Sara Carter

Sara Elizabeth Carter (née Dougherty, later Bayes; July 21, 1898 – January 8, 1979) was an American country music musician, singer, and songwriter. Remembered mostly for her deep, distinctive, mature singing voice, she was the lead singer on most of the recordings of the historic Carter Family act in the 1920s and 1930s. In her earliest recordings her voice was pitched very high. Life and career Born in Copper Creek, Virginia, the daughter of William Sevier Dougherty and Nancy Elizabeth Kilgore, at age 16 she married A. P. Carter on June 18, 1915; they divorced in 1936. They had three children: Gladys (Mrs. Millard), Janette (Mrs. Jett), and Joe. In 1927, she and A. P. began performing as the Carter Family, perhaps the first commercial rural country music group. They were joined by her cousin, Maybelle, who was married to A. P.'s brother, Ezra Carter. Later, Sara married Coy Bayes, A. P.'s first cousin, and moved to California in 1943, and the original group disbanded. In the late 1940s, Maybelle began performing with her daughters Helen, June, and Anita as The Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle (the act was renamed The Carter Family during the 1960s).