June Carter
Born in Maces Springs, Virginia on June 23rd, 1929, Valerie June Carter was a musician born and bred. The daughter of Ezra and Maybelle Carter, her mother played with the successful country and folk group the Carter Family with June’s uncle A.P. Carter and his wife Sara since 1927—by the time she was ten, little June was also contributing her voice to the band.
In the 1940s June, along with her mother and her two sisters, Helen and Anita, formed the act Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters (intermittently billed simply as the Carter Sisters) traveling the country, playing radio shows, and eventually joining the cast of the national country music showcase the Grand Ole Opry.
It was through the Opry that June met honky-tonk singer Carl Smith, whom she married in 1952. Together the two would have one daughter, Carlene, who would herself become a successful country musician.