Will You Miss Me When I’m Gone?: The Carter Family and Their Legacy in American Music, by Mark Zwonitzer with Charles Hirshberg. Simon & Schuster, 2014.
The Carter Family was one of the biggest stars of early country music, after their participation in the “Big Bang of Country Music” Bristol recording sessions in 1927. Even if you’re not a fan, you’ve probably heard “Will the Circle Be Unbroken”, “Keep on the Sunny Side”, or “Wildwood Flower”.
The group consisted of A.P. Carter, his wife Sara, and her cousin Maybelle. This biography traces their history, through love, divorce, making it big, and beyond. The Carter Family was a big influence on country, Gospel, and other kinds of music. Two and three generations later, family members are still performing.
I enjoyed the style of the writing: straightforward explanation of notable events in the family history, placing them in the broader times, revealing their struggles as well as their successes.