Facebook
Twitter
RSS
Fred Carter Jr., a longtime Nashville studio musician and father of country musician Deana Carter, has died. He was 76.
He died of complications from a stroke Saturday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Tennessee, according to an obituary and funeral arrangements released Monday by a public relations firm.
Born in Louisiana, Carter began his career as a staff guitarist on the Shreveport-based country music show known as the “Louisiana Hayride.” He settled in Nashville in the late 1950s as a session player and worked with a steady stream of country artists, including Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson. He also worked with Simon and Garfunkel, Bob Dylan and Muddy Waters.
Funeral services will be held Tuesday.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Fred for my book, “Louisiana Rocks! The True Genesis of Rock & Roll,” about 2 years ago. He was a fascinating individual. If memory serves (I don’t have one of my books in front of me), he played seven instruments on the Simon and Garfunkel hit, “The Boxer,” including the wonderful guitar intro. He was a native of Winnsboro, Louisiana, practically a neighbor of Dale Hawkins, who co-wrote and sang the original version of “Suzie-Q,” Jerry Lee Lewis, and Mickey Gilley. Fred even played with Hawkins for a time. We have lost many Louisiana musicians in recent years. Two, Hawkins and Bobby Charles, died earlier this year. Other Louisiana artists we have lost include John Fred, Johnny Adams, Snooks Eaglin, Earl Palmer, Merle Kilgore, Dale Houston, Floyd Cramer, Slim Harpo, Guitar Slim, Larry Williams, and the list goes on. These are the ones who put rock & roll on the map and who laid the groundwork for later rockers. We should never forget them.
Tom Aswell
Baton Rouge, LA.