Sunday, February 10, 2008

Crocodile Tears

The Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle with Chet Atkins

I love this group, which was made up of Maybelle Carter (of the original Carter Family), her daughters -- Helen, June and Anita -- and an up-and-coming guitarist and fiddler named Chet Atkins. They exhibited a brash, youthful enthusiasm, and embraced the popular songs of the day, but they never abandoned the old Carter Family songs. Besides recording as a group, each of them made records as a solo artist. This hard-to-find side was issued circa 1949 under June's name, but it's a group effort. A fellow in the Midwest put this well-worn copy on tape for me several years ago, and I've used some noise reduction software to make it less harsh. When BMG/Sony reissues it, I'll buy one.