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27 Years Ago Today, We Said Goodbye to the Youngest Daughter of Country Music’s Most Famous Family and the First To Record a Johnny Cash Classic
On 28 July 1999, Anita Carter, the youngest of the Carter Sisters and the first artist to record what would become Johnny Cash's signature hit "Ring of Fire," died in Hendersonville, Tennessee, aged 66, from complications of rheumatoid arthritis. As part of the Carter family, one of country music's most influential dynasties, she helped shape the genre both through the family group and her own solo recordings, and her original version of the song later became a defining moment in Cash's career.
Carter performed alongside her mother, Maybelle, and sisters June and Helen as the Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle from 1949, and in May 1952 became the first woman from the Grand Ole Opry to perform solo on The Kate Smith Evening Hour. Her solo career produced hit duets, including "Down the Trail of Achin' Hearts" with Hank Snow (No. 2, 1951) and "I Got You" with Waylon Jennings (No. 4, 1968), while her 1962 solo debut album Folk Songs Old and New featured "(Love's) Ring of Fire" ahead of Cash's crossover hit version. She released several more albums, with her final record, Yesterday, coming out in 1990, nine years before her death.
In short
- Anita Carter, youngest Carter Sister, died 28 July 1999, aged 66.
- She first recorded the song that became Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire."
- Also had solo hits with Hank Snow and Waylon Jennings.
Explained simply
The Carter family was one of country music's most prominent and influential families, helping to shape the genre's sound and reach from the early twentieth century. Anita Carter was the youngest member of this family, and she played a key role in bringing country music to mainstream American audiences.
From 1949, Anita performed as part of the Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle alongside her sisters June and Helen and their mother Maybelle. She also had her own successful solo recording career, producing hit duets with major artists such as Hank Snow and Waylon Jennings.
Anita Carter was the first to record "(Love's) Ring of Fire" in 1962, a song that would later become widely associated with Johnny Cash and his crossover success. Her work as a performer and recording artist helped establish country music's place in mainstream American culture during the mid-twentieth century.