Graphic novels were once high-end comic books, but the definition has stretched lately to include histories and biographies that tell their stories in captioned pictures. Don’t Forget the Song is a narrative on the Carter Family, the backcountry trio identified as the mainline bridge between the old back porch folk traditions and the country music industry. Frank M. Yung and David Lasky, both Southerners now residing in Seattle, cover the story from the family’s beginnings in Virginia’s aptly named Poor Valley through their successful career on radio, stage and recordings in the 1930s and ‘40s. Several of their songs have endured in the country-folk repertoire and the group remains an Americana touchstone. Don’t Forget the Song includes a bonus CD of Carter Family radio broadcasts.
