“Carlene Carter was born into country-music royalty,” Ken Tucker said recently on NPR’s Fresh Air. Daughter of June, granddaughter of Maybelle, and step-daughter of Johnny Cash, not to mention her many other superbly talented Carter family relations, Carlene has a daunting musical legacy to live up to, but “she has done justice to her history,” as The Guardian declares in its review of her new album, Carter Girl. Even before the new album, Carlene’s “place in the history of American music was assured,” says the website PopMatters, but her latest work takes on “the responsibility of maintaining and extending her family’s music, and, without falsehood or artifice of any kind, does exactly that.” The Boston Globe calls it “the best record this Carter girl has ever made.” She not only pays tribute to her musical heritage, she reinterprets and reinvigorates it. This is an artist at the top of her musical game.
 
Carlene recorded her first album in London with Graham Parker’s great rock and roll band, The Rumour. She recorded her second album with help from The Doobie Brothers, and her third album with then-husband Nick Lowe and members of his band Rockpile. Gradually, though, she returned to her country roots, touring with the Carter Family and recording several fine albums with the bass player from Tom Petty’s band, Howie Epstein. She even played the part of June Carter in the musical Wildwood Flowers: The June Carter Story. As her new album shows, she’s fully embraced the word of country, and she still has plenty of rock and roll heart.

Listen to a track from Carlene Carter: