Posted on 03/06/2005 7:14:48 PM PST by tallhappy
Joe Carter, a member of country music's most influential family, has died aged 78 after battling pancreatic cancer.
He was a member of the Carter Family, led by his parents AP and Sara, which is credited with revolutionising country music in the 1920s and 30s.
They influenced artists including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and Woody Guthrie.
With his sister Janette, Joe helped set up the Carter Family Memorial Music Center in Virginia to preserve the family's traditional music.
Joe was five months old when he travelled with his parents for a 1927 recording session that has been described as "the big bang of country music".
Musical innovators
Joe later joined his parents, siblings and other family members on stage and the clan was credited with switching the emphasis from hillbilly instrumentals to vocals.
They also fused gospel with a huge repertoire of Appalachian folk songs and created a new technique of guitar-playing.
"Although the family was aware of the imminence of Joe's death, his passing has deeply affected Janette and the rest of the tightly-knit family," a statement said.
The family also included Sara's cousin Maybelle and her daughter June, who was married to Johnny Cash.
Carter Family fold is here
Carter Family's influence is deep and wide. Still the greatest.
HILTONS – Joe Dougherty Carter, son of country music legends A.P. and Sara Carter, died Wednesday after a bout with pancreatic cancer. He was 78.
Carter was known for his guitar playing, bass singing and on-stage stories at The Carter Fold, a music barn the carpenter designed and built here with his sisters, Gladys Millard and Janette Carter, in 1976.
"He was a wonderful songwriter, and Uncle Joe could play just about anything he was given," said Rita Forrester, Carter’s niece. "He could play a lot of instruments. The guitar was his favorite."
But it was Carter’s stories – "just his big tales," Forrester said – that made his audiences laugh.
"He told a lot of big yarns," she said.
Born Feb. 27, 1927, Carter was a baby when his parents, along with his aunt Maybelle Carter, made some of country music’s first recordings in Bristol that August. Historians have called those recording sessions the "big bang" of country music.
Carter never made music his profession, but he recorded with his parents and sister Janette during the 1950s for the Acme label.
"(Seeking the spotlight) was not his cup of tea," Forrester said. "He was happy to be in the background."
Carter served in the Navy during the latter part of World War II, then was an apprentice to a master carpenter. He made a living as a construction foreman.
Carter died Wednesday at 5 p.m. at his home, just three days after his 78th birthday party.
Saturday’s regular show at The Carter Fold will go on as scheduled, Forrester said.
"And it will probably end up being a memorial tribute to Joe," she said.
Married three times, Carter was preceded in death by his sister Gladys and a son, Jeffrey Delaney Carter.
Survivors include his sister Janette and three daughters, Lisa A. Dickerson of Blountville, Tenn., Connie Jo Keller of Hiltons and Benita Je-lene Jones of Gate City.
The family will receive friends Saturday from 4-8 p.m. at Scott County Funeral Home in Weber City.
The funeral will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. at Mount Vernon United Methodist Church with the Revs. Sam Neely and Will Shewey officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery.
jtennis@bristolnews.com | (276) 669-2181
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