Janette & Joe Carter
"Last Of Their Kind"
by Johanna J. Bodde
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Not long before A.P. Carter passed away, he asked his daughter if she by all means would continue with the music he had played all his life. It wasn't so simple though, for Janette and her younger brother Joe, to do just that. Their second cousin June became rich and famous after her marriage with Johnny Cash, but the remaining family members still lived in "Poor Valley", overshadowed by Clinch Mountain. Janette worked as a cook at a school, while Joe was a carpenter working construction. Thirty years ago they started a concert series of some sort on Saturday nights, with old-time country and bluegrass musicians playing at the old grocery stroe of A.P. and they called it the Carter Family Fold. That turned into a success! After many requests Janette and Joe (81 and 77 at the time) released also an album, the recordings were made on the porch of the old house where Mother Maybelle lived and they called on their family: John Carter Cash (son of Johnny and June) was the producer, his wife Laura played fiddle and guitar, Janette's son Dale sang along, musician friends added upright bass, guitars, banjo and some percussion. Janette had the same deep alto as her mother Sara and played the autoharp too, brother Joe sang some leadvocals and showed a good sense of humor in A.P. Carter's "Stern Old Bachelor" and his self-penned Cajun tune "Pole It Reba". Janette liked the more reflective songs, the traditional "A Few More Years" and her own "Close Of A Day" for example. Both Janette and Joe passed away within the year after this album came out, so this is moving nostalgia and a "must" for every Carter Family fan! --- Written by Johanna J. Bodde, Dutch original of this review previously published on Real Roots Cafe, The Netherlands. ===== |
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