Though her recording career had begun in the late 1970s with her eponymous debut album, it was with 1990's I Fell in Love that Carter's career really took off, with the album and title song topping the US country albums and singles charts, respectively. The album, which featured straight-ahead, retro-sounding country (her prior work had combined country, rock and roll and pop sounds), was among the first successes of the 1990s "neotraditionalist" movement in country. 1993's Little Love Letters featured the hit "Every Little Thing", which was accompanied by one of the top-rated music videos of the year.

Carter's winning stream ended with 1995's Little Acts of Treason, which, while critically well received, failed to achieve the commercial success of the Carter's two previous releases.

She also found limited amounts of fame with the song "It takes one to know me", which was released on the albums "Johnny Cash the Legend" and "Johnny and June duets". Originally recorded in 1977 with a full string backing group, it was lost in a tape collection in Hendersonville and uncovered in 2003. It was then remastered by her brother John Carter Cash. In the remastered version, John added his and his wife Laura's backing vocals and a guest appearance from Carlene herself - more than 35 years after she wrote and recorded the song.

She was played by Victoria Hester in the movie Walk the Line.

The track 'Every Little Thing' is also featured in the pinball machine 'Red and Ted's Road Show' released by Williams Electronic Games in 1994. Carter also does the voice of one of the main characters in the pinball game

Carlene Carter (born Rebecca Carlene Smith; September 26, 1955) is an American country singer and songwriter. She is the daughter of June Carter and her first husband, Carl Smith.

Between 1978 and the present, Carter has recorded twelve albums, primarily on major labels. In the same timespan, she has released more than twenty singles, including three #3-peaking hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts.