Helen Carter
| Helen Carter | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Helen Myrl Carter |
| Born | September 19, 1927 |
| Origin | Maces Spring, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | June 2, 1998 (aged 70) |
| Genres | Country |
| Instruments | Accordion, autoharp, guitar, piano, mandolin, vocals |
| Years active | 1937–1998 |
| Associated acts |
Carter Family Carter Sisters |
Helen Myrl Carter (September 19, 1927 – June 2, 1998) was an American country music singer. The eldest daughter of Maybelle Carter, she performed with her mother and her younger sisters, June Carter and Anita Carter, as a member of Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters, a pioneering all female country/folk music group. The group was also known as The Carter Family.
Helen Carter had a professional career in music that spanned 60 years. Many historians point to her 1937 radio debut as the beginning of her career but Jeanette Carter (Helen's cousin and daughter of original Carter Family band members A. P. and Sara Carter) recalled that she and Helen performed together at original Carter Family appearances at least two years prior to this date. As a child, Helen Carter played to some of the largest radio audiences in history by way of the powerful signals from the Mexican Border Stations of the 1930s and 1940s. Some of these stations could be heard throughout and even beyond the North American continent. After the breakup of the original Carter Family in 1943, Maybelle formed a group showcasing Helen and her younger sisters The group joined the cast of the Grand Ole Opry in 1950 securing Helen, June and Anita's place in country music history as being among the youngest Grand Ole Opry inductees ever. They were aged 22, 20 and 17 respectively. The Carters were on the first nationally televised network program to feature country music, The Kate Smith Show, and were among the first country music acts to tour behind the Iron Curtain in Czechoslovakia. They were given the "Favorite Country Group" award by the American Music Awards in 1973 and the "Gospel Act of the Year" award by the Music City News Awards in 1980.
Helen rarely sang lead in the Carter Family group and seemed content to focus her efforts on harmony and instrumental backing. She played a variety of instruments including accordion, autoharp, guitar, piano and mandolin. Many writers and historians list Helen Carter as the best overall musician and most talented songwriter among the Carter Sisters. Helen Carter was largely responsible for arranging the group's vocals. It was not uncommon for some songs to have multiple key changes as each group member sang a verse or as the entire group varied vocal combinations throughout the song. Another remarkable technique, difficult to describe and rarely recorded, had the group members solo-singing small segments of lyric lines or even portions of individual words. The effect was a seamless transfer of the lead vocal from one singer to the next. Sometimes the switch was so subtle that it could go unnoticed except to the most discerning ears of long-time fans. Often the group sang in a chorale type arrangement that was reminiscent of old-time gospel music singing. In this style the various lead vocals were woven throughout the song and changed unpredictably. A harmony voice could be thrust into the lead vocal within fractions of a second and then fade into the background just as quickly a short time later. Helen Carter was also widely regarded as the Carter Sister most in touch with the group's rich musical tradition and the one most dedicated to its preservation. Along with her mother, Maybelle Carter, Helen Carter was recorded by the Smithsonian Institution in 1975.
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