Carlene Carter Interview
by Ivy Wynn

Carlene Carter is a beautiful, talented lady who needs no introduction.  Her birthright claims legacies in country music from both family sides.  Her father is the renowned hit maker of the 50’s and Hall of Fame member, Carl Smith.  On her mother’s side, she is the daughter of the late multi-talented June Carter Cash, and granddaughter of legendary Maybelle Carter of the Carter Family dynasty, the very foundation of country music in America.   It’s no wonder this lady is overflowing with talent.
Carlene has returned to the music scene after a long period of intense grieving.  Over a span of six months, she lost three people through death that were very dear to her … her mother, June Carter Cash; half sister, Rosey; and stepfather, Johnny Cash.
Carlene’s new album, Stronger, is a poignant testimony of her unique ability as a songwriter to craft compositions filled with palpable emotion, and this therapeutic work has resulted in some of the best material she’s ever written, in my opinion.

CIO (Ivy):

CIO:  The one that really impressed me is the waltz that your husband sings with you.  Stronger is also a beautiful song, and says it all ... 2003 was not a good year for you, was it?
Carlene Carter:  No it wasn’t.  It was a hard year.  Very hard.
CIO:    I know. You lost your mother, Johnny, and Rosey so close together.
Carlene Carter:  Yes, it was all within a few months.

CIO:  Your song, Stronger, is powerful, but all the songs, for that matter, stand out as exceptional.  It’s been a while since you put out an album, hasn’t it? 
Carlene Carter:   Yes.  The last album of original material was in 1995. 

CIO:    That long, huh?
Carlene Carter:  Yes, but I did have another album out around 1998 of twenty songs over a twenty year period.

CIO:  Carlene, you have such an aristocratic legacy in country music … the Carter’s on your mother’s side who are the very foundation of country music in America.
Carlene Carter:  I know.  I can’t believe that I was born in that family.  (Laughs).

CIO:  And your dad, Carl Smith, was one of the greatest singers of the 50’s and 60’s to ever grace a stage.   How’s he doing, by the way?
Carlene Carter:  Daddy’s doing great.

CIO:  He just had a birthday, didn’t he? 
Carlene Carter:  Yes, he just turned 81.  He had surgery a couple of days after his birthday.  He had a hip put in, and he’s already walking around.  He’s doing fine. 

CIO:  That’s good.  He raises horses, doesn’t he?
Carlene Carter:  He did.  He’s only got one horse now. 

CIO:  He raised Tennessee Trotting horses, didn’t he? 
Carlene Carter:  That’s right. Quarter horses. 

CIO:  You’ll have to excuse me, I’m not much of an esquarian.
Carlene Carter:  (Laughs).

CIO:  Having been born into such famous heritages of country music, did you ever have any aspirations other than music when you were younger? 
Carlene Carter:  When I was a kid and studying music, I really wanted to be a classical pianist.  That’s why I went to college and studied classical music.  I had visions of being a classical pianist.  As it turned out, I ended up being a piano teacher for a while. 

CIO:  How interesting.  That’s something I bet a lot of people don’t know about you.

CIO:  I also took piano and studied classical too, but I’m also an avid fan of country music, and I especially like bluegrass and old time country music, so I know a lot about Mama Maybelle.   She was unsurpassed as an instrumentalist and so innovative.
Carlene Carter:  Yes, she was. 

CIO:   She created the famous “Carter Scratch”  didn’t she?  
Carlene Carter:  Yes, she did.  She was a banjo player first and worked up a way that she could play the melody and rhythm at the same time, which eventually became known as the Carter Scratch. 

CIO:  That’s very interesting.  It is a unique way of playing, and is her signature. 

CIO:  She played the autoharp too, didn’t she?
Carlene Carter:  Yes, she played the autoharp, banjo and guitar.  

CIO:  By the way, I just read where her Gibson is back in the Hall of Fame.
Carlene Carter:  Yes it is, and that’s where we want it to be.

CIO:  When you were young and growing up, it would be only natural for you to take your rich surroundings in music for granted, but did you ever stop and think, “Hey, my grandma is really something!” 
Carlene Carter:  Well, I always thought my grandma was the greatest.  When I was growing up, she was just grandma, and I didn’t realize what an impact she had on country music until later in life. 

I remember playing a show with her in Morgan Town, West Virginia.  This was when I was about seventeen and singing with The Carter Family.  The audience was full of college kids, and when she walked out on stage, there was a standing ovation. I thought, “My God!”  (Laughs).  

CIO:  (Laughs).  I read the book about the Carter Family a couple of years ago.  I can’t remember the name of it offhand. 
Carlene Carter:  Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone? 

CIO:  Yes, that was it.  It was so interesting.  I never realized that Sara just gave up everything and moved out to California when the Carter’s were still very popular.  
Carlene Carter:  Yes, she and Coy lived out in California.  They had an RV place which was sort of a campground and it was full of frogs.  (Laughs).  I don’t know what the frog thing was about.  

