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9/2/26
“The Joe Carta Band and George H. W. Bush, Music Critic”
First, I’ll ask my friends not to post any politically oriented comments about this. It’s just about Joe Carta, his band, and a funny comment the former President made at one of our gigs.
Joe Carta was a hard-working entertainer. Not only did he run several bands simultaneously for decades, but he raised horses and ponies on his farm in Glenwood, Maryland. He often booked carnivals where his band played and the kiddies rode his ponies. Joe could sing and play his guitar, mounted on his horse, like Gene Autry. He had contracts with multiple agencies who booked him at corporate lunches, picnics, and the like. Many of his music jobs were on weekdays, so he could employ musicians who were committed to other bands on weekends. We all loved playing with Joe, as he was truly a gentleman-farmer and a genuine nice-guy. And importantly, his gigs paid well. Occasionally, when he wound up with two bookings on the same date, he would pass one of them off to another bandleader, saying "Just tell 'em you're the Joe Carta Band when you get there, they won’t know the difference.”
Joe’s repertoire was the music of the 1950s and 60s. His voice resembled Willie Nelson’s and he sang the songs of Elvis, Lefty Frizzell, Roy Orbison, Patsy Cline, and others of that era. If an agency wanted a country band, he did Lefty, Elvis, Roy, and Patsy and hired a pedal steel player and fiddler. If they wanted a rock ‘n’ roll band, he did Lefty, Elvis, Roy, and Patsy and hired an electric guitar player. If they wanted bluegrass, he did Lefty, Elvis, Roy, and Patsy and hired a banjo player and a fiddler. You get the picture. Joe had a large book of musicians to choose from and fortunately, I was called for many of his shows over a thirty-year stretch. Miriam O’Connor, Brian Dorothy, Bob Hipsley, and Don Williamson were often on Joe’s gigs, which increased the the fun factor. I hope Miriam and Brian will share some of their memories about making music with Joe.
Now for a few warm-up stories before I talk about the former president.
Joe called me at my studio one morning and asked if I could play a banjo. I told him I couldn’t. He said, “Do you have a banjo?” Yes, I did. “Can you leave right now and bring your banjo to ... and do something on it, I just checked the contract, and it calls for a banjo.” So, I dropped what I was doing, went to the gig, played the banjo with a straight pick for thirty minutes, and collected a hundred bucks. I suppose that makes me a professional banjo player.
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Joe was once hired to play and sing, while mounted on his horse, at a corporate event at the Hyatt hotel in Bethesda, Maryland. The Hyatt is located on Wisconsin Avenue, the main drag linking Northwest DC to the suburbs. There was no place to park his truck and horse trailer anywhere near the Hyatt, so Joe found a parking spot about six blocks away. He unloaded the horse, mounted, and rode her down Wisconsin Avenue, causing a major traffic backup.
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We were booked to play on the front porch of a mansion in Middleburg, Virginia. We were told to dress like hillbillies, so we wore our overalls and flannel shirts. The boss (I guess she was the head caterer, but I don’t know) told us to start playing fiddle tunes when a bus pulled up and play until all the passengers disembarked and entered the house. After the last passenger was through the front door and it was closed, we were to “remain silent” until they began to exit the house, then play again until the bus left the property. The bus came and we played. I recognized several of the passengers as being senators and congressmen. After they were inside, our instruments remained silent and we spoke softly for two hours, until it was time for our second “set.” I think we played about four tunes, total. There was a teenage girl on the porch with us, incongruously dressed in colonial garb, churning ice cream. Once the VIPs were inside, she stopped cranking. Joe asked if stopping would spoil the product and she opened the churn, revealing that nothing was in it. It was fake! She told us the ice cream was in the freezer. Of course, we were paid well.
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Joe called me to play with him at a Mexican restaurant. When I arrived, I asked him where we were supposed to set up. He said, “We’re already set up, we’re going from table to table and playing for tips.” Oh brother! It turned out alright, as we each made more than standard gig pay. I played at that restaurant with Joe for a couple of years.
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We played at the home of Ethel Kennedy, but so many weird things happened that I had better tell you about that one later.
And now for the moment you may or may not have been waiting for.
Joe and band were hired to play at a lunch buffet at a country club. When we arrived, we were informed that former President George H. W. Bush, who had recently left office, was playing golf that day and would be attending the luncheon, so we might be questioned by the Secret Service. We weren’t questioned and if the agents were actually there, I never noticed them. We were told to set up and play in the serving room.
We weren’t having the best day. It was a comedy of errors – kicking off a song in the wrong key, playing the intro to the wrong song (it was never me, of course – ha ha), Joe forgetting the lyrics, and so on. We started joking about the flubs amongst ourselves. Bush, who had made a couple of trips from the ballroom to the serving room to get his lunch and dessert, picked up on our mishaps and our joking about it. He smiled and said, “I see why you’re in here with the food, it cuts down on consumption.” We took it as he meant it, as a funny quip that matched what we were laughing about. We all had a good chuckle with the former President.
Photos:
1. Joe Carta on WDON in the 1950s.
2. Joe - ca. 2015
3. President Bush pickin’
Tom Mindte
September 2026
Joe Carta on WDON in the 1950s.
Joe - ca. 2015
President Bush pickin’