Carl Smith

Tennessee-born Carl Smith was one of the biggest country singers of the 1950s, enjoying a long string of hits throughout the decade. His deep, flexible voice had a down-home twang, and a number of his songs blended straight-up honky-tonk with a visceral rockabilly tinge. Smith married June Carter, with whom he had a daughter, future country singer Carlene Carter. Smith and Carter divorced in 1957, and Smith continued scoring hits well into the next decade, though he also moonlighted as an actor in film and television.