It's been quite some time since I've listened to them. But I gotta say, they are brilliant.

THEY ARE BRILLIANT.

Top notch.
A.P., nobody names there kid Pleasant anymore.
Mother Maybelle could play the hell out of a guitar.

Maybelle was about 8.9 months pregnant as they were packing the car to head out for their first recording session.

She asked A.P. "Must I bring my guitar?"

"Well, if you're gonna make a record you better bring your guitar."

That first recording date, Bristol, Tennessee, 1st and 2nd August 1927, was part of the field recording sessions which included Jimmie Rodgers' first recording date on 4 August.

I listened to them heavily over my exam period a few years back. Bascially when I was meant to be revising. They were useful, as whilst they may have been distracting (because they're so good), they were also immensly comfortable and safe, which helped me not panic about the fact that I wasn't revising.

Cheers Carter Family.

I think I'll listen now. 'My Dixie Darling' to kick off I think.

The Carter's record company urged them to copyright everything they recorded, because under ASCAP (the American Society of Composers and Performers), copyright holders would get paid when others performed their songs. It didn't matter if they'd written them or not, as long as they were first to apply for a copyright. This led to some embarrassing situations, when they found out they'd copyrighted songs that were already copyrighted.

I met Joe and Janette Carter, out there at the end of the panhandle. They were already older than this, though:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yKbzS6d_Hk&feature=related