Carlene Carter Fan Club: News

Look for Carlene in this clip from the upcoming music documentary The Winding Stream - The Carters, the Cashes and the Course of Country Music. http://thewindingstream.com/

Legendary photographer Robert Matheu has shared with the Fan Club some great never-before-seen shots that he took of Carlene for the June 1981 issue of CREEM ("America's Only Rock 'N' Roll Magazine"), including the full version of the shot that was used, but now seen here as it was originally intended, as a foldout! Carlene's work with Bob (as she calls him) spans 3 decades, including her most recent CD "Stronger" in 2008. Please visit his website for more of his historic shots of music legends: http://www.robertmatheu.com

From Carlene's daughter Tiffany Anastasia Lowe:

This EP is a re-release of recordings of my earlier material written in the early to mid-'90s. I would like to thank the people that encouraged me to record these songs and move forward into my musical career. All proceeds from the sale of this EP are going towards funding the recording of my first full length album which I hope to have completed and out in early 2012!

Thanks to Gerry Wenner for managing me and being an outstanding mentor. Thank you to Bruce Gowdy for production and multi-instrumentation on all 5 songs. Thank you to my friends and mom for inspiring me to write these songs from our real experiences and lessons, my family and my Grandmother June Carter Cash who always told me that "as long as you can play the Carter Scratch on the guitar" that I had it made.

Released: November 11, 2011
Producer: Bruce Gowdy
Artist: Tiffany Lowe
All Instruments: Bruce Gowdy and Tiffany Lowe
Vocals: Tiffany Lowe

http://tiffanylowe.bandcamp.com/album/queen-of-everything-ep

Nick Lowe and Carlene were married on August 18, 1979 in Los Angeles, and footage from the actual ceremony was used in a music video that has just been re-released by Yep Roc Records in "an all-new exclusive version of the classic 'Cruel To Be Kind' video. This behind-the-scenes look at the video is chock full of factoids sure to entertain even the most devoted Nick Lowe fan."

From our friend Larry Carta's website:

Today’s Cool Album of the Day (#434in the Series) is Carlene Carter, I Fell in Love. Youngsters from musical families have a huge advantage over the majority of society. Not only is music given to them via their genes, but having it in their ears from before birth is just a wonderful way to grow up... Carlene is a star in her own right. I Fell in Love was her sixth album. It was a country album heart, but it had a little spunk to it as well. Most of that was supplied by Carlene’s winning personality, but some of it was also provided by an absolute killer backing band...

Click the link below to read the full article, with great pictures and video, and thank you Larry for sharing this with us!

http://www.coolalbumoftheday.com/?p=11970

13 year old Joshua Henderson of Plainfield, Illinois is a straight A student and the youngest ranked pinball player in the USA and world! He recently became the Grand Champion on the Roadshow machine, which features Carlene's hit 1993 song "Every Little Thing."

Joshua, seen here with the machine's owner Tom Knorst, said: "Roadshow is a fun game. I spent lots of time on the internet reading and watching videos about it, learning the rulesheet to maximizing scoring. My secret to getting the Grand Champion score was getting an extra burst of energy to perform, which came from listening to Carlene Carter sing 'Every Little Thing.' I am a fan of both Roadshow and Carlene Carter, and thank her for her contribution to pinball history."

We congratulate Joshua on his achievements, and thank him for acknowledging and honoring Carlene like he has done! Special thanks to Joshua's father Mark Henderson for sharing the story and picture here (with more in the Photos section of the website).

Musical sisters from different mothers Carlene Carter and Tammy Faye Starlite will be appearing at Joe's Pub on Wednesday, January 26th for a very special evening of classic country, mixed with performance art and an examination of the roots of the Appalachian art form.

