Goree Carter
| Goree Carter | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Goree Chester Carter or Christer Carter |
| Also known as | Little T-Bone Rocky Thompson Gory Carter |
| Born |
December 31, 1930 Houston, Texas, United States |
| Died | December 29, 1990 (aged 59) Houston, Texas, United States |
| Genres | |
| Occupation(s) | |
| Instruments | |
| Years active | 1940s–1954 |
| Labels | Freedom Records |
| Associated acts |
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Goree Chester Carter or Christer Carter (December 31, 1930 – December 29, 1990), known as Goree Carter, was an American singer, guitarist, drummer,songwriter and soldier. He was also credited with the stage names Little T-Bone, Rocky Thompson and Gory Carter, and recorded music in blues genres such as electric blues, jump blues and Texas blues, as well as rock and roll.
He is best known for his 1949 single, "Rock Awhile," which has been cited by several sources as the first rock and roll record, featuring an over-driven electric guitar style similar to that of Chuck Berry years later. Carter recorded "Rock Awhile" at the age of 18, and its rediscovery has posthumously brought him recognition as a forefather of rock and roll. As a soldier, he was drafted into military service at the age of 19, and was a veteran of the Korean War.
Goree Carter was born in Houston, Texas. He was born in the Fifth Ward, and lived at 1310 Bayou Street. He began playing blues music at the age of 12, and learnt to play on a cousin's guitar. Because there were very few guitarists in his area back then, he had no one to teach him how to play the guitar, so he taught himself how to play it by listening to some of his favorite records on a Victrola machine and picking string-by-string on the guitar. He learnt a few chords from listening and then learnt more about them from a chord book. When he became a teenager, he began earning a living by hoisting sacks at the local Comet Rice Mill. He had a Gibson guitar and began fronting bands in his early teenage years.
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