The Winding Stream: An Oral History of the Carter and Cash Family

by Beth Harrington

There is a stream that courses through American roots music. Its source is in the Appalachian foothills in a place called Maces Springs, Virginia. It was there that A.P. Carter, his wife Sara, and his sister-in-law Maybelle began their careers as three of the earliest stars of country music.

These three didn't just play the music emerging from their hill country upbringing. They helped invent it. The stream these three created turned into a rushing river and moved through several generations of musicians, most notably touching the life of one Johnny Cash who first heard the Carters — including a young June Carter — over the airwaves. It was a wonderful twist of fate when Cash, as a Sun Records artist, first met Mother Maybelle and her girls. the Carter Sisters. and vowed to June that "I'm gonna marry you someday.''

The Winding Stream is an oral history that tells the tale of this important music dynasty. In their own words, family and friends, musicians and historians offer first-hand recollections and insightful observations that illuminate the Carter and Cash contributions to American popular culture.

Genres: Music, History, Nonfiction

168 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2014

Reviews

[Tim Armstrong · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read. It was nice to hear personal perspective from family members of the Carter Family. Not my favorite book on the Carter Family (that would be "Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone" which I highly recommend) but this was still good. You won't learn anything scandalous or really dive deep into the lives of AP, Sara and Maybelle, which is unfortunate and leaves some major holes in the narrative. Some of the more unsavory aspects of their lives are completely omitted.

It also doesn't focus much on the Cash family story. He basically shows up near the end as June Carter's boyfriend and their family isn't explored much at all.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Winding Stream: An Oral History of the Carter and Cash Family by Beth Harrington is a companion book to documentary film. I so wish that I could see that film. My father loved the Carter family. He has passed away but I wish that I had thought to ask him if he had ever heard their radio shows broadcasted from Boarder Radio during the Great Depression. I do know that he knew about the whole family and he really would have enjoyed this book.

Of course most people my age know about Johnny Cash and June Carter but they don't know about the patriarch of the family A.P. Carter and Sarah, two who loved each other very much but they had to split up because they couldn't live together any more. This oral history is the memories of their children and their children's children and how Country Music got its true start. Some of it is hard to believe, but true. A.P. Carter aka Alvin Pleasant Carter grew up in Poor Valley, Virginia. This man full of restless energy never was a good farmer but he found his true purpose in collecting songs from the mountain people and later from many more places and reworking them to put the Carter stamp on all of them. Without that many of those songs would have been lost forever. Sarah came from the other side of the mountain and grew up in Rich Valley.

Each Carter was very different from the other. June Carter was a comedian, her mother Maybelle was an extraordinary musician who picked up different instruments quickly and sneaked in bits of her own ingenuity in her music. When it came to Johnny Cash the Carter Family knew that he had a drug problem but they nursed him through it because they realized that “he was worth saving”.

There is a lot more to this fascinating little book but I hope that you read it yourself.

I highly recommend this book to all who love the Carter and Cash family and people who love American music history.

I received this book as a win from First Reads but that in no way influenced my thoughts or feelings in this review.

[Art]

The Winding Stream, the documentary, played this afternoon to a full house at the Milwaukee Film Festival. It is one of three screenings during the festival. http://mkefilm.org/the-winding-stream/ I gave it a five. Excellent film.

Although this page reports a 2014 publication date, the book does not appear in bookstores or libraries. Looking forward to it someday. Also looking forward to the DVD with bonus features someday. http://thewindingstream.com/screenings/

In the meantime, try this fine PBS program from The American Experience: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/carterfa...