Ina Anita Carter (March 31, 1933 – July 29, 1999) was an American singer who played upright bass, guitar, andautoharp. She performed with her sisters,Helen andJune, and her mother,Maybelle, initially under the name The Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle. Carter had three top ten hits as well as other charting singles. She was the first to record the songs "Blue Boy" and "Ring of Fire". Carter was also a songwriter, most notably co-writing theJohnny Cash hit "Rosanna's Going Wild."

Anita Carter
Anita Carter in 1977
Background information
Birth name	Ina Anita Carter
Born	(1933-03-31)March 31, 1933[1] Maces Spring, Virginia, US
Died	July 29, 1999(1999-07-29) (aged 66)[1] Hendersonville, Tennessee, U.S.
Genres	Country,folk
Occupation	Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s)	Bass, 12-string guitar, autoharp, vocals
Labels	RCA Victor, Cadence, Columbia,Audiograph, United Artists, Liberty, Capitol,House of Cash
Formerly of	Carter Family,The Carter Sisters

Carter recorded for a number of labels, both as a solo artist and with her family, includingRCA Victor,Cadence,Columbia,Audiograph,United Artists,Liberty andCapitol.

Anita was the third daughter ofEzra and Maybelle Carter.Born inMaces Spring, Virginia, she scored two top ten hits in 1951 with "Down the Trail of Achin' Hearts" and "Bluebird Island," both duets withHank Snow. In 1962, she recorded "Love's Ring of Fire," written by her sister June andMerle Kilgore. After the song failed to make the charts, Johnny Cash recorded it as "Ring of Fire" in March 1963 with the horns and the Carter Sisters (along with Mother Maybelle). This version became a hit for Cash.

She reached the top ten again in 1968 with "I Got You," a duet withWaylon Jennings.^[1] Carter also reached the top 50 with hits like "I'm Gonna Leave You" in 1966 and "Tulsa County" in 1971.

On March 26, 1952, she appeared onThe Kate Smith Evening Hour with her family band "The Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle" as the first females to represent hillbilly/country music and Music CityNashville on national television.^[2] On April 23, she returned to the program, where she performed a duet withHank Williams, on his song "I Can't Help It (If I'm Still in Love with You)".^[3] Then on May 21, she became the first female star of the Grand Ole Opry to sing a solo onThe Kate Smith Evening Hour when she sang "Just When I Needed You".^[4]

Carter married fiddler Dale Potter in 1950 (marriage was annulled shortly thereafter),session musician Don Davis in 1953 (divorced and then remarried), andBob Wootton (lead guitarist for Johnny Cash's bandThe Tennessee Three) in 1974 (divorced). She had two children.

Carter suffered fromrheumatoid arthritis for many years, and the drugs used to treat it severely damaged her pancreas, kidneys, and liver. She died on July 29, 1999, at the age of 66,^[5] a year after eldest sister Helen and four years before middle sister June. She was under hospice care at the home of Johnny and June Carter Cash inHendersonville, Tennessee. Her interment was inHendersonville Memory Gardens inHendersonville, Tennessee.