Fred Carter, Jr., session musician and father of Deana Carter, dies at 76

Fred Carter, Jr., session musician and father of Deana Carter, dies at 76

Published by Cindy Watts on July 19, 2010




Fred Carter, Jr. in
the 1970s



Country singer Deana Carter is mourning the weekend loss of her father,
session guitarist Fred Carter, Jr.

Mr. Carter, 76, died Saturday of “stroke-related causes” at Vanderbilt University
Medical Center, according to a release from Deana Carter’s management company.

Fred Carter, Jr. was born in the Louisiana Delta and landed his first gig as a professional
musician playing on the Louisiana Hayride. He moved to Nashville in the late ’50s and soon
became an in-demand session guitarist playing on recordings for artists including Willie Nelson,
Dolly Parton, Bob Dylan, Simon & Garfunkel and Kris Kristofferson.

Mr. Carter was also a songwriter who wrote with heavy-hitting writers including Nelson,
Hank Cochran and Harlan Howard. Dean Martin, Chet Atkins and Burl Ives are among the artists
who recorded his songs.

He is survived by his wife of 49 years, Anna; sons Ronnie and Jeff; daughter Deana Carter ;
and five grandchildren.

Services for Mr. Carter are set for Tuesday at Woodlawn Roesch Patton Funeral Home at
660 Thompson Lane in Nashville. Visitation is noon-2:30 p.m. with the funeral scheduled
to start at 2:30 p.m. in the building’s chapel.


source : HERE

Mon Jul 19, 6:58 pm

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Fred Carter Jr., a longtime Nashville studio musician and father of country
musician Deana Carter, has died. He was 76.

He died of complications from a stroke Saturday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center
in Tennessee, according to an obituary and funeral arrangements released Monday
by a public relations firm.

Born in Louisiana, Carter began his career as a staff guitarist on the Shreveport-based country
music show known as the "Louisiana Hayride." He settled in Nashville in the late 1950s as a
session player and worked with a steady stream of country artists, including Willie Nelson,
Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson. He also worked with Simon and Garfunkel,
Bob Dylan and Muddy Waters.

Funeral services will be held Tuesday.


source : HERE

Fred Carter, Jr.


Fred Carter, Jr. (December 31, 1933 - July 17, 2010)[1] was a guitarist, singer, producer
and composer. Beginning his professional career in the 1950s, the record charts are replete
with his fingerprints across a number of genres. Though based in Nashville and serving as one
its premier session guitarists, his influence can be heard on recordings as diverse as
Muddy Waters, The Band, Waylon Jennings, Dottie Rambo, and Simon and Garfunkel.
His songs have been recorded by acts as diverse as Dean Martin and Chet Atkins.

Carter was reared in the delta country in Winnsboro, the seat of Franklin Parish in northeastern
Louisiana. His first partner in music was another Franklin Parish native, Allen "Puddler" Harris.
Carter grew up with the heavy musical influences of jazz, country & western, hymns, and blues.
These elements fused to form rock and roll in the 1950s, and Carter was a significant part
of this development. He spent two years with Roy Orbison during his heyday in the late 1950s.
He then worked with Ronnie Hawkins and the Hawks, and was principal guitarist for Dale Hawkins
of "Suzie Q" fame. Carter and Harris also toured extensively with Conway Twitty when Twitty
was playing rock and roll instead of country.

Carter settled into the Nashville session scene in the early 1960s, having become one of its
players for the next two decades. His influence was not confined to Nashville however and
he was a fixture in the folk music genre of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Carter can be heard
on a multitude of Simon and Garfunkel classics - most notably "The Boxer" in which he played
four guitars, including the memorable finger-picking intro and conclusion. He can also be heard
playing bass on Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay" as well as principal guitar with Joan Baez, Neil Young,
The Band and others. Carter was instrumental in bringing these acts to Nashville to record,
helping Nashville's music landscape expand beyond its traditional boundaries. This influence
can be heard on songs such as "The Boxer" which includes harmonica legend Charlie McCoy
who Carter brought in to be part of the record. Other signature pieces for Carter include
I've Always Been Crazy and Whistlers and Jugglars by Waylon Jennings.

Production credits for Carter include Levon Helm's American Son album on MCA Records,
and Bobby Bridger's Heal in the Wisdom. He also helped Dolly Parton and Tanya Tucker
land their first record deals.

Carter was a principal member of the band Levon Helm and The RCO All-Stars. This band
was composed of Levon Helm, Booker T. and the MG's, Steve Cropper, Donald "Duck" Dunn,
Dr. John, Paul Butterfield, and the NBC Saturday Night Live horns.

Carter did not make the guitar his principal instrument until he was in his early twenties,
having been a lifelong fiddle and mandolin player. Also of note, it has been widely reported
that Carter was Robbie Robertson's guitar teacher in the early days of touring with
Ronnie Hawkins. Carter was also scheduled to appear in Martin Scorsese's The Last Waltz but
had to decline due to scheduling conflicts. Carter has had small roles in several movies including
The Adventures of Huck Finn starring Elijah Wood.

Carter has received mention in many personal biographies, including Levon Helm's This Wheel's
on Fire and Willie Nelson's Willie Nelson: An Epic Life. Nelson states in his book that Carter had
the best touch or feel of any musician in Nashville.

Carter's daughter is country music singer Deana Carter, a CMA award winning artist.


Source : HERE

Fred Carter - Freeloaders