Think What You’ve Done

Why Carter Stanley Ranks as the No. 1 Bluegrass Songwriter Carter Stanley’s song “The Memory of Your Smile,” came on strong as Tracy Nelson picked songs for an upcoming 1972 album.  Blues-rock singer Nelson grew so committed to the bluegrass number that she brought in banjo king Earl Scruggs and A-level fiddler Vassar Clements for her hard-hitting recording of the Stanley Brothers cut with her band Mother Earth. “I’ve always loved ‘The Memory Of Your Smile,’” Nelson said not long ago. “I recorded it with Mother Earth and performed it once with Ralph [Stanley] on a tribute set, at a downtown Nashville event.” Of course, Nelson is far from alone among singers, famous or otherwise, who have chosen to sing and record songs from Carter Stanley’s pen. Ricky Skaggs, Emmylou Harris, Billy Strings, Bob Dylan, Gillian Welch, Don Rigsby, Vince Gill, and countless others have drawn on his work. These artists’ choices range from the heartache of “Could You Love Me O