tnhillbilly
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- May 9, 2005
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Janette Carter dies
HILTONS Janette Carter sat on her onstage couch at The Carter Fold like a preacher stands at a pulpit.
This was her church this big barn in Scott County. And here her congregation met every Saturday night for old-time revivals of the simple way country music used to be music just like her parents, The Carter Family, played in the 1920s.
Carter and her late brother, Joe, built the barn in 1976 with space for about 1,000 people. The siblings called it "The Carter Fold" and dedicated acoustic-only shows to the legacy of The Carter Family.
But it was rough paying for the place with dirt-cheap admission fees, a handful of government grants and lots of old-fashioned elbow grease.
"Ive had a hard time with the Fold," Janette Carter said in November.
Joe Carter once told her she should just "turn it into a chicken barn" if they didnt make it work financially.
But, for 30 years, she did make it.
Carter turned that barn into a monument of mountain music.
The Carter Fold thrived, striking its chorus into the hearts of thousands, inspiring both townies and tourists, even teenagers.
Here, at the base of Clinch Mountain, countless cloggers show off their stuff. And musicians of all stripes stand on stage and rave about having a chance to finally play at "The Fold."
The Man in Black, Johnny Cash, performed several times on The Carter Fold stage with his wife, Carters cousin June.
At least once, the millionaire Cash offered to send Carter some money to help operate The Carter Fold, but she declined to "Cash" in, said Carters daughter, Rita Forrester.
Still, Carter let the world-famous Cash break a house rule and perform with an electric guitar.
Often, Cashs shows were held as benefits to raise money to operate The Carter Fold.
With a twinkle in her eye, Carter explained the exception, saying, "Johnny Cash was electrified before I knew him."
Go everywhere
Born on July 2, 1923, Janette Carter loved to tell stories of her father, Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter, the musical patriarch of The Carter Family whom everybody called "Doc."
"I was always busy following him," Carter said in November. "I wanted to go everywhere hed go."
For a few years, Carter followed her father and the family to Texas. There, she danced on stage, and the musicians starred on a radio show in Del Rio, starting in 1938.
But the Lone Star State didnt agree with the teenaged Janette, she said. "I never did like it the first year I went as when I left."
Carter called herself "the middle child" the one who "always gets blamed for a lot of things."
She sighed during an interview, saying, "We had a hard life, us children. I believe we had children just to raise them to work."
Carter was the mother of three children Forrester, Donald Jett and Dale Jett.
Her oldest son, Donald Jett, died last July at age 63 following complications from surgery to correct numbness in his hand, Forrester said.
Last March, Joe Carter died of cancer at age 78.
Passing the torch
On stage at The Carter Fold last November, Carter mourned all the losses of her life. She talked about being "the last" of her family.
And you could hear a pin drop.
Here, "Miss Carter" served as the halls wise matron its minister.
When "Miss Carter" spoke, people listened with great reverence.
Carter could spellbind fans with tales of her "Mommy and Daddy," A.P. and Sara Carter, and how the pair helped give birth to country music when The Carter Family was discovered by a talent scout at Bristol in 1927.
The couple performed with a guitarist, "Mother" Maybelle Carter, June Carter Cashs mother. And they passed their love of music to their children especially Janette.
Even in failing health, with her hand twitching and her voice wavering, Carter continued to serve as the hostess at The Carter Fold.
Yet, for years, she had delegated business duties to Forrester.
Still, this was more than business.
Carter also wanted her daughter to keep the roots of country music alive just like she had promised her own father that she would do the same, just before he died in 1960.
Forrester was no musician, she said, but she obliged and stood behind a microphone, singing on stage at The Carter Fold in November.
She looked nervous, but proud.
And Janette Carter sang, too, sitting atop her onstage couch. She smiled with the unforgettable twinkle in her eye.
jtennis@bristolnews.com |(276) 669-2181
HILTONS Janette Carter sat on her onstage couch at The Carter Fold like a preacher stands at a pulpit.
This was her church this big barn in Scott County. And here her congregation met every Saturday night for old-time revivals of the simple way country music used to be music just like her parents, The Carter Family, played in the 1920s.
Carter and her late brother, Joe, built the barn in 1976 with space for about 1,000 people. The siblings called it "The Carter Fold" and dedicated acoustic-only shows to the legacy of The Carter Family.
But it was rough paying for the place with dirt-cheap admission fees, a handful of government grants and lots of old-fashioned elbow grease.
"Ive had a hard time with the Fold," Janette Carter said in November.
Joe Carter once told her she should just "turn it into a chicken barn" if they didnt make it work financially.
But, for 30 years, she did make it.
Carter turned that barn into a monument of mountain music.
The Carter Fold thrived, striking its chorus into the hearts of thousands, inspiring both townies and tourists, even teenagers.
Here, at the base of Clinch Mountain, countless cloggers show off their stuff. And musicians of all stripes stand on stage and rave about having a chance to finally play at "The Fold."
The Man in Black, Johnny Cash, performed several times on The Carter Fold stage with his wife, Carters cousin June.
At least once, the millionaire Cash offered to send Carter some money to help operate The Carter Fold, but she declined to "Cash" in, said Carters daughter, Rita Forrester.
Still, Carter let the world-famous Cash break a house rule and perform with an electric guitar.
Often, Cashs shows were held as benefits to raise money to operate The Carter Fold.
With a twinkle in her eye, Carter explained the exception, saying, "Johnny Cash was electrified before I knew him."
Go everywhere
Born on July 2, 1923, Janette Carter loved to tell stories of her father, Alvin Pleasant Delaney Carter, the musical patriarch of The Carter Family whom everybody called "Doc."
"I was always busy following him," Carter said in November. "I wanted to go everywhere hed go."
For a few years, Carter followed her father and the family to Texas. There, she danced on stage, and the musicians starred on a radio show in Del Rio, starting in 1938.
But the Lone Star State didnt agree with the teenaged Janette, she said. "I never did like it the first year I went as when I left."
Carter called herself "the middle child" the one who "always gets blamed for a lot of things."
She sighed during an interview, saying, "We had a hard life, us children. I believe we had children just to raise them to work."
Carter was the mother of three children Forrester, Donald Jett and Dale Jett.
Her oldest son, Donald Jett, died last July at age 63 following complications from surgery to correct numbness in his hand, Forrester said.
Last March, Joe Carter died of cancer at age 78.
Passing the torch
On stage at The Carter Fold last November, Carter mourned all the losses of her life. She talked about being "the last" of her family.
And you could hear a pin drop.
Here, "Miss Carter" served as the halls wise matron its minister.
When "Miss Carter" spoke, people listened with great reverence.
Carter could spellbind fans with tales of her "Mommy and Daddy," A.P. and Sara Carter, and how the pair helped give birth to country music when The Carter Family was discovered by a talent scout at Bristol in 1927.
The couple performed with a guitarist, "Mother" Maybelle Carter, June Carter Cashs mother. And they passed their love of music to their children especially Janette.
Even in failing health, with her hand twitching and her voice wavering, Carter continued to serve as the hostess at The Carter Fold.
Yet, for years, she had delegated business duties to Forrester.
Still, this was more than business.
Carter also wanted her daughter to keep the roots of country music alive just like she had promised her own father that she would do the same, just before he died in 1960.
Forrester was no musician, she said, but she obliged and stood behind a microphone, singing on stage at The Carter Fold in November.
She looked nervous, but proud.
And Janette Carter sang, too, sitting atop her onstage couch. She smiled with the unforgettable twinkle in her eye.
jtennis@bristolnews.com |(276) 669-2181
