Anita Carter

Anita Carter
Anita Carter in 1977
Background information
Birth name	Ina Anita Carter
Born	(1933-03-31)March 31, 1933 Maces Spring, Virginia, US
Died	July 29, 1999(1999-07-29) (aged 66) Hendersonville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Country, folk
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)	Bass, 12-string guitar, autoharp, vocals
Labels	RCA Victor, Cadence, Columbia, Audiograph, United Artists, Liberty, Capitol, House of Cash

Ina Anita Carter (March 31, 1933 – July 29, 1999) was an American singer who played upright bass, guitar, and autoharp. She performed with her sisters, Helen and June, and her mother, Maybelle, initially under the name The Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle. Carter had three top ten hits as well as other charting singles. She was the first to record the songs "Blue Boy" and "Ring of Fire". Carter was also a songwriter, most notably co-writing the Johnny Cash hit "Rosanna's Going Wild."

Carter recorded for a number of labels, both as a solo artist and with her family, including RCA Victor, Cadence, Columbia, Audiograph, United Artists, Liberty and Capitol.

Biography

Anita was the third daughter of Ezra and Maybelle Carter. Born in Maces Spring, Virginia, she scored two top ten hits in 1951 with "Down the Trail of Achin' Hearts" and "Bluebird Island," both duets with Hank Snow. In 1962, she recorded "Love's Ring of Fire," written by her sister June and Merle Kilgore. After the song failed to make the charts, Johnny Cash recorded it as "Ring of Fire" in March 1963 with the horns and the Carter Sisters (along with Mother Maybelle). This version became a hit for Cash.

She reached the top ten again in 1968 with "I Got You," a duet with Waylon Jennings. Carter also reached the top 50 with hits like "I'm Gonna Leave You" in 1966 and "Tulsa County" in 1971.

On March 26, 1952, she appeared on The Kate Smith Evening Hour with her family band "The Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle" as the first females to represent hillbilly/country music and Music City Nashville on national television. On April 23, she returned to the program, where she performed a duet with Hank Williams, on his song "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)". Then on May 21, she became the first female star of the Grand Ole Opry to sing a solo on The Kate Smith Evening Hour when she sang "Just When I Needed You".

Marriages

Carter married fiddler Dale Potter in 1950 (marriage was annulled shortly thereafter), 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.

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, 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

Albums	Label	Date
Blue Doll (Single)	Cadence Records – 1333	1957
Together Again (with Hank Snow)	RCA Victor LSPLSP – 2580	Nov. 1962
Folk Songs Old and New	Mercury SR – 60770	Dec. 1962
Anita Carter of the Carter Family	Mercury SR – 60847	Feb. 1964
So Much Love	Capitol ST – 11075	1972
Yesterday	House Of Cash HOC – 1000	1995
Appalachian Angel: Her Recordings 1950–1972 & 1996	Bear Family Records	June 22, 2004

Singles chart activity apart from Carter Family

Year	Title	US CW	Comments
1950	Somebody's Cryin'	N/A
1951	Down the Trail of Achin' Hearts/ Bluebird Island	2	duet with Hank Snow
		4
1953	There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight	N/A
1955	Pledging my Love	N/A	as part of 'Nita, Rita & Ruby
	That's What Makes the Jukebox Play	N/A
	Making Believe	N/A
	False Hearted	N/A
1956	Keep Your Promise, Willie Thomas	N/A	duet with Hank Snow
	A Tear Fell	N/A
	Believe It Or Not	N/A
1957	Blue Doll	N/A
	He's a Real Gone Guy	N/A
1960	Mama (Don't Cry at My Wedding)	N/A
	Tryin' to Forget About You	N/A
1963	Ring of Fire	N/A
	Running Back	N/A
1964	Little Things Mean a Lot	N/A
1965	Twelve O'Clock High	N/A
1966	You Couldn't Get My Love Back (If You Tried)/ I'm Gonna Leave You	N/A
		44
	I've Heard The Wind Blow Before	N/A
1967	Love Me Now (While I Am Living)	61
	You Weren't Ashamed to Kiss Me (Last Night)	N/A
1968	I Got You	4	duet with Waylon Jennings
	Cry Softly	N/A
	To Be a Child Again	65
1969	Coming of the Roads	50	duet with Johnny Darrell
1970	Tulsa County	41
1971	Lovin' Him Was Easier/ A Whole Lotta Lovin'	N/A
		61

Selected Studio & Guest Artist Appearances

Year	Artist & Title (album unless otherwise noted)	Peak Chart Position	Comments
1949	Chet Atkins: Main Street Breakdown (single)	NA	played bass
1951	Jimmy Murphy singles including Electricity, Mother Where is Your Daughter Tonight, others	na	played bass, she and Murphy were the sole musicians on these sessions
1960	Connie Smith: Cute 'n' Country	1	backing vocals
1963	Johnny Cash with the Carter Family: Blood, Sweat and Tears	80	duet on "Another Man Done Gone"
1966	Connie Smith: Great Sacred Songs	19	backing vocals
1967	Porter Wagoner: Soul of a Convict & Other Great Prison Songs	7	backing vocals
1967	Porter Wagoner: Cold Hard Facts of Life	4	backing vocals
1968	Porter Wagoner: Bottom of the Bottle	19	backing vocals
1968	Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton: Just Between You & Me	8	backing vocals; lead vocal on chorus of 1967 single "The Last Thing on My Mind"
1968	Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton: Just the Two of Us	5	backing vocals
1968	Dolly Parton: Just Because I'm a Woman	22	backing vocals
1969	Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton: Always, Always	5	backing vocals
1969	Waylon Jennings: Just to Satisfy You	7	two duet vocals
1970	Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton: Porter Wayne & Dolly Rebecca	4	backing vocals
1980	Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton: single "Making Plans"	2	backing vocals on original recording, 1968
1987	Johnny Cash: Johnny Cash is Coming to Town	36	backing vocals with the Carter Family
1991	Johnny Cash: The Mystery of Life	70	backing vocals