Winnsboro's Fred Carter Jr. to be first act honored on new Northeast Louisiana Music Trail

A Winnsboro native who became an established multi-instrumentalist featured on hits during the '60s and '70s will be the inaugural artist commemorated in the new Northeast Louisiana Music Trail.

Country Music Hall of Famer Fred Carter Jr. will be commemorated with a marker as part of the sign route, similar to the famous Mississippi Blues Trail, in his hometown of Winnsboro.

Raised on the heavy musical influences of jazz, country, western, hymns and blues, Carter got his start as a principal on "Louisiana Hayride," a popular television country music show broadcast in Shreveport from 1955 to 1960.

Settling in Nashville by the early 1960s, Carter became an established session musician performing on hits by well-known stars, such as Simon and Garfunkel's "The Boxer" and Bob Dylan's "Lay Lady Lay." Carter also worked with Muddy Waters, Waylon Jennings, Dottie Rambo, Dean Martin and Chet Atkins.

Carter died of complications from a stroke in 2010.

Much like the Mississippi Blues Trail, the Northeast Louisiana Music Trail will highlight musical talents from the region. Trail founder Doyle Jeter said it has been a longtime dream of his to honor the immense talents of musicians in the area.

"After my wife, Yvette, and I opened our music venue, Enoch's Pub and Café, in 1980, it became a priority to do just that," Jeter said. "Priorities change - paying the electric bill and life got in the way."

Jeter said for the past 20 years, he and his daughter, Molly, have discussed promoting a historical landmark sign project in the region with the assistance from the son of an old friend.

"In 1979, I met a guy named Odis Jackson," Jeter said. "Odis was a bluesman, an entrepreneur, a promoter, a musician. His best friends were people like Bobby 'Blue' Bland and B.B. King. He booked a lot of the Chitlin' Circuit performances from all around the four-, five-state area. I became a good friend of his and his son, Dexter Jackson, is a dear friend. Him and I and my daughter are the ones that have been at the very essence of making this sign project work."

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Jeter said there are currently eight signs in production for future unveilings. Some of the names on the short list for potential signs include Jackson's father, Ivory Joe Hunter, Lillian West, Pearlee Mae Tolliver and Toussaint McCall, a Monroe native whose 1967 single "Nothing Takes the Place of You" reached No. 5 on the Billboard charts.

Jeter said he is working in conjunction with the Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser's Office on Culture, Recreation and Tourism.

"We're going to inevitably be under they're umbrella of their new program called the Louisiana Music Experience which is going to recognize performers and venues statewide," Jeter said. "It's kind of an exciting thing and it's taken me 40-plus years to enact it but it's all coming together."

A sign honoring Carter will be unveiled near the gazebo in Winnsboro on Jan. 29. A concert will be held Princess Theatre, 714 Prairie St., featuring Carter's daughter, platinum-selling country artist Deana Carter.

On Jan. 29, doors open at 2 p.m., and the concert will begin at 7 p.m.

Tickets are currently available on eventbrite.com. The ticket price is $40. Proceeds from the concert will go to the Princess Theatre and Winnsboro Main Street.

Follow Ian Robinson on Twitter @_irobinson and on Facebook at https://bit.ly/3vln0w1.

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This article originally appeared on Monroe News-Star: Winnsboro musician to be first on new Northeast Louisiana Music Trail