“She’d hook that right thumb under that big bass string, and just like magic the other fingers moved fast like a threshing machine, always on the right strings, and out came the lead notes and the accompaniment at the same time. The left hand worked in perfect timing, and the frets seemed to pull those nimble fingers to the very place where they were supposed to be, and the guitar rang clear and sweet with a mellow touch that made you know it was Maybelle playing the guitar.” June Carter Cash
June Carter is describing a style of guitar playing that would influence countless guitar players across all forms of music, a form of guitar playing that is still being played today. That style is known as The Carter Scratch.
In the previous Musical Tree I wrote about The Carter Family and what a huge influence they had on Country Music. From the business side of music to their extended musical family, The Carter Family is one of the biggest influences on American music, even today.
Maybelle Carter was the guitar player in the group. She also was an accomplished autoharp player. However, it was her unique style of playing guitar that makes her stand out. Maybelle was one of the first ‘lead’ guitarists in a band, and with her unique style of guitar playing was often tasked with playing rhythm and lead guitar in the same song.
It was an African American musician named Lesley Riddle who taught Maybelle how to play in her unique style. In 1927 A.P. Carter met Riddle at a jam session in eastern Tennessee. Impressed by his guitar playing, A.P. hired Riddle to accompany him on what A.P. called his “music collecting” trips. The two would travel around Virginia, Tennessee, and Kentucky listening to local artists play music. A.P. would write down the words, and Riddle would learn the melody. When they returned home they would play the songs for Sara and Maybelle, which would become not only part of The Carter Family’s live act, but they would record many of these songs as well, with A.P. claiming the “copyright” credits on each song, thereby collecting the royalties from sales of their music.
Later in his life, when asked if he had taught Maybelle how to play guitar, Riddle replied “No, I didn’t have to. She would just watch and learn. She was that good.” So just what does The Carter Scratch sound like? You can hear her distinctive sound on the very first song The Carter Family recorded in Bristol, Tennessee in 1927, Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow Tree. The result is a sound that sounds like two guitars, not one!
Maybelle was famous for playing a Gibson L-5 guitar. During her career, long after she had established herself as a top guitar player, Maybelle would be asked to play on other artists recordings. She almost always accepted, and often went uncredited – and uncompensated – for her work. She preferred it that way. During one such session with Earl Scruggs, Scruggs became frustrated that he couldn’t keep up with her or learn her style. Late in her life she did take part in a recording session with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. The band specifically wanted her to perform with them on the classic Carter Family song, Will The Circle Be Unbroken. There would be no anonymity this time for Maybelle. She sings the first and fourth verses on the song, and played on 3 additional songs on the album titled ‘Will The Circle Be Unboken’, released in 1972. Maybelle received a Grammy nomination and the only Gold record of her career. Not surprisingly, with Maybelle listed on the album, the album peaked at number 4 on the Country charts.
The list of guitarists who were influenced by Maybelle’s Carter Scratch is long and impressive. I’ll just give you the highlights:
Doc Watson
Chet Atkins
Elvis Presley
Bob Dylan
Marty Stuart
Woody Guthrie
Emmylou Harris
Earl Scruggs
Bill Monroe
Johnny Cash
There is one final guitarist I’ll add to this list. You might be thinking, those are mostly folk and country guitar players. I invite you to watch this great song from the Tedeschi Trucks Band, Midnight In Harlem. Pay attention to lead guitarist Derek Trucks(he’s the one with the blond ponytail playing the red guitar). Derek is playing The Carter Scratch! Proof that Maybelle’s influence continues across generations and musical styles!
That’s it for this edition of The Musical Tree! Did you like this article? Leave a comment! Have a suggestion for a Musical Tree subject? Leave a comment! In the meantime keep it positive and play it loud!
Playlists below:
