Carlene Carter

Singer-songwriter Carlene Carter was only 12 when her mother married country music star Johnny Cash, and her life has never been the same. "I had a pretty normal time up till then. It was at the height of his (Cash's) success with the television show and (the hit single) 'A Boy Named Sue,' " Carter recalled. "We moved to this giant house. We couldn't mow the yard any more and instead of getting $1 a week for allowance, I got $10. It was a little overwhelming," she said.

Being the only all-female Johnny Cash tribute band in the world is bound to raise a few eyebrows, or perhaps in this case a few black cowboy hats. "We have people coming up to us all the time asking how can girls sing that low," laughs Suzi Fray, lead singer and guitarist for the Johnnys, a trio who are on their first trip to the U.S. from their home base of Nelson, New Zealand. The Johnnys will be one of the featured artists Saturday at Ventura's fourth A Tribute to the Music of Johnny Cash, a festival dedicated to the Man in Black showcasing 12 local and overseas tribute bands on two stages as well as rockabilly pioneer Wanda Jackson and country star Carlene Carter.

Carlene Carter plunks herself down for a lunch appointment and cheerfully announces that she has just left the scene of a "domestic crisis," the domicile in question being her own. The crisis has to do with diet supplements, boxing trunks and credit cards. The body-slimming supplements--for which this slender, fine-boned, Dove bar-loving country singer would make a very good advertisement--have been ordered in quantity. The credit-card limit has been reached.

Carl Smith Country singer had hits in 1950s Carl Smith, 82, a country musician of the 1950s and '60s known for his dynamic voice, died Saturday at his Tennessee home, according to the Williamson Memorial Funeral Home in Franklin, Tenn. Smith had 41 chart singles during the 1950s, including the hits "Are You Teasing Me," "Back Up Buddy" and "Hey Joe!" He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2003. Born March 15, 1927, in Maynardsville, Tenn.

All through her life, Carlene Carter's been told she really should be a country singer--it's in her blood. Carter is a member of country music's royal family. Maybelle Carter, one of the progenitors of modern country, was her grandmother. Carl Smith, a singer with almost 30 Top 10 country hits in the 1950s, is her father. June Carter Cash is her mother. Johnny Cash is her stepfather. Rosanne Cash is her stepsister. But, in her youth, Carlene Carter rebelled.

Carlene Carter has a lot of country music history caught up in her family ties: Her grandmother was the legendary Maybelle Carter of the Carter Family; her parents are June Carter (now June Carter Cash) and Carl Smith, one of the top country singers of the '50s; her stepdad is Johnny Cash. Other performers might be overwhelmed by the weight of such a legacy (how long has Hank Williams Jr. been straining under his dad's reputation?).

How do you get to the Greek Theatre? Practice. Practice. Practice. . . . Carlene Carter took that paraphrasing of an old joke literally in the first of her two sets Monday night at the Crazy Horse Steak House, turning in a show that is best described as a work-in-progress, albeit a mostly delightful one even at this raw, early stage. Tonight, Carter is scheduled to be at the Greek in Los Angeles, opening for Mary Chapin Carpenter.

Family is where people turn when they don't know where else to turn. For Carlene Carter, the cue to look homeward came about five years ago, when her career as a rock 'n' roller had dwindled, and her marriage had fallen apart. Carlene's mother, June Carter Cash, and her stepfather, Johnny Cash, were happy to take the prodigal daughter back into the family business, which is country music.

The Ventura Concert Theatre should be movin' and a-shakin' Saturday night when Carlene Carter, 1991 Academy of Country Music best female vocalist nominee, brings her infectious rock-a-billy sound to the stage. Following the success of her first solo country album, "I Fell in Love," in 1990, Carter's debut appearance in Ventura County will kick off her tour for "Little Love Letters," produced by Howie Epstein (of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) on the Giant label.

When Carlene Carter finally found a niche on the country music charts in 1990, it was billed as the prodigal daughter's return. But as Carter sees it, it was less a case of her repenting the profligate ways of a rowdy rocker than of the country establishment's realizing that country and rock can form a circle that need not be broken.

With her once ash blond hair now auburn, progressive country's crown princess Carlene Carter is the spitting image of her mother June Carter Cash. Heads turn when Maybelle Carter's granddaughter walks into the Sunset Grill, a Music City watering hole frequented by the celebrities, who scarcely earn more than a passing flicker from fellow diners.

How do you get to the Greek Theatre? Practice. Practice. Practice. . . . Carlene Carter took that paraphrasing of an old joke literally in the first of her two sets Monday night at the Crazy Horse Steak House, turning in a show that is best described as a work-in-progress, albeit a mostly delightful one even at this raw, early stage. Tonight, Carter is scheduled to be at the Greek in Los Angeles, opening for Mary Chapin Carpenter.

Sometimes opportunity does knock twice. So if you missed the local appearances of hot country stars Hal Ketchum and Carlene Carter during the last few months, Wednesday is your lucky night. That's when Texas singer-songwriter Ketchum will headline the opening night of the Grandstand Concert Series at the Ventura County Fair. Joining him will be Carter, a third-generation member of one of country music's legendary families.

When Carlene Carter finally found a niche on the country music charts in 1990, it was billed as the prodigal daughter's return. But as Carter sees it, it was less a case of her repenting the profligate ways of a rowdy rocker than of the country establishment's realizing that country and rock can form a circle that need not be broken.

Lots of folks talk about family values. When the woman doing the talking is Carlene Carter, who just happens to be a member of arguably the greatest family in country music, you listen. During her early set Monday night at the Crazy Horse Steak House, Carter gave a sold-out crowd an object lesson in the ties that bind, in honoring tradition as well as in knowing when to break it.

Carlene Carter plunks herself down for a lunch appointment and cheerfully announces that she has just left the scene of a "domestic crisis," the domicile in question being her own. The crisis has to do with diet supplements, boxing trunks and credit cards. The body-slimming supplements--for which this slender, fine-boned, Dove bar-loving country singer would make a very good advertisement--have been ordered in quantity. The credit-card limit has been reached.

It took six albums over 12 years, but country singer Carlene Carter is finally making it big like the rest of her famous family. "I always thought it would work out," Carter, 35, said in the Nov. 12 issue of People magazine. "But I didn't think it would work out so late in life." Carter is the daughter of June Carter Cash and '50s Nashville crooner Carl Smith.

Carl Smith Country singer had hits in 1950s Carl Smith, 82, a country musician of the 1950s and '60s known for his dynamic voice, died Saturday at his Tennessee home, according to the Williamson Memorial Funeral Home in Franklin, Tenn. Smith had 41 chart singles during the 1950s, including the hits "Are You Teasing Me," "Back Up Buddy" and "Hey Joe!" He was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2003. Born March 15, 1927, in Maynardsville, Tenn.

The Ventura Concert Theatre should be movin' and a-shakin' Saturday night when Carlene Carter, 1991 Academy of Country Music best female vocalist nominee, brings her infectious rock-a-billy sound to the stage. Following the success of her first solo country album, "I Fell in Love," in 1990, Carter's debut appearance in Ventura County will kick off her tour for "Little Love Letters," produced by Howie Epstein (of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers) on the Giant label.

Carlene Carter has a lot of country music history caught up in her family ties: Her grandmother was the legendary Maybelle Carter of the Carter Family; her parents are June Carter (now June Carter Cash) and Carl Smith, one of the top country singers of the '50s; her stepdad is Johnny Cash. Other performers might be overwhelmed by the weight of such a legacy (how long has Hank Williams Jr. been straining under his dad's reputation?).