Helen Carter was an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter best known for performing in ‘The Carter Family Band’ with her mother and sisters. Her mother’s family band got off to a historic start when she was seven months pregnant with her; she was the lucky charm for her family. Helen was the family’s eldest daughter, with two younger sisters to care for at an early age. She realized her family’s duties and became a second mother to her sisters. She studied to sing and play musical instruments in order to fit into the family band and flourish as an artist. She was a creative and self-assured young lady who aspired to perform with her family band and retain close personal ties with them. She was a lovely and compassionate individual who kept her family together through good and bad circumstances on and offstage. Her work as a vocalist and musician was well-received, but it was her songwriting abilities that made her renowned. Many people see her as the Carter family’s most accomplished musician and songwriter, and they hold her in high regard for her devotion to the family. She was a selfless woman who cherished her family and was devoted to her job as an artist.
Childhood and Adolescence
She was born on September 29, 1927, in Poor Valley, Virginia, to country musician Ezra Carter and his wife, Maybelle Addington Carter. She was the middle child of three sisters. She used to look after the family while her mother traveled around the world performing with her aunt and uncle as part of ‘The Carter Family Band.’ She was the one who did the most of the cooking and looked after her sisters, keeping the family together. She learnt to sing and play a variety of musical instruments in addition to caring for the family and establishing her place in the family music band. She was a bright and hardworking young lady eager to study and carry on the family tradition.
Career of Helen Carter
The ‘Carter Family Band’ was invited to perform on XERA, Texas’ most powerful radio station at the time. She began her creative career in 1939, when she began singing backup harmony with her sisters twice a week for $15. She stayed on the radio show for another four years. When her aunt, Sara Carter, departed the group in 1943 to live with her second husband in California and her uncle, A.P. Carter, left the group to move in Virginia, the Carter Family Band came to an abrupt halt.
After the band’s demise, her mother and her daughters formed a new Carter Family Band called ‘Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters.’ Her sister, Anita Carter, sang lead vocals in the band, while other members played instruments. On the Virginia radio program ‘Old Dominion Barn Dance,’ they used to perform the Carter family’s old songs. They traveled to WNOX radio station in 1948 to perform alongside Chet Atkins, a great country performer.
The band, along with Atkins, used to appear on The Grand Ole Opry, the nation’s most prominent country music radio show, on a regular basis in the 1950s. They were also the opening act for Elvis Presley’s 1956-57 tour.
Her family band teamed up with Johnny Cash, the iconic country music performer, in 1960 to record songs for albums and play live. She established a short-lived group with Dolores Dinning of the Dinning Sisters and recorded songs for MGM the same year.
With their albums ‘Sunny Side’ (1964), ‘Travelin’ Minstrel Band’ (1972), and ‘Three Generations,’ she had tremendous success in later years with her family band (1974). Her mother died in 1978 as a result of her failing health. In the years following her death, she and her sisters continued to perform on Carter Family favorites.
Major Projects of Helen Carter
Songwriting brought her the most commercial success. ‘The Kneeling Drunkard’s Plea,’ ‘Wall to Wall Love,’ ‘Rosanna’s Going Wild,’ ‘Loving You Was Worth This Broken Heart,’ ‘Poor Old Heartsick Me,’ ‘Is This My Destiny?’ and ‘What am I Supposed to Do?’ are just a few of her well-known songs. On ‘The Kate Smith Show,’ the Carters became the first to feature country music on a nationally aired network program.
She performed accordion, autoharp, guitar, piano, and mandolin, among other instruments. Onstage and offstage, she has been referred to as the family’s rock. Her family members always claimed that she was the driving force behind their upbeat musical performances onstage as well as their particular bonding offstage.
Achievements & Awards
In 1973, the American Music Awards named the Carter Family Band “Favorite Country Group,” and in 1980, the Music City News Awards named them “Gospel Act of the Year.” Helen Carter was documented by the Smithsonian Institution in 1975 alongside her mother, Maybelle Carter.
Personal History and Legacy
She married pilot Glenn Jones of Dickson in 1950. Kenneth Jones, Glenn Daniels, David Lawrence, and Kevin Carter Jones are their four children. Kenneth, her son, was a gifted musician and songwriter in his youth. At the age of 16, he was tragically killed in a car accident. She died of heart illness on June 2, 1998, in Nashville, Tennessee, at the age of 70. She was laid to rest with her son, Kenneth, in the same cemetery where her parents were laid to rest.
Estimated Net Worth
Helena Bonham Carter is a $60 million dollar actress from the United Kingdom. Bonham Carter made her feature film debut in 1985’s “A Room with a View,” however “Lady Jane” (1986) was actually shot first. Helena has been in over 100 films and television shows, and she is best known for acting in Tim Burton’s films, including “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” (2005), “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (2007), and “Alice in Wonderland” (2010). (2010).