A graphic novel must-read about American music
I just finished reading The Carter Family: Don't Forget This Song by Frank Young and David Lasky and can't recommend it enough. My full review will run in December (either in my column or annual holiday feature), but I wanted to give everyone a heads-up right now to keep an eye out for it. If you don't know much about country music history the Carter Family is one of the cornerstones of the country tradition (and thus also impacted the history of rock which grew from some country roots). A.P. Carter, his wife Sara and her cousin Maybelle (mother of June Carter who later married Johnny Cash) were a trio that later grew to include Maybelle's children (she was married to A.P.'s brother) and were the sound on the radio for millions throughout the late 1920s and 1930s.
Young and Lasky tell the whole story here - the music, the relationships and the manner in which A.P. Carter collected the Appalachian songs that he later arranged with Maybelle & Sara into their recordings. What's really great is that the authors also include A.P.'s friendship with Lesley Riddle (pictured with A.P. above), the African-American musician who traveled with him and is credited with writing the melodies for many of the songs. (People would sing them and Lesley would craft the melodies by ear while A.P. transcribed/created the lyrics.) As has been noted by many others, the publication deal on the songs required that all of them be credited to A.P. Carter even though he tried to include everyone else. Riddle in particular is finally getting some attention now and the authors make sure he does in their story as well.
All in all it's fascinating stuff (Sara and A.P. split up but continued to record as the Carter Family which was crazy difficult), and so well done - a truly gorgeous hardcover. I see a ton of teen appeal for it and for any reader with any interest in music history at all. The book also includes a CD with recordings from 1939 which is just the icing on the cake. Holiday shop early - it's fantastic!
For more on Lesley Riddle, see this report from the 2012 RiddleFest.
