Sara Carter
Musician · 1898–1979 · Flat Woods, Virginia
Best known for
Guitar
Lead Vocals
Sara Carter was the lead vocalist of the original Carter Family — her deep, flat, unornamented alto voice carrying the haunting melodies of the landmark recordings that launched commercial country music in 1927. Along with husband A.P. Carter and cousin Maybelle Carter, she was one of the three foundational figures of American country music.
- Born Sara Dougherty in Flat Woods, Virginia, in the Clinch Mountains. Learned autoharp and guitar as a child; noted for her low, resonant alto singing voice from her teens.
- Married A.P. Carter (Alvin Pleasant Carter) in 1915; moved to Maces Springs, Virginia. Cousin Maybelle Addington married A.P.'s brother Ezra in 1926, creating the Carter Family trio.
- Recorded at the historic Bristol Sessions on August 1, 1927, with A.P. and Maybelle. The Ralph Peer/Victor recordings of “Bury Me Beneath the Willow,” “Single Girl, Married Girl,” and others launched the Carter Family as commercial country music's first major act.
- Lead vocalist on classic Carter Family recordings: “Wildwood Flower,” “Keep on the Sunny Side,” “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” “Worried Man Blues,” “Wabash Cannonball,” and hundreds more.
- Marriage to A.P. deteriorated through the 1930s; the couple divorced in 1939 but continued recording as the Carter Family until 1944.
- Moved to California in 1943 with second husband Coy Bays (A.P.'s cousin). Retired from commercial music.
- Occasional reunion recordings with daughter Janette and others in later years.
- Carter Family inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970.
- Died in Lodi, California on January 8, 1979 at age 80.
- Her vocal style — unornamented, emotionally direct, grounded in traditional British Isles ballad singing — became the model for generations of country and bluegrass singers.