Biography

The Carter Family is known for The Johnny Cash Show (1969), I Care a Lot (2020) and Walk the Line (2005).

The original Carter Family trio - A.P., Sara, and Maybelle - made landmark recordings including "Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow", "Little Log Cabin by the Sea", and "Poor Orphan Child". They had a unique sound and harmony which has had an immense influence on country music ever since.

Janette Carter, the last surviving child of the Carter Family, died January 22, 2006, at the age of 82. She had Parkinson's disease and other illnesses. She was the daughter of A.P. and Sara Carter, who formed a vocal trio along with A.P.s sister-in-law Mother Maybelle Carter. They were discovered by talent scout Ralph Peer in 1927 when he came to the Tennessee-Virginia border area to record mountain music.

Janette's brother Joe died in March 2005. June Carter Cash, wife of Johnny Cash, was Maybelle's daughter.

After A.P. Carter died in 1960, Janette devoted her life to preserving the folk and country music of Appalachia. She helped establish the Carter Family Fold in Hiltons, Virginia. It has an auditorium built from railroad ties and old school bus seats. Janette gave weekly concerts there until a few years before her death. She played the autoharp.