CIO:  (Laughs).  OK. 
Carlene Carter:  I remember going there as a kid and we loved it.  Every inch of the place was covered with ceramic frogs.  (Laughs).

CIO:  (Laughs).  Well, did Sarah and Maybelle ever get back together and play? 
Carlene Carter:  They did a little bit, but not very much.  They played together when they were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame.  They were the first women to be installed, by the way, and they performed together then. 

CIO:  I have so much admiration for their talent, not to mention the severe conditions they sometimes encountered in traveling.  They didn’t have the conveniences of tour buses or air conditioning back then in vehicles.  I’m sure your daddy can recall those early days in the 50’s when there was no air conditioning in cars. By the way, what is your favorite Carl Smith song?
Carlene Carter:  I like Loose Talk.  

CIO:  That’s a good song. 
Carlene Carter:  It was pretty innovative at that time too.  I got to record that song with daddy on my last record.   I’d never been really nervous about going into the studio, but when he said “you’ve got one chance so you’d better sing it right,” I thought oh, my God! (Laughs).  I was nervous. 

CIO:  Let’s talk a little more about Stronger.  There are some wonderful instrumentalists on this album. I read where you have worked a lot with John McFee and that he was instrumental in your getting this album out.  
Carlene Carter:  Oh, John was wonderful and he played almost everything on the whole album … guitar, dobro, fiddle, steel, mandolin, autoharp… just about everything on all the tracks.  There were only a couple other musicians.

CIO:  What a talent! 

CIO:  You also played the role of your mother, June Carter, in the 2005 musical, Wildwood Flowers, didn’t you?  That must have been a thrill for you. 
Carlene Carter:  I was a little nervous about doing it because it had only been a couple of years since she’d passed away and everything was still close to the skin, but it was real good to sing that music again.  My cousin, Lorrie, played her mother too.   

CIO:  Now, whose daughter is she?
Carlene Carter:  She’s Anita’s daughter and we’ve been singing together since we were little kids.  

It was a real emotional thing to do every night, but it was also a great emotional release for me.  

CIO:  Your mama would have been real proud of you. 
Carlene Carter: Yes, I think she would have been.

CIO:  I always admired that beautiful auburn hair of hers.  Did any of the three children inherit her auburn hair? 
Carlene Carter:  Yes, I did.

CIO:  Did you?  I always thought of you as a blond. (Laughs).
Carlene Carter:  I was a blond for years, but it was out of the bottle.  (Laughs).

CIO:  Oh, OK. (Laughs). 
Carlene Carter:  I let it go back to it’s natural color and it was so much like mama’s that I just left it that way.  It’s pretty auburn.  

CIO:  Your brother, John, has reddish hair too doesn’t he?
Carlene Carter:  John’s a redhead.  He has red hair.  (Laughs). 

CIO:    (Laughs).  What do you do for fun, Carlene?
Carlene Carter:  What do I do for fun?  Well, I love to cook. 

CIO:  Do you? 
Carlene Carter:  Yes I do.  My husband and I moved far out in the country here in Northern California and we don’t have a lot of culinary options up here.  (Laughs).

CIO:  (Laughs).  So that forces you into the kitchen. (Laughs).  Have you thought about putting out your own cookbook?
Carlene Carter:  (Laughs).  No, I’m not ready for that yet. 

CIO: So do you live in California now? 
Carlene Carter:  Yes, it’s about four and a half hours north of San Francisco.  We love it up here. We’ve got good friends here.  This is our little paradise. 

CIO:  Do you miss Tennessee?
Carlene Carter:  No, not really because we get to go back often.  I go back pretty often to see daddy, and my sister, Cathy.  My son lives there too, so we get back every couple of months or so.  

CIO:  Well, I wish you a lot of success with your new album.  You’ve come up with some really super songs.  You’re such a prolific writer, you always have been, and I can tell you’re an inspirational writer.
Carlene Carter:  I go by my heart.  The new single, Bring Love, is a song about my husband and I and how we got together, and fell in love.  

CIO:  Sounds wonderful.  Well, I won’t take up any more of your time.  I’m so grateful that you gave me the opportunity to talk with you, Carlene.  I’ve admired you for so long.  You are a beautiful girl, and so talented … everything in one package. 
Carlene Carter:  Thank you, Ivy.  I appreciate that very much. 

CIO:  I felt for you so much when you lost your mother, Johnny and Rosey so close together, but you still have your daddy.  I’m sure he’s always been there for you. 
Carlene Carter:  Yes, he has. He’s a good daddy. 

CIO:  You have two beautiful children too.  I went to your website and saw the family photograph of you, your children, Tiffany and Jackson, your grandchildren and daddy.   How many grandchildren do you have? 
Carlene Carter: I have four.  

CIO:  You’re fortunate.  There’s nothing like grandchildren, is there?  
Carlene Carter:  Oh, my God, no!  They really keep me going too.  (Laughs).

CIO:  It’s been such a pleasure talking with you, and again, good luck with your album. I hope it goes platinum for you.  
Carlene Carter:  Thank you so much, and I’ll talk to you again sometime.