James Carter and The Prisoners
- James Carter and The Prisoners
James Carter is credited as a performer on the soundtrack of the film "O Brother, Where Art Thou?", despite not being a professional singer.
As of 1959, Carter was serving time at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Lambert for charges unknown. In a southern field excursion at Camp B, Carter and the other prisoners in his chain gang were spending the day chopping wood. Carter began singing an old spiritual, "Po' Lazarus", and the other prisoners joined in, chopping the logs in time to the music. Folk music historian Alan Lomax happened to be present at the time, and was able to take a photograph of the prisoners and make a recording of the music, which he donated to a music archive.
Decades later, the recording was purchased for use in the "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" soundtrack, which went on to win a Grammy for Album of the Year. During this, it was discovered by the producers that Carter was still alive, and they successfully tracked him down. Despite never seeing the film and, understandably, not even remembering the song he had sung over 40 years previous, Carter was pleased with the album's success, and was present at the benefit concert held in Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, which featured repeat performances by the other performers from the soundtrack (although Carter himself did not perform).
As the other prisoners have not been identified (and likely never will be), the official credit for the artist on the soundtrack is for "James Carter & the Prisoners".
Carter died November 26, 2003, in Chicago, at age 77 [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4155/is_20031202/ai_n12523847]
Wikimedia Foundation.
2010.
Look at other dictionaries:
James Carter (disambiguation) — James Carter may refer to:* Jimmy Carter (b.1924), 39th President of the United States * James Earl Chip Carter III, son of the above * James Carter (athlete), American track and field athlete * Jimmy Carter (boxer), World Lightweight Champion *… … Wikipedia
Grammy Award for Album of the Year — The Grammy Award for Album of the Year is the most prestigious award category at the Grammys. It has been awarded since 1959 and though it was originally presented to the artist alone, the award is now presented to the artist, the producer, the… … Wikipedia
James Connolly — Infobox Military Person name= James Connolly ga. Séamas Ó Conghaile born = birth date|1868|6|5|df=y died = death date and age|1916|5|12|1868|6|5|df=y placeofbirth= Cowgate, Edinburgh, Scotland placeofdeath= Kilmainham Jail, Dublin City, Ireland… … Wikipedia
The Omega Glory — Star Trek: The Original Series episode The landing party encounters Captain Tracey Episode no. Episode 52 … Wikipedia
The Green Mile (film) — The Green Mile Promotional poster Directed by Frank Darabont Produced by Frank Darabont … Wikipedia
The Fighting Temptations — Theatrical release poster Directed by Jonathan Lynn Produc … Wikipedia
James Franco — Infobox actor caption = Franco at the Spider Man 3 premiere, April 2007 birthname = James Edward Franco birthdate = birth date and age|1978|4|19 birthplace = Palo Alto, California goldenglobeawards = 2002 James Dean occupation = actor, director,… … Wikipedia
The Hurt Locker — Hurt Locker redirects here. For the song by American Rapper Xzibit, see Hurt Locker (song). The Hurt Locker … Wikipedia
The Tombs — Coordinates: 40°42′59.8″N 74°00′05″W / 40.716611°N 74.00139°W / 40.716611; 74.00139 … Wikipedia
The Slave Community — Infobox Book name = The Slave Community image caption = Cover of the 1979 revised edition author = John W. Blassingame country = United States language = English subject = Slavery in the United States History of the Southern United States… … Wikipedia