, 41, 130–31
Shilkret, Nat, 93
shivarees, 67
Sholes, Steve, 275, 290
“Shoofly Pie and Apple Pan Dowdy,” 253, 255
Silverstein, Shel, 364
Siman, E. E. “Si,” 277, 278
singing conventions, 62
“Single Girl, Married Girl,” 25, 100, 105, 174, 177
Skeens, Mutt, 165, 172, 240
Smash Records, 353
Smith, Carl, 299, 300, 301, 303, 306, 312
Smith, John “Dutch,” 19, 33
Smith, Rebecca Carlene, 312
Smithsonian Institution, 370
Snow, Hank, 290, 293, 306, 307, 308
Snow, Minnie, 290, 358, 390
Songs of the Famous Carter Family, 338–39, 366
song transmission, 41–42, 43–44, 70–71, 184
“Sourwood Mountain,” 119
Southern Music Publishing Company, 157, 175, 176, 321, 378
Southern Planter, 252–53
Southland Shows, 262, 263
Springsteen, Bruce, 368–69
Spurlock, Clifford, 324–28
Stalcup, William, 89
Stapleton, Daphne Kilgore, 33, 46, 72, 74, 178
Starday, 331
Statler Brothers, 365, 366
“Stay a Little Longer,” 269
Steele, Harry, 216, 217, 226
Stephens, “Uncle Bunt,” 88
Stoker, Gordon, 288
Stokes, Marcus Lowe, 89
Stoneman, Ernest V. “Pop,” 78, 90–94, 139
Stoneman, Hattie, 94, 139
“Storms Are on the Ocean, The,” 105, 321
“Strummin’ My Guitaro,” 353
Sun Records, 275, 306, 311, 346
“Sunshine in the Shadows,” 177
“Sweet Bird,” 120
“Sweet Fern,” 120, 123
“Sweet Heaven in My View,” 186
Tarter, Steve, 127, 128
Taylor, “Hi,” 89
“Tell Me That You Loved Me,” 157
Tennessee Barn Dance, 270
Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), 196, 265
“That’s How I Spell Ireland,” 272
“There’ll Be No Distinction There,” 242
“There’ll Be No Teardrops Tonight,” 279
“There’s No One Like Mother to Me,” 186
“There’s Something Got Ahold of Me,” 242
“This Land Is Your Land,” 137
Thomas, Brown, 148–49, 191
Thomas, Dicey, 60–61, 116, 148
“Tom Dooley,” 337
Travis, Merle, 338, 345, 367, 392
Travis picking, 267
Tubb, Ernest, 286, 300
Tuck, William, 261–62
“Turkey in the Straw,” 279
“Two Little Girls in Blue,” 330
Vaughan, James D., 32
Vermillion, Cleo, 63
Vicars, Worley, 112
Victor, 5, 77–78, 87, 92–101, 105, 113, 116–17, 139, 157
Carter Family’s audition for, 77–78, 95, 97–101, 103
Peer’s first field-recording sessions for, 93–95, 98–101
see also RCA Victor
Virginia Boys, 252, 254, 255
“Wait ’Til I Get You Alone,” 301
“Wandering Boy, The,” 62, 100, 104, 114
Waterman, Mrs. Lem, 89
Watson, Doc, 109, 110, 367, 369, 392
Watts, Stubbins, 88–89
“Wayfaring Stranger, The,” 119
WBT, 246, 247, 248–50, 338
WCKY, 327
“Weeping Willow Tree,” 305–6, 344
Welch, J. P., 43
Wells, Kitty, 109, 122, 311
Wells, Ruby, 311
“Were You There When They Crucified Our Lord,” 353
“We Shall Rise,” 379
West, Red, 310, 311
Westendorf, Thomas P., 120, 130
“What Am I Supposed to Do?”, 336
“What’s It?”, 140
“When the Roses Bloom in Dixieland,” 110
“When the Roses Come Home Again,” 168
“When the World’s on Fire,” 137, 185
Whitter, Henry, 83, 90
“Why Do You Cry, Little Darling?”, 241
“Wildwood Flower,” 4, 108–9, 117, 177, 288, 340, 344, 366, 368, 371
Williams, Audrey, 292–97
Williams, Hank, 279, 283, 291–98, 300, 348, 368
Anita courted by, 292–96, 298
death of, 297–98
drinking and drug use of, 292, 294–95
shooting incident and, 296–97
Williams, Lucinda, 4, 109
