The Carter Family: Don't Forget This Song

I ordered five copies - one for myself and 4 for Christmas gifts. I have never had a gift go over so well.The book is a great read and the story very well thought out and the packaging (cover, binding, paper, etc) give it a real "premium" feel.The artwork was obviously painstaking and conscientious, rich while portraying the plain life of SW VA and rural America in the first part of the 20th Century.I recommend this for anyone interested in music history and is a gift that will be hard to top in future years.

I'm a big fan of the Carter Family, but not much into graphic novels. This book could change that. It tells the Carter story in a very accessible way, and covers virtually all of the important details. And there is just something sweet about being able to attach a picture to the words. Sure you can quibble that some of the characters can be hard to tell apart, but if that is the only complaint about this book, it is worth every penny, and more.

Got my copy of "Don't Forget This Song" in the mail today. My heart is filled with music and my head filled with imagination. Better than what I would have expected, even with high hopes the first time I'd heard of it back in 2009 from their blog. Structured so imaginatively and cinematically...the mood comes at you from every page. kudos.A combination of words, pictures and music that is very satisfying and inspirational.

Good biography ...the kindle edition is somewhat clunky to navigate...I recommend the hardcover.

Nice!!

The Carter Family is one of the great groups of American music and their story needs to be shared. However, there are some stories well-suited to the use of an illustrated medium and this is not one of them. I can't for the life of me understand why this was made into a graphic novel. Very little of the Carters' story benefits from a visual treatment and the narrative just seems plodding and dragged down by the use of panels to convey time. When so much of the Carters' story is necessarily oral and audible why use a medium that can express neither?For a history of the Carter Family (and other contemporaries) I recommend Bill Malone's Country Music USA. For a feel of the Carter family's emotional essence.... just listen to their music!

Well Done! Fun book & CD!

I knew nothing about the Carter family and never really cared much for their mountain music. Amazingly, I did not put the book down and finished it in one reading, or very close to it. It was fascinating how fame changed and did not change their lives, and what you sacrifice getting there. The graphics gave it a movie dimension that came to life for me.

Excellent graphic novel about the career of The Carter Family, maybe THE seminal group of early recorded music in America.It uses storytelling techniques inspired by the early comic strips to create something that's more fragmented - and truer to life - than a script for a streamlined Hollywood bio-pic would be.The artwork by David Lasky is quite beautiful. It's clearly somewhat inspired by master cartoonist Robert Crumb's much lauded strips about early blues musicians. But unlike Crumb's short strips this book has the feel and scope of a real novel.The coloring is beautiful too. Apparently it was mostly done by Frank M. Young - he's the guy who wrote the book - so he's clearly a man of both visual and linguistic talents. It would have been easy to create a faded (and perhaps somewhat boring) retro-look by using mostly low-key brown and yellow colors. But the varied colors used create a variety of moods for the different chapters - yet in the end it all DOES add up to something that looks faded and 'retro' - but not boring at all.You don't need to be a Carter Family fan to enjoy this book - it tells an engaging and human story. But perhaps it helps if you're interested in American popular culture, or is a fan of some of all the haunting and compelling musical artists that have followed in the trail of the Carters... Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Dylan, Neil Young, Emmylou Harris, Nick Cave, Bonnie Prince Billy.... or scores of country and folk artists.This feels like it could have been 'The Graphic Novel of the Year' any year that Chris Ware hadn't released his acclaimed magnum opus "Building Stories". Oh well, this will have to be the more modest and accessible - and maybe less depressing - runner-up.

I am not a reader of 'graphic novels' but I bought this for a friend and couldn't resist reading it before giving it away. The care that went into both the drawings and the story is blatantly apparent, as is their love of the subject. You really get swept back into an era and amongst a family that has a very, very special place in (popular) music history. Very enjoyable and thoroughly recommended for anyone with a passing interest in the Carter Family, bluegrass, country and early folk music, or early 20th century America.

Book arrived in good condition and on time by Royal Mail. (avoid HDNL or Yodel couriers is my advice)This book is in the form of illustrations a bit like a comic but telling stories of the Carter Family. It is a lovely book to have if you collect this type of stuff. I am a sucker for the old Carter and Jimmy Rodgers music so I was well pleased.

The story of the Carter Family is well known to Country music enthusiasts but this book presents it in a vivid and interesting way. The Cd with the book contains versions of songs which are not widely available.

excellent book