Country Music Roots and History - The Carter Family

On August 2, 1927, the Carter Family made their first recordings, and began the career of a group that would influence Country Music and Bluegrass forever. The original group was composed of husband and wife "A.P." Delaney Carter and Sara Dougherty Carter with A.P.'s sister-in-law, Maybelle Addington Carter, who became affectionately known as Mother Maybelle. On May 27, 1928, many of the songs that would become Country and Bluegrass standards, including Wildwood Flower and Can the Circle be Unbroken, were recorded.

In 1943, Sara and A.P. separated and the group dispersed; however, Mother Maybelle performed with her daughters, Anita, June, and Helen, calling the group Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters. Due to their lasting legacy, the Carter Family was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1970.

The Carter Family Myspace

The original Carter Family singing "Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow Tree"



Mother Maybelle and the Carter Sisters