Williams, Tennessee, 265
“Willow, Will You Weep for Me?”, 289
Will the Circle Be Unbroken, 366–69, 392–93
“Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” 4, 168, 172, 177–78, 311, 365, 368, 392
“Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone?”, 96, 102, 108, 109
Winston, Nat, 361
WKIN, 322, 323
WLS, 260, 261
WNOX, 264–68, 270, 273–74
Wolfe, Charles, 43, 120
Wolfe, Ernest, 125
Wolfe, Flo, 61
Wolfe, Thomas, 102
“Wonderful City, The,” 141
Woodring, Harry, 209
Workman, John “Sugarfoot,” 261, 262
Workman, Mary Arlene “Sunshine Sue,” 261–63
World’s Fair (1933), 195–96
World War II, 245, 254–55, 265
“W
orried Man Blues,” 4, 138, 332, 340, 344
“Wreck of Old 97, The,” 75, 108, 185
WRNL, 251–53, 254, 260
WRVA, 260–63
WSM, 260, 281, 286, 305
XEG, 187, 213
XELO, 187, 213, 237
XEPN, 213
XERA, 3–4, 187, 197, 201, 210–18, 225
Carter Family’s broadcasts on, 4, 7, 197, 213–18, 222, 225–26, 229–30, 232–38, 245, 267, 328
closure of, 213, 245
founding of, 209–10
XERB, 213
XET, 230
“You Are My Flower,” 184, 186–87, 339
“You Flopped When You Got Me Alone,” 301
“You Made Toothpicks of the Timber of My Heart,” 279
“You’ve Been a Friend to Me,” 131
Zetner, Ann, 357
Zetner, Tommy, 357
Simon & Schuster Paperbacks
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Copyright © 2002 by Mark Zwonitzer and Charles Hirshberg
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction
in whole or in part in any form.
First Simon & Schuster paperback edition 2004
SIMON & SCHUSTER PAPERBACKS and colophon are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
Designed by Paul Dippolito
Cover design by Michael Accordino
Cover Photograph courtesy of Flo Wolfe
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Zwonitzer, Mark.
Will you miss me when I’m gone?: the Carter Family and their legacy in American music / Mark Zwonitzer with Charles Hirshberg.
p. cm.
Includes index.
1. Carter Family (Musical group). 2. Country musicians—United States—Biography. I. Hirshberg, Charles. II. Title.
ML421.C33 Z86 2002
781.642'092’2'dc21
[B] 2002022395
ISBN-13: 978-0-684-85763-3
ISBN-10: 0-684-85763-4
ISBN-13: 978-0-7432-4382-7 (Pbk)
ISBN-10: 0-7432-4382-X (Pbk)
eISBN: 978-1-4391-2744-5
Song Lyric Permissions:
“Single Girl, Married Girl” by A.P. Carter. Copyright © 1927 Peer International Corp. Copyright Renewed. Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved.
“My Clinch Mountain Home” by A.P. Carter, Maybelle Carter, Sara Carter. Copyright © 1929 Peer International Corp. Copyright Renewed. Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved.
“Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow” by A.P. Carter, Maybelle Carter, Sara Carter. Copyright © 1928 Peer International Corp. Copyright Renewed. Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved.
“The Little Log Hut in the Lane” by A.P. Carter, Maybelle Carter, Sara Carter. Copyright © 1931 Peer International Corp. Copyright Renewed. Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved.
“What’s It?” by Jimmie Rodgers. Copyright © 1932 Peer International Corp. Copyright Renewed. Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved.