Carlene Carter

As the daughter of June Carter and Carl Smith, and the adopted daughter of Johnny Cash, Carlene Carter is certainly the epitome of country royalty progeny with a lot to live up to. She was reputed to be a hell-raiser early on, rebelling against her folks and taking to drink and drugs with the sort of abandon for which the man in black was known. She had the good taste to marry wonderful pub rock visionary Nick Lowe, but nothing from this period stands out. She came into her own in 1990, when an album produced by her beau Howie Epstein (bassist for Tom Petty) brought forth a couple of huge hit singles: the impossibly catchy "I Fell in Love" and "Come On Back." Both songs had big hooks and a driving Country Rock sound. Three years later she hit again with the song "Every Little Thing," a song she cowrote with the great Al Anderson of NRBQ. Carter has proven to be a very talented songwriter, a great singer and a savvy collaborator who has finally found her own space in the spotlight.