Carlene Carter once made her stepfather, Johnny Cash, incredibly mad when she said a no-no word on stage.
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In 2014, Carlene Carter (who was 58 years old at the time) sat down with Michael Simmons for the Huffington Post. There, they discussed her album, Carter Girl, which had recently released, alongside her incredible family lineage.
Most notably, to me anyway, Carlene spoke about the moment she made Johnny Cash super mad after she didn't know he was in the audience during a performance.
The conversation shifted to Carlene's rebellious ways and how she'd act on stage. Simmons brought up an old show she did, where she said a rather profane word.
When Carlene Carter performed at Bottom Line in New York in 1979, she introduced a new song with some hilarious vulgarity. Before playing "Swap-Meat Rag," Carlene said, "If this song don't put the c--t back in country, I don't know what will."
What an iconic line. That curse (which is a favorite among the Brits and Aussies) has undergone a revitalization in recent years, so it's very strange to see it used in the same context all the way back in 1979. Carlene was simply ahead of her time.
As you can imagine, her stepfather Johnny Cash, was not happy.
Johnny Cash Turned "Red In The Face" After Vulgar Comment
To be fair, Carlene Carter didn't know Johnny Cash and June Carter were in attendance. I'm sure she would have been much more careful with her words had she known.
Carlene explained what happened next. "Mama and John come backstage and John was so red-in-the-face mad at me," she said. "The first thing I said was 'Mama, mama - I'm so sorry I said that word!"
Although she was gushing with her apology, June Carter, iconic as always, simply said, "What word, honey?"
It's unknown how Johnny Cash reacted to the comment. All we know is that her mom was super cool about it. I wouldn't be surprised if the Man in Black gave her a word or two, however.
