Mary Chapin Carpenter's mother has died. Mary Bowie Robertson was 86 when she passed away on Tuesday (May 3).

Carpenter shared the sad news on her social media accounts on Wednesday morning (May 4), posting two side-by-side photos of her mother -- one showing her in her younger years and the other a more recent snapshot -- captioned with Robertson's birth and death dates and the words "my beautiful mommy."

Carpenter, who was born in Princeton, N.J., was named for both of her parents: She and her mother share a first name, while her father's name was Chapin Carpenter Jr. (Carpenter Jr. passed away in 2011; he and Robertson had been divorced since their daughter was 16.) The singer credits both of her parents with instilling her love of music.

"My mother and father had a huge record collection, everything from Fats Waller, Billie Holiday in my dad’s collection, to my mother having Woody Guthrie," Carpenter tells the Rumpus. "I grew up listening to everything."

Carpenter began writing songs as a child. She would accompany herself on her mother's bass ukulele "and graduated to her gut-string guitar," the artist tells the Washington Blade.

On Friday (May 6), Carpenter will release a new studio album, The Things That We Are Made Of. She will be on the road supporting the project throughout the summer and fall.

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