Goree Carter

Biography Early life and career Goree Carter was born in Houston, Texas to Robert Lee Carter (1900-1961) and Vader Curtis (1901-1984), who were married in 1920. He began playing blues music at the age of 12, and learned to play on a cousin's guitar. Because there were very few guitarists in his area back then, he had no one to teach him how to play the guitar, so he taught himself how to play it by listening to some of his favorite records on a Victrola machine and picking string-by-string on the guitar. He learned a few chords from listening and then learned more about them from a chord book. When he became a teenager, he began earning a living by hoisting sacks at the local Comet Rice Mill. He had a Gibson guitar and began fronting bands in his early teenage years. Kahal discovered him in either late 1948 or early 1949. and may have influenced, Chuck Berry.

At the age of 18, he recorded his best known single "Rock Awhile" in April 1949. It has been cited as a strong contender for the title of "first rock and roll record" and a "much more appropriate candidate" than the more frequently cited "Rocket 88" (1951) by Jackie Brenston. The intro to "Rock Awhile" resembles those in several later Chuck Berry records from 1955 onwards.

The music historian Robert Palmer regards "Rock Awhile" to be a more appropriate candidate for the "first rock and roll record" title, because it was recorded two years earlier, and because of Carter's guitar work bearing a striking resemblance to Chuck Berry's later guitar work, while making use of an over-driven amplifier, along with the backing of boogie-based rhythms, and the appropriate title and lyrical subject matter. Carter wrote and recorded the song at Bill Holford's Audio Company of America. However, "Rock Awhile" was not as commercially successful as later rock and roll records. Nevertheless, he had some moderate success, touring and recording for a while.

Korean War and return to Houston According to one source, Goree Carter was drafted for military service in 1950, He served as a private first class in the U.S. Army infantry during the Korean War. He was in Korea when many of the country's most vicious battles took place. He continued to play occasional local gigs in Houston, and sat-in with visiting artist B.B. King; his last live performance was in 1970. He developed arthritis later in his life, and had not been heard from again until 1982, when he was visited at his Fifth Ward home by members of the band the Juke Jumpers. "Rock Awhile" b/w "Back Home Blues" "I'll Send You" b/w "How Can You Love Me?" "Hoy-Hoy" b/w "I Just Thought of You"

Goree Carter songs recorded during 1949-1950 and released during 1949-1951: "Love's a Gamble" "Christmas Time" "Sweet Ole Woman's Blues" "My Love is Coming Down" "She's Just Old Fashioned" "Workin' with My Baby" "Is it True?" "What a Friend Will Do" "She's my Best Bet" "Serenade" "Come on Let's Boogie" "Lonely World" "Drunk or Sober" "You are my Everything" "Every Dog Has His Day" "Everybody's Love Crazy" "I'm Just Another Fool" "If It's True What They Tell Me" "Let's Rock" "True Love is Hard to Find"