Happy Birthday, Maybelle Carter!

To the country music world of the 1950s, she was “Mother Maybelle.” To modern listeners, she is perhaps most familiar as “mother of June Carter Cash.” Maybelle Carter was born May 10, 1909 in Nickelsville, Virginia. Together with her brother-in-law and cousin, she pioneered the commercial country music group scene as part of The Carter Family. Influenced by guitarist and family friend Lesley Riddle, Maybelle helped pull the guitar out of the rhythm section and into the lead. Her technique of playing the melody on the lower strings while maintaining rhythmic stability on the higher strings became known as the “Carter Scratch.”

Image Source: Morrison Hotel Gallery