Pam Linton Opens Up About the Carter Family, Music that Endures and Her New Album

SONGS OF THE CARTER FAMILY is a rootsy, intimate new offering from Pam Linton, a true troubadour of the road for decades, based largely in the upper Midwest.

Recorded in North Carolina, Pam is joined by some of acoustic music's finest, including Darin & Brooke Aldridge, Corrina Rose & Jeremy Stephens and David Johnson. This is an inspired album, direct from the heart. The 15-song collection is set for 1/17/25 on New Folk Records.

Pam is an eloquent music historian, and her treatment of songs that have been profoundly influential on bluegrass, country, Southern Gospel, pop and rock music. The Carter Family recorded between 1927 and 1956 and their music was additionally influential on the folk music revival of the 1960s in the United States. This is music with a lasting legacy.

Pam Linton is part of the great tradition of troubadours, marking miles on the road, making fans one fair, festival or venue at a time; always dedicated to the art of the music. She has a heart for the great traditions of Americana music, and a voice to tell the stories with sincerity. Her expressive vocals tug at the emotions. She is a stylist and interpreter. Her delivery is always genuine and heartfelt, touching deeply at the feelings woven into the lyrics.

Q: What artist(s) do you admire? 

I was raised in a family that appreciated Country Music of the 1950's through the 1980's. I have a deep appreciation for the Country Music traditionalists, both the Nashville scene and the west coast music scene. I love Rose Maddox and The Maddox Brothers. Wanda Jackson, who started her career in Country Music under the guides of Hank Thompson. My favorite male Country Music voice is Earl Thomas Conley. I have always been a big Tammy Wynette fan. Tammy sang with emotion that sold the real-life circumstances of her songs. I enjoy Flaco Jimenez and the Tex-Mex sound. I have very eclectic musical tastes! 

Q: What makes a song endure in pop culture?  

Identifiable melodies and relatable lyrics will transcend generations. The song can be reworked, updated or thrust into another genre but the melody and lyrics will live on. 

Q: What do you want your fans to feel when they hear you sing? 

I have jokingly referred to myself as a "funeral singer." 

I want my vocal delivery to tug at your emotions. Maybe it's a tear from a lyric that triggers a special memory, happy or sad. A smile or a chuckle from something sassy or humorous, I hope that my delivery is genuine and heartfelt. Conveying the story, emotion and theme of the song is so important to me. That's what makes a musical performance memorable. 

Q: What is the significance of the Carter Family to me? 

I'm a music purist. I have a deep appreciation for music roots in every genre.  We are all inventors, but the true inventor is the one who blazes the trail. A.P. Carter truly had a passion for music. It is what fueled him. He was an adept listener and the creative energy of A.P., Sara and Maybelle forged the cornerstone for what we call Country Music today. The innocence of Maybelle Carter, questioning if her innovative guitar style was worth recording. Little did she know she would become an instrumentalist of renown.  Sara Carter and the lonesome, hollow emotion of her voice which unknowingly told her own story. The determination to make themselves a better life away from the everyday trials of Appalachia. Maybelle and Sara's strong will as women and courage to live outside of the accepted norms of the time. Donning trousers when women only wore them as outdoor work clothes and never publicly. Traveling with their children in tow proving you can be a mom and still have a career. They were feminist trend setters. 

These three individuals as musicians, innovators, stylists and trend setters impress me both musically and socially. 

Q: What moves you about the Carter Family's music? 

The emotion, the simplicity, the stories, the humor, the melodies. It is a ground-breaking package! From love songs to songs of jilted love, songs of cautious warning and deep faith, the earthy realism that comes through in the recordings is unmatched. 

Q: What can today's artists and audiences learn from these traditional songs and performers? 

From the songs, less can be more. In today's music we take so much time in production that many recordings are overproduced, and the real human delivery is lost. In this recording we have been purposeful in respecting the meter and phrasing to preserve the human delivery. Simplicity and sparce instrumentation allow you to enjoy the lyric which is so poetically written. These songs are definitely not written from "the hook" but rather from "the heart." 

From the performers, be courageous, believe in yourself, do hard things, take a chance and then put in the work. A.P. Carter believed music could be a lifestyle, a career, a way out of a simple, possibly impoverished life. Sara and Maybelle knew they could do hard things, raise families, have careers and gain prominence in a "man's world."  I draw strength from these examples. Our world today does not give us the time to reflect and understand that we are not necessarily burdened with new problems. They have possibly been problems for generations; we just need to figure out our own solutions to age old issues. 

 

 

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