1. Goree Chester Carter or Christer Carter, was an American singer, guitarist, drummer, and songwriter.
17 Facts About Goree Carter
1. 2.
Goree Carter was credited with the stage names Little T-Bone, Rocky Thompson and Gory Carter, and recorded music in blues genres such as electric blues, jump blues and Texas blues, as well as rock and roll.
3.
Goree Carter is best known for his 1949 single, "Rock Awhile," which has been cited by several sources as the first rock and roll record, featuring an over-driven electric guitar style similar to that of Chuck Berry years later.
4.
Goree Carter was born in Houston, Texas to Robert Lee Carter and Vader Curtis, who were married in 1920.
5.
Goree Carter was raised in Houston's Fifth Ward, and lived at 1310 Bayou Street.
6.
Goree Carter began playing blues music at the age of 12, and learned to play on a cousin's guitar.
7.
Goree Carter learned a few chords from listening and then learned more about them from a chord book.
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Chuck Berry 8.
Goree Carter had a Gibson guitar and began fronting bands in his early teenage years.
9.
Goree Carter wrote and recorded the song at Bill Holford's Audio Company of America.
10.
Goree Carter served as a private first class in the US Army infantry during the Korean War.
11.
Goree Carter was in Korea when many of the country's most vicious battles took place.
12.
Goree Carter recorded for several labels in the early 1950s, including Sittin' in With, Modern, Coral, and Imperial but last recorded in 1954.
13.
Goree Carter wrote a number of songs during this time but said he "tore them up" because record labels would not let him record them, saying he "was ahead of" himself.
14.
Goree Carter 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.
15.
Goree Carter died in Houston, at the age of 59, in 1990.
16.
Goree Carter died at the same house where he was born, and is buried at the Houston National Cemetery.
17.
Goree Carter is barely remembered even in Houston and The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has not recognized his contributions.