Carlene Carter, described as the prodigal child of country music royalty -- she's the granddaughter of Mother Maybelle Carter of the original Carter Family, daughter of June Carter and country great Carl Smith and stepdaughter of Johnny Cash -- has been in the forefront of breaking the barriers between country music and rock since she broke out during the new wave music explosion of the late 70s. Her career and personal life weathered a series of ups and downs over the intervening years with brilliant albums recorded with the likes of Graham Parker, Clarence Clemons, Nick Lowe, Paul Carrack, Dave Edmunds, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers' Howie Epstein and others. She's circled back to her Carter Family roots in recent years and will be performing at Joe's Pub accompanying herself on autoharp and guitar with a keyboard player making for an intimate set of music and stories that she calls "a one-woman show with a sidekick." Of her current run of performance dates, she notes, "I'm going to try to do something every night that I've never done before."

Carter's most recently released album, Stronger, garnered excellent press notices as well as praise from her peers. Of the album, Elvis Costello wrote, "It is astounding." Legendary lyricist Bernie Taupin called it "A staggering achievement by one of the great voices and fearless hearts of country rock."

Opening for Carlene is the inimitable Tammy Faye Starlight, the downtown provocateuse who most recently starred at Joe's Pub in Chelsea Mädchen, her portrayal of Nico, the glamorously decadent Velvet Underground chanteuse. An accomplished country vocalist, Starlight is best known for her portrayal of a godly country singer whose set list includes such trenchant tunes as "Miguided Magdalene," "God Has Lodged a Tenant in My Uterus," "Ride The Cotton Pony" and the classic "Did I Shave My Vagina For This?"

Of special note is the fact that Tammy Faye has performed the entirely of Carlene Carter's two Nick Lowe-produced album, Musical Shapes and Blue Nun in a tribute show of her own devising. Of her forthcoming pairing with Carlene at Joe's Pub, Tammy Faye remarked, "It's a surreal dream come true to be sharing the stage with this legend who has been such a huge influence. On some level, it's like the New York Dolls opening for the Rolling Stones."

Steve Earle, a longtime fan of Starlite's, commented, "Tammy is funnier every time I see her...She has kind of stumbled into greater relevance with what's happening in the world right now...Very powerful people have learned how to manipulate folks through faith and fear. Being absolutely irreverent is an important way to fight back."

Purchase tickets for the Carlene Carter and Tammy Faye Starlite show at Joe's Pub on January 26th here: http://bit.ly/i5TK92

26 year-old DJ Priority Christiansen of Norway has created what he calls this TranceCountry Remix of "He Will Be Mine," written by Carlene and Al Anderson, from her 1995 "Little Act Of Treason" CD.

Carlene has often named Lorrie Morgan as one of her favorite singers, and Lorrie has returned the compliment in a new interview with The Citizens Voice, Wilkes-Barre, PA:

Making your professional debut at age 13 with your country-famous father at your side, at the Grand Ole Opry nonetheless, one might feel a tad too frightened to stray, musically speaking. Morgan insists that although her father may have had an influence on her career choice, it was Carlene Carter (daughter of June Carter Cash's first marriage to Carl Smith) who inspired her.

"I was, and still am, a huge, huge Carlene Carter fan. In fact, the first songs I sang at the Opry, with my dad of course, were Carlene Carter's versions of material. Other than her I'd have to say it was Diana Ross & The Supremes."

You can read the complete article at citizensvoice.com.

Carlene and Lorrie made country music history with Pam Tillis in 1996, with what Country Weekly (above) called "The first-ever all-female country supertour." Can we see this great trio together again?

From the L.A. Times: Several veteran L.A. musicians with a strong affinity for country music are banding together to play a benefit June 24 at the Echo to raise funds for the Recording Academy’s MusiCares Nashville Flood Relief Fund. Dave Alvin, Exene Cervenka, Syd Straw and others will join country music scion Carlene Carter, the daughter of June Carter and her first husband, Carl Smith, at the show in Echo Park.

Many fans have written to ask how to get this DVD, and as far as we know it is currently not available, but if anyone knows otherwise, please write to us and tell us how to get copies!

Songs included are:

(1) I'm So Cool. (2) I Love You Cause I Want To.
(3) Sweet Meant To Be. (4) The Bitter End.
(5) Bring Love. (6) Ring Of Fire.
(7) My Dixie Darlin'. (8) Wildwood Rose.
(9) Every Little Thing. (10) The Sweetest Thing.
(11) Light Of Your Love. (12) To Change Your Heart.
(13) Easy From Now On. (14) Poor Ol' Heartsick Me.
(15) Stronger. (16) Come On Back. (17) Jackson.
(18) Hurricane. (19) I Fell In Love. (20) Cry.
(21) Keep On The Sunny Side. (22) Will The Circle Be Unbroken.

