Seems you guys have been loving the Dave Edmunds stuff we’ve been posting since his unfortunate retirement, so he’s something else that's cool.
As most Dave fans will know, his musical partner in the late ‘70s was Nick Lowe. Nick’s wife at the time was Carlene Carter, Johnny Cash’s step-daughter – June Carter Cash’s daughter from a previous marriage (to another ‘50s country great, Carl Smith). At the time Carlene was just beginning a recording career of her own.
Carlene recorded her first album - self-titled - in London in 1978, featuring backing from Nick’s production clients Graham Parker & The Rumour and highlighted by one of GP’s great early songs “Between You & Me”. 1979’s Two Sides to Every Woman was recorded in LA but included a co-write with Lowe “I’d Do It In A Heartbeat”, and a nice cover of “Radio Sweetheart” by Nick’s old mate Elvis Costello.
Those albums were decent, but with album #3, Musical Shapes, Carlene really hit paydirt. The difference? Great original tunes like “Cry” and “Madness”, production from Nick and backing from Nick, Dave and the rest of Rockpile. In addition to the two songs mentioned, the album’s highlight was a superb duet between Dave and Carlene called “Baby Ride Easy”. You can check it, and the others, out below.
Carlene and Nick soon went their separate ways and Carlene eventually became a bona fide Nashville country star. If you haven’t heard her stuff, but like anything by Dave Edmunds, you could do a lot worse than listen to her, because songs like “Every Little Thing”, “I Fell In Love” and “He’ll Be Mine” have a lot of the qualities – catchy tunes, twangy guitars and a driving beat – that you love in Dave’s music.
You can hear some of Carlene’s best in our Queens Of Country and Country Girls Just Want to Have Fun playlists, alongside killer tunes from Emmylou Harris, Kasey Chambers, Linda Ronstadt, Eileen Jewell, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, k.d. lang and others.
CARLENE CARTER & DAVE EDMUNDS “Baby Ride Easy”
CARLENE CARTER “Cry”
CARLENE CARTER “Madness”
And one of Carlene's later hits “I Fell In Love” (live, with Albert Lee on guitar!)
-DL
