26 Facts About Dave Carter

Dave Carter was an American folk music singer-songwriter who described his style as "post-modern mythic American folk music".

Dave Carter was one half of the duo Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer, who were heralded as the new "voice of modern folk music" in the months before Carter's unexpected death in July 2002.

Dave Carter's songs were often noted for their poetic imagery, spirituality and storytelling while retaining connection to the country music of his southern American upbringing.

Dave Carter's memory has been kept alive by his many admirers, most notably his former partner.

Dave Carter's father was a mathematician and a petroleum engineer and his mother was a science teacher and a charismatic Christian.

Dave Carter was raised in Oklahoma and Texas and would draw on his rural upbringing in many of his songs.

Dave Carter studied classical piano from age 4 to about age 12, when he took up guitar.

Dave Carter began an advanced degree in mathematics, but a personal epiphany led him to realize that this was not to be his field.

Dave Carter went on to study what he called "the psychology of mystical experience" at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology in Palo Alto and the California Institute of Integral Studies in San Francisco, and worked as an embedded systems programmer for several years before taking up music full-time in the mid-1990s.

Dave Carter was greatly influenced by mythologist Joseph Campbell, who visited his college, and American mystic Carlos Castaneda.

Dave Carter was influenced by the American landscape, Arthurian mythology, the environment, and transcendental psychology.

In 2000 Dave Carter revealed to Grammer that he had struggled with gender dysphoria since his early teen years.

Dave Carter was going to release one more manly 'Cowboy Dave' album, and I would introduce myself as a solo artist.

Dave Carter died of a massive heart attack on July 19,2002, in a hotel room in Hadley, Massachusetts after returning from an early morning run.

Dave Carter's death came as a great shock to the folk music community.

Dave Carter stayed with me a minute more but despite my attempts to keep him with me, I could see he was already riding that thin chiffon wave between here and gone.

Dave Carter loved beauty, he was hopelessly drawn to the magic and the light in all things.

Somebody was going to open the door for them; and the thing about Dave Carter's music is that once people heard it, they became lifelong fans.

The truth is that Dave Carter was something big already.

Dave Carter moved the people lucky enough to know him or his music in a way that has launched an outpouring of tributes, memories and love.

The tribute included performances by a number of Dave Carter's admirers singing his songs.

Dave Carter's songs have been covered by many others, most notably by Judy Collins and Willie Nelson, Joan Baez, Lucy Kaplansky and Chris Smither.

Tributes to Dave Carter following his death were written by Tracy Grammer and Richard Shindell, among others.

Dave Carter was the first winner of the songwriting contest held at Sisters Folk Festival in 1995.

Dave Carter is listed among the winners of the 1998 edition of the Kerrville New Folk Songwriting Competition.

Dave Carter won the 1998 edition of the Wildflower Performing Songwriter Award and the Napa Valley Folk Festival Emerging Songwriter Award.