Plus Bonus 30 Minutes Interview With Carlene Carter.

Carlene's father Carl Smith passed away on Saturday, January 16, at his home in Franklin, Tennessee at the age of 82. Visitation and funeral services were held on the following Monday and Tuesday, with many family members, friends, and fans attending to pay their respects.

The service was officiated by Grand Ole Opry and WSM radio announcer Eddie Stubbs, who shared the podium with one of Mr. Smith's sons, followed by Kix Brooks (of Brooks & Dunn), who first asked Mr. Smith's long-time friend Little Jimmy Dickens to speak. All three told humorous and touching stories of the father and friend they knew and loved, with some of Mr. Smith's recordings played throughout, including a moving gospel number with The Carter Family.

Other stars at the visitation and funeral included Gail Davies and son Chris Scruggs, Ralph Emery, Vince Gill, Jan Howard, James Intveld, Jeannie Seely, Connie Smith and husband Marty Stuart; Carlene and many of her family including husband Joe Breen, children Tiffany and Jackson, sisters Lori Lynn Smith, Kathy and Cindy Cash, brothers Dean Smith, Carl Smith Jr., and John Carter Cash, cousin Lorrie Davis Bennett (daughter of Anita Carter), and many more.

The closed casket was surrounded by floral arrangements from family, friends, and fans including Jessi Colter and the family of Waylon Jennings, George Jones, C.C. Fan Club member Birgit Saehrendt in Germany, and the Franklin Police Department, SWAT, and K9 Units, with many of their officers present. Also on display were photos of Mr. Smith's early career as a country singer, with wife Goldie Hill, and later images of the cowboy that he became when he retired from the music business to raise and show horses, all calling to mind something Mr. Smith was quoted as saying in 2003: “Call me lucky. Ever since I can remember I wanted to be a hillbilly singer and a cowboy. I was fortunate enough to do both of them.”

As a "hillbilly singer," he placed 99 songs on Billboard magazine's country charts between 1951 and 1978 (with 30 in the top-ten, and five hitting #1), was a member of the Grand Ole Opry in the 1950s, starred on television and in films, earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and much more before retiring from show business in the late 1970s.

Carl Smith was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2003, an honor many considered long overdue, though as Mr. Smith said at the time: "I appreciate it very much. I was afraid I was going to have to die before this happened."

Carlene and Justin Townes Earle will headline the third annual Johnny Cash Flower Pickin' Festival in Starkville, Mississippi on Saturday, October 17, 2009.

More information can be found on the festival's website.

Saturday, June 6th, 2009, 10pm.
The Rodeo Bar (27th St. and 3rd Ave., NYC).
Free!

That loopy little country-gospel chanteuse, Tammy Faye Starlite, pays tribute to the original blonde wild-child of Tennessee, Miss Carlene Carter - Tammy will perform Carlene's two sublime Nick Lowe-produced albums, "Musical Shapes" (1980) and "Blue Nun" (1981) at the Rodeo Bar in downtown(ish) NYC on June 6th at 10pm - with a band that includes Keith Hartel (bass and vocals), Dave Dunton (keyboards), Mike Dvorkin (electric guitar), Heidi Lieb (acoustic guitar) and Maria McKenna (drums). Songs include "Baby Ride Easy", "Foggy Mountain Top," "I'm So Cool," "Oh How Happy," "Too Many Teardrops," "Born To Move" and a new wave maximum-bass version of "Ring Of Fire." 'Twill be a fab and glitter-neon country- early '80's eve, replete with leather miniskirts, high-heeled Fryes and maybe even a Dave Edmunds-inspired pink tie.

