Carlene Carter Hopes to Cash In on Country

Singer-songwriter Carlene Carter was only 12 when her mother married country music star Johnny Cash, and her life has never been the same.

“I had a pretty normal time up till then. It was at the height of his (Cash’s) success with the television show and (the hit single) ‘A Boy Named Sue,’ ” Carter recalled.

“We moved to this giant house. We couldn’t mow the yard any more and instead of getting $1 a week for allowance, I got $10. It was a little overwhelming,” she said.

Carter, whose new country single “I Fell in Love” is getting a lot of radio air play, ran away and got married three years later.

“I thought that what I wanted was to live in a trailer and marry the guy who sacked the groceries at the grocery store,” she said. “It’s amazing how romantic you think a trailer can be.”

Carter began writing songs a short time later.

“My mom (June Carter Cash) said if you can write a classic song, a standard, you’re set for life. For many years, I never considered myself a singer. I considered myself a songwriter,” she said.

Carter, now 34, has a new Warner Bros. Records album, “I Fell in Love,” due out Tuesday, her first after a five-year rest. But she’s still learning about the roots of country music.

“Growing up in Nashville doesn’t necessarily mean that you know much about country music or that you’re saturated with it,” she said. “I was a normal teen-ager who grew up listening to Eric Clapton.”