Reading "Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone" a Carter Family History

Can you imagine coming from a place called Poor Valley? Not the most elegant of names - but I suppose Missoula isn't all that great either hu? I love the stories of how unpretentious the Carter Family Group was - and how they influenced so many famous musicians. It reminded me how much I want to learn the words to Wildwood Flower. That is such a poetic little ditty...

I have heard so much about how they influenced such legends as Chet Atkins, Hank Williams, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. And to say they had an impact on popular American music is an understatement. The Author Mark Zwonitzer follows the Carter family's history from the 1891 birth of A.P. Carter, the musical founder, up through the late 1970s, offering background on the social, economic and technological developments that spawned American folk, country and rock music. The Carter family got its official start when A.P. dragged his wife, Sara, and his pregnant sister-in-law Maybelle to Bristol, Tenn., to sing for a record company scout. The Carters' performance with A.P. singing bass, Sara and Maybelle singing harmony, and Maybelle on guitar earned them a recording contract and a legendary career that spanned three generations. Family and friends reminisce about the forbidden love affair that broke up the Original Carters...

More info to follow as I read on...

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