Anita Carter

Ina Anita Carter (March 31, 1933 – July 29, 1999), the youngest daughter of Ezra and Mother Maybelle Carter, was a versatile American singer who experimented with several different types of music and played upright bass with her sisters Helen Carter and June Carter Cash and mother Maybelle Carter as Mother Maybelle and The Carter Sisters. The trio joined the Grand Ole Opry radio show in 1950 (Anita was 17 years old at the time), opened shows for Elvis Presley, and joined The Johnny Cash Show in 1961.[1] As a solo artist, and with her family, Carter recorded for a number of labels including RCA Victor, Cadence, Columbia, Audiograph, United Artists, Liberty and Capitol. Chet Atkins praised her talent on the upright bass and used her on many of his record productions. She played 12-string guitar and autoharp with the family after giving up the bass in later years.

Anita Carter
Anita Carter
Background information
Birth nameIna Anita Carter
Born(1933-03-31)March 31, 1933[1]
Maces Spring, Virginia, US
DiedJuly 29, 1999(1999-07-29) (aged 66)[1]
Hendersonville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genrescountry, folk
Occupation(s)singer-songwriter
InstrumentsBass, 12-string guitar, vocals
LabelsRCA Victor, Cadence, Columbia, Audiograph, United Artists, Liberty, Capitol
Associated actsCarter Family, The Carter Sisters, Nita, Rita & Ruby, Johnny Cash, Hank Snow, Waylon Jennings

Biography

Born in Maces Spring, Virginia, she scored two Top Ten hits in 1951 with "Down The Trail of Achin' Hearts" with Hank Snow at No. 2 and "Blue Bird Island" at No. 4. She reached the Top Ten again in 1968 with "I Got You" with Waylon Jennings at No. 4.[1] Other solo releases charted as well. Carter recorded two folk albums in the 1960s. In 1962, she recorded a song co-written by her sister June and Merle Kilgore called "Love's Ring of Fire".

After hearing her record, "Love's Ring of Fire", her future brother-in-law, Johnny Cash, reportedly dreamed of hearing Mexican horns on the record and told Anita that if her song did not hit in five or six months he would record it "the way I feel it". After the song failed to make the charts, Cash recorded it as "Ring of Fire" in March 1963 with the horns and the Carter Sisters (along with Mother Maybelle). The revised song went on to gain wide international popularity and became one of the biggest hits of his career. She appeared on The Kate Smith Evening Hour, currently on YouTube, with her family and in a duet with Hank Williams, on his song "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)".

Marriages

Carter married fiddler Dale Potter in 1950 (they later divorced), session musician Don Davis in 1953 (divorced and then remarried), and Bob Wootton (lead guitarist for Johnny Cash's band The Tennessee Three) in 1974 (divorced). She had two children, Lorrie Frances and John Christopher (Jay) Davis.

Death

Carter suffered from rheumatoid arthritis for many years, and the drugs used to treat it severely damaged her pancreas, kidneys, and liver. She died on July 29, 1999, at the age of 66,[2] a year after eldest sister Helen and four years before middle sister June. She was under hospice care at the home of Johnny and June Carter Cash in Hendersonville, Tennessee. Her interment was in Hendersonville Memory Gardens in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

Album discography apart from Carter Family
AlbumsLabelDate
Blue Doll (Single)Cadence Records – 13331957
Together Again (with Hank Snow)RCA Victor LSPLSP – 2580Nov. 1962
Folk Songs Old and NewMercury SR – 60770Dec. 1962
Anita Carter of the Carter FamilyMercury SR – 60847Feb. 1964
So Much LoveCapitol ST – 110751972
YesterdayHouse Of Cash HOC – 10001995
Appalachian Angel: Her Recordings 1950–1972 & 1996Bear FamilyJune 22, 2004

Singles chart activity apart from Carter Family
YearTitleLabelPeak Chart PositionComments
1951Bluebird IslandRCA Victor4duet with Hank Snow
1951Down the Trail of Aching HeartsRCA Victor2duet with Hank Snow
1955Pledging my LoveRCA VictorN/Aas part of 'Nita, Rita & Ruby
1966I'm Gonna Leave YouRCA Victor44
1967Love Me Now (While I Am Living)RCA Victor61
1968I Got YouRCA Victor4duet with Waylon Jennings
1968To Be a Child AgainRCA Victor65
1969Coming of the RoadsUnited Artists50duet with Johnny Darrell
1971Tulsa CountyCapitol41
1971A Whole Lotta Lovin'Capitol61

References
  1. Bush, John. "Anita Carter Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  2. Polatnick, Gordon. "Anita Carter". Fuller Up The Dead Musician Directory. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
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