Martha Carson

about

Carson was born Irene Amburgey in Neon, Kentucky (now absorbed into Fleming-Neon). She and her two sisters were spotted by radio barn-dance impresario John Lair and invited to join the cast of the WSB Barn Dance in Atlanta in 1938. The Amburgey sisters were given the fanciful hayseed names of Minnie, Marthie, and Mattie. After Irene Amburgey left the group and teamed with her husband, mandolin player James Carson, in the 1940s, the stage name stuck and she became Martha Carson. The duo performed (with Martha on guitar) as the "Barn Dance Sweethearts". By the time of her divorce from James Carson in 1950, Martha had begun making solo appearances on Knoxville's WNOX radio. However, she couldn't record because the Barn Dance Sweethearts' label, Capitol, had them contracted through 1957 and refused to let her go solo, instead trying to pair her up with other male singers. She began doing session work instead, appearing on The Carlisles' "Too Old to Cut the Mustard" and other recordings by that group of unrelated performers headed by WNOX stalwart Bill Carlisle. Things began to change after Carson met Fred Rose in Nashville. He helped convince Capitol to let her record alone, and in 1951 she made her solo-single debut with "Satisfied", a gospel song she had written in response to audience disapproval over her divorce. The combination of Carson's powerful alto voice and the song's propulsive handclap backbeat formed one of the blocks on which early rock & roll was built. The song

top songs

albums

Satisfied

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That'll Flat Git It! Vol.1 (RCA)

Martha Carson - [The Dave Cash Collection]

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Satisfied And Other Moving Gospel Greats

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Girls Gone Rockin' [Part 2]

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Country Gospel Legend

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Get Hot or Go Home: Vintage RCA Rockabilly '56-'59 - Vols. I & II

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THAT'LL FLAT GIT IT, VOL. 1 (RCA Victor)var

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That'll Flat Git It vol.01

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Girls Gone Rockin'

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Driving Home For Christmas

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Get Hot Or Go Home: Vintage RCA Rockabilly '56-'59

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