(This is Tammy's second show in tribute to Carlene. Before the first one, Carlene wrote: "Hey anybody that is willing to take on anything about me is A OK with me! Please tell Tammy that I can't believe anyone would want to be so cool as to think about tribute----ing me, but she will go down in history for being so brave. I've got to meet this chick! It may well be a match made in mayhem.")

Carlene Carter has never been much for politics, but apparently MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann thinks one of her tunes sums up the dance between Congress and the auto executives. Here is a transcript from Wednesday night’s show:

OLBERMANN: "The last-minute push to punish the auto industry's unions and to give Republican senators something to bitch about, the bailout of Detroit or as Carlene Carter once sang, 'Never Together But Close Sometimes.'"

From NPR.org: Country singer and songwriter Carlene Carter is a third-generation member of country music's First Family. The Carters were extraordinarily prolific: Carlene's grandmother, "Mother" Maybelle Carter, along with A.P. and Sara Carter, cut some of the first commercially successful country music in the border town of Bristol, Tenn./Va., back in 1927.

Those landmark sessions — and Bristol's rich history — are now preserved by the non-profit group The Birthplace of Country Music Alliance, which invited Mountain Stage to record in Bristol for a third consecutive year. The daughter of June Carter and her first husband, rockabilly singer Carl Smith, Carlene Carter is heard here in a special appearance in the historic border city, where she performs selections from her first new record in 12 years, Stronger.

Listen now on NPR.org

It has just been announced that Carlene Carter, now one of the senior performing members of the first family of country music, will be opening for Elvis Costello at the Ryman (in Nashville, TN) on April 23. Carter's ties to Costello go back at least three decades, when her ex-husband Nick Lowe was producing Elvis' albums.

Carter, meanwhile, is set to release her first album of new material in more than a decade on March 4. Titled Stronger and produced by longtime associate John McFee (of Doobie Brothers fame), the record reflects on the Job-like series of losses she endured in 2003, including the deaths of four of her closest loved ones during an eight-month span.

From The Tennessean.

Nearly 30 years after her first album in June 1978, Carlene Carter is back with her new CD "Stronger," which debuted at #69 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, her first appearance there since her last studio release, "Little Acts Of Treason," peaked at #65 in 1995. Her highest-charting album was "I Fell In Love," which made the Top 20 at #19 in 1990.

CMT News reported the Billboard debut with: "making its bow is Carlene Carter's potent package, Stronger," and with Jo Dee Messina as the highest-charting new song, added: "It's good to see Jo Dee and Carlene back, isn't it? Those women can rock."

The March 24 issue of Country Weekly reviewed "Stronger" with the latest Alan Jackson CD, giving both 3 1/2 stars and saying: "In country music, wandering spirits can always come home again."

Carlene Carter is recording a bonus track that will be available only on line in conjunction with her new CD "Stronger." Yep Roc Records is offering the download to anyone who purchases a hard copy of Carter's first CD in 13 years. An authorization code will be inserted into the CD enabling buyers to go to the Yep Roc web site to download "When the Long Road Ends," a song penned by Paul Thorn and Billy Maddox. The song will be available on street date (March 4, 2008).

From Country Standard Time.

A stellar group of “musical outlaws” took center stage at the historic Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas for a musical celebration of the outlaw spirit in country music. Performers included Asleep at the Wheel, Suzy Bogguss, Carlene Carter (who sang "The Bitter End" from her new "Stronger" CD), Jessi Colter, Rodney Crowell, Joe Ely, Raul Malo, Lee Roy Parnell, and many more! The evening’s festivities were taped by HDNet TV for showing on that network and a subsequent version for Public Television stations across the U.S.

On January 15, 2008, Yep Roc Records made a special offer that the first 100 fans who pre-ordered Carlene's new Stronger CD would get an autographed copy. Now, due to high demand, Carlene has signed even more copies of Stronger, and the first 250 fans to pre-order the CD at the Yep Roc Web Shop will get an autographed copy of this very special limited stock! The official release date of the CD is March 4, 2008.

Carlene will be performing at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York City on January 13, 2008 as part of an APAP Showcase (Association of Performing Arts Presenters). The show will also feature Marc Broussard and The Hitmen of Music Row. See the Fan Club Calendar page for more details!