Remember this name: Carter’s Chord. Back in October, I had the opportunity to hang out with this very talented trio of sisters when they visited one of my local country stations on their radio tour promoting their upcoming debut single and cd release. When I was invited by one of the djs to go to the station and hang out on the tour bus with her and the group, I, of course, jumped at the chance, as experiences like this do not come along very often for the average country music fan.
I’ll be honest and admit I had never heard of them until then, so I looked them up on myspace and read their bio to learn a little about them and listened to the songs on their profile. As I listened to the tracks, I immediately became a fan and was in awe of their undeniable sibling harmonies. After listening to the songs and reading about them, I couldn’t wait to meet the girls and watch them perform.
Before the trio, made up of sisters Becky, Emily and Joanna Robertson, played for us, we watched a promotional video that showed the girls as young children growing up with musical parents and surrounded by music their entire lives. They have a unique connection to country music history, as their parents, Barny and Carter Robertson, both played with Waylon Jennings at the height of the Outlaw movement in the ‘70s as part of his band, the Waylors. After the Robertsons started their family, they moved to Nashville from California and reconnected with Jennings, and Waylon and his wife, Jessi Colter, soon became an influential part of the young girls’ lives. In fact, the sisters got their first taste of the recording studio as young children when they sang on Waylon’s children’s country album “Cowboys, Sisters, Rascals and Dirt,” which was produced by their father.
After playing a benefit honoring Waylon in 2005, the sisters were inspired to record a demo of songs they had written and began shopping it around Music City. The group soon caught the attention of none other than Toby Keith, and after a successful showcase for him on Valentine‘s Day in 2006, they were signed to his Show Dog Nashville label. With Toby at the helm, and their father co-producing on vocals, the sisters had a wonderful experience recording their first release. The album, which includes songs written by the sisters (together and individually) and their parents, as well as outside songs chosen for the project, allows the girls to trade leads and harmonies so all three have a chance to shine vocally.
Joanna, on their web site bio, explained how the sisters came up with the name Carter’s Chord. She said, “We’ve always liked the idea of a musical chord, a triad. And one day we were all sitting around thinking of what we could call ourselves, and one of us - we don’t even remember who - just out of the blue said ‘Carter’s Chord.’” Inspired by their mother and the idea of musical harmony, the name stuck and fits the trio of sisters perfectly.
After watching the video of their musical journey, they played several songs for us with just an acoustic guitar and keyboard. And sitting in the bus watching them play, with the keyboard practically in my lap, was an experience I will not soon forget. I have never before heard live music in such a tight, intimate setting; and these girls blew me away with their vocal abilities and beyond amazing sibling harmonies.
One of the songs they performed, and my personal favorite, “Young Love,” will be the group’s debut single. The song, which showcases middle sister Emily on lead vocals, is scheduled to be released to radio in mid-January, with their debut cd to follow. If their growing myspace following and initial response to the song is any indication, the single will be huge, and Carter’s Chord will be well on their way to a wonderful career in country music.
After they performed, I was able to hang out and chat with the girls for a few moments before they left for a show later that night. They were incredibly sweet, and after I told them about my own country music journalism aspirations, we had a great chat about Nashville and our love of the city and all things country music. And before I left, we took several photos and wished each other well in our country music goals.
It was a truly wonderful experience watching Carter’s Chord perform, and I cannot wait to pick up their debut release once it hits the shelves early next year. I am predicting huge things from these talented sisters in the near future.
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