Biography

Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer were an American folk duo who released three albums from 1998 to 2001, as well as additional material released after Dave Carter's death. The duo consisted of Dave Carter (songwriter, vocals, banjo, guitar, piano) and Tracy Grammer, (producer, vocals, violin, mandolin, guitar). Their work dealt with a number of themes: Buddhist theology, Arthurian legend (and mythic themes in general), and the American west, often juxtaposed together in one song. In 2002, shortly before his death, Dave spoke of the duo's "ever-burgeoning goddess repertoire" as another lyric theme. They released three albums during Carter's lifetime: When I Go, Tanglewood Tree, and Drum Hat Buddha. The pair was considered by prominent reviewers to be one of the most promising new folk acts then active. In 2002, they toured the United States with folk legend Joan Baez, who described Carter's lyric writing as "a kind of genius." On July 19, 2002, Carter died of a massive heart attack while on tour in western Massachusetts. The impact on the folk music community was considerable; a substantial shrine was spontaneously created by fans and colleagues at the Falcon Ridge Folk Fest the following week, where festival organizers transformed the originally scheduled Dave and Tracy set into a tribute concert at which many of the performers sang Carter's songs, led by Grammer. Grammer has released four more duo albums: Seven Is the Number, American Noel, Little Blue Egg, Joy My Love EP.