On Border Radio, Vol. 1

In 1938 and 1939, the first family of American country music, the Carter Family, recorded transcriptions for radio broadcast on Mexican border radio stations. The recordings featured A.P. Carter, his wife Sara, sister-in-law Maybelle, A.P. and Sara’s daughter Janette (listed as Jeanette in the liner notes), and Maybelle’s three children, Helen, June, and Anita. In 1963, 17 transcription discs were discovered at station XET in Monterrey, Mexico. In 1995, Arhoolie Records released three CDs containing material from the 17 discs.

In Volume 1, the Carters perform their signature theme, “Keep on the Sunny Side,” to open their broadcasts and sing a mix of country, western, and gospel songs including “Single Girl, Married Girl,” a song they first recorded in 1927.

Track Listing

101	XET Station Break, Introduction, Theme Song / The Wandering Boy	The Carter Family	02:40
102	I Wonder How the Old Folks Are at Home / In the Highways	The Carter Family	03:14
103	Room for You and Me	The Carter Family	01:32
104	Cumberland Gap / Lonesome Valley	The Carter Family	02:29
105	Just Another Broken Heart	The Carter Family	01:00
106	Darling We Are Growing Older / The Old Texas Trail	The Carter Family	03:31
107	Cowboy's Wild Song to His Herd / Maple on the Hill	The Carter Family	03:10
108	New River Train / Lover's Lane	The Carter Family	02:47
109	My Sweetheart Is a Poor Working Girl / Waves of the Sea	The Carter Family	02:54
110	On the Sea of Galilee	The Carter Family	01:29
111	The Curtains of Night	The Carter Family	01:35
112	Just a Few More Days	The Carter Family	02:23
113	Theme Out and XET Station Break 1	The Carter Family	01:18
114	Intro and Theme / When Our Lord Shall Come Again	The Carter Family	02:33
115	The Happiest Days of All	The Carter Family	01:23
116	Bye and Bye / We Shall Rise	The Carter Family	03:18
117	Engine 143 / Jealous Hearted Me	The Carter Family	03:18
118	Untitled / What Would You Give in Exchange for Your Soul	The Carter Family	02:50
119	Beautiful Brown Eyes / Sweet Fern	The Carter Family	02:36
120	I Have No Loving Mother Now	The Carter Family	02:02
121	Western Hobo	The Carter Family	01:47
122	Single Girl, Married Girl	The Carter Family	02:00
123	I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes	The Carter Family	01:30
124	The Sun's Gonna Shine in My Back Door Someday / Give Me the Roses While I Live	The Carter Family	02:49
125	You Denied Your Love	The Carter Family	02:12
126	No Telephone in Heaven	The Carter Family	02:25
127	Theme Out and XET Station Break 2	The Carter Family	01:10