Martha Carson

Irene Amburgey (Martha Carson) was next to eldest of six children born in Neon, Kentucky on May 19, 1921. She has been called "The First lady of Gospel Music" and with good reason. Martha would be the undisputed reigning queen of gospel during the 1950's. Her song "Satisfied" would gain her many awards, place her name in the Smithsonian for her million selling album, and gain her entrance into the Grand Ole Opry family.

In her early teens, Martha was a skilled guitar player in the Sunshine Sister band. Martha, Jean, and Berthy would be one of the first all female sister string bands in the country when they began in 1936. They went on to perform on the era's most popular radio stations and barn dances throughout West Virginia, Kentucky, Georgia, Virginia, and the Carolinas.

In the early 1940, Martha married James Roberts while helping to form the WSB Barn Dance in Atlanta. The duo would adopt "Carson" as their stage names. Martha played the guitar, and James played the mandolin over the Atlanta airways. They were among the most popular radio personalities of the day. James and Martha would record several spiritual songs together under the Capitol Record label which gained them great notoriety and fame throughout the south.

However, in 1950, while working in Knoxville, Tenn. at WNOX radio, James and Martha would split up as husband and wife. The following year would be emotionally hard for Martha.

Agonizing over her divorce, as Martha was riding to a booking with Bill Carlisle, the thought came to her, "I'm satisfied and God is satisfied with me."

"All the sudden these words started coming to me. I found one of Bill's old blank checks in the floor of the car and wrote out the words on the back of it," says Martha.

One of the first million selling gospel songs sung by a woman was thus conceived. In 1951 Martha recorded her first solo session for Capitol with Chet Atkins, Bill Carlisle, Jean and Berthy as musicians. The song "Satisfied" would noted by the Smithsonian Institute for its popularity and number of album sales.

 

George Morgan and Martha Carson at The Grand Ole Opry

 

From 1951-54 Martha would record 12 songs for the Capitol label as a solo artist. In 1952 Martha would be asked to perform on the Grand Ole Opry which is where she met her second husband, Xavier Cossee.

From late 1954 into 1955, Martha toured the south with an up and coming artist known as Elvis Presley. At this time Elvis was recording with the Sun label and had only one record released. "He asked me to show him the move I did at the close of my show," says Martha, "I would go down on one knee and hold the mic stand at an angle. He went on to do that pose a lot on his shows," Martha recalls.

 

Kitty Wells & Martha Carson

 

Martha toured with the likes of Ferlin Husky, Little Jimmy Dickens, Patsy Cline, Del Reeves, and many other notables of the day. She appeared on some of the earliest televised editions of the Opry, and made appearances on The Steve Allen Show, Tennessee Ernie Ford Show, Arthur Godfrey Show, and The Ralph Emery Show. Martha had her own collection of spiritual songs released in 1954 by Acuff and Rose, "Martha Carson's Spiritual Song Folio."

Martha recorded two albums for RCA, "Journey to The Sky" and "Rock-a-my-Soul." In 1996, the Kentucky legislator awarded Martha an Honorable Citation for her contribution to country and gospel music. A Highway was named in her honor near her home town of Neon.

The song "Satisfied" has been recorded by some 165 different artist from Elvis Presley to Don Gibson to the Blackwood Brothers to Barbara Mandrell.

Martha continues to shape the gospel field with new artists cutting her "Old Time Gospel" music each year.