Yes, that's an important distinction, but I find it difficult to categorize the Carter Family's music. Generally they fell into what the record companies in the 1920s dubbed "old time" music, which encompassed an assortment of things: string bands playing fiddle and banjo tunes, British and American balladry, gospel hymns, and more. The Carter's vocals certainly owed much to the Southern singing-school tradition. All had attended such schools and/or conventions and several Carter songs first appeared in the late nineteenth-century tunebooks of the Ruebush-Kieffer Co. of Dayton, Virginia, one of the most dynamic shape-note songbook publishers. The Carters also recast popular Victorian tunes and learned some blues and other tunes from an African-American associate of A.P. Carter, Leslie Riddle. I think it's the whole package that's innovative, making new music that somehow sounded as old as the hills. Maybelle's primary guitar style is also distinctive, sometimes called the "Carter Scratch." Gregg -----Original Message----- From: Discussion of research and writing about Virginia history [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Richard Dixon Sent: Thursday, January 05, 2006 12:44 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Great/Important Virginian Not that they did not play blue grass but the Carter family's genre was "mountain music" or "country music." and they were well known before the distinctive blue grass sound was developed out of mountain music by Bill Monroe and advanced by others such as Earl Scruggs. Richard E. Dixon Clifton, VA 20124-2115 703-830-8177 fax 703-691-0978 > [Original Message] > From: qvarizona <[log in to unmask]> > To: <[log in to unmask]> > Date: 1/4/2006 10:08:39 AM > Subject: Re: Great/Important Virginian > > You're probably aware of Johnny Cash. He married June Carter, one of the Carter family daughters. This Carter family was instrumental (ooh, there's an unintended pun) in bringing their version of Scotch-Irish mountain music --otherwise known as Blue Grass-- to the world's attention. > > Joanne > > Anne Pemberton <[log in to unmask]> wrote: > I've never heard of the Carter family, or perhaps I need to know > some of their tunes to recognize them. > > May I suggest Bo Jangles Robinson for his contributions to the arts. > > Anne > Anne Pemberton > [log in to unmask] > http://www.erols.com/stevepem > http://www.erols.com/apembert > http://www.educationalsynthesis.org > > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the > instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html > > > > > --------------------------------- > Yahoo! DSL Something to write home about. Just $16.99/mo. or less > > To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the > instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html To subscribe, change options, or unsubscribe, please see the instructions at http://listlva.lib.va.us/archives/va-hist.html