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The Carter Family was a country music group that recorded between 1927 and 1956. Their music had a profound impact on bluegrass, country, southern gospel, pop and rock musicians as well as on the U.S. folk revival of the 1960s. They were the first vocal group to become country music stars. Their recordings of such songs as "Wabash Cannonball", "Will the Circle Be Unbroken", "Wildwood Flower" and "Keep On the Sunny Side" made them country standards.

The original group consisted of Alvin Pleasant "A.P." Delaney Carter (1891–1960), his wife Sara Dougherty Carter (1898–1979), and his sister-in-law Maybelle Addington Carter (1909–1978). Maybelle was married to A.P.'s brother Ezra (Eck) Carter and was also Sara's first cousin. All three were born and raised in southwestern Virginia, where they were immersed in the tight harmonies of mountain gospel music and shape note singing. Maybelle's distinctive guitar playing style became a hallmark of the group.

History
The Carter Family made their first recordings on August 2, 1927. A.P. had convinced Sara and Maybelle the day before to make the journey from Maces Spring, Virginia, to Bristol, Tennessee, to audition for record producer Ralph Peer, who was seeking new talents for the relatively embryonic recording industry. They received $50 for each song they recorded.

In the fall of 1927, the Victor recording company released a double-sided 78 rpm record of the group performing "Wandering Boy" and "Poor Orphan Child". In 1928, another record was released with "The Storms Are on the Ocean" and "Single Girl, Married Girl". This record became very popular.

On May 27, 1928, Peer had the group travel to Camden, New Jersey, where they recorded many of what would become their signature songs, including:

"Meet me by the Moonlight Alone";
"Keep on the Sunny Side";
"Can the Circle be Unbroken";
"Little Darling, Pal of Mine";
"Forsaken Love";
"Anchored in Love";
"I Ain't Goin' to Work Tomorrow";
"Will You Miss Me when I'm Gone";
"Wildwood Flower";
"River of Jordan";
"Chewing Gum"; and
"John Hardy Was a Desperate Little Man".

The group did not receive any money for this effort and left with a contract that assured a small royalty for sales of their records and sheet music. "Wildwood Flower" in both vocal and instrumental forms has endured as a signature tune for traditional country and bluegrass artists. During a February 1929 session they recorded:

"I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes";
"My Clinch Mountain Home";
"Sweet Fern";
"Grave on the Green Hillside";
"Little Moses";
"Don't Forget This Song"; and
"Engine 143".

By the end of 1930 they had sold 300,000 records in the U.S.
Realizing that he would benefit financially with each new song he collected and copyrighted, A.P. traveled around the southwestern Virginia area in search of new songs. In the early 1930s, he befriended Lesley "Esley" Riddle, a black guitar player from Kingsport, Tennessee. Esley accompanied A.P. on his song-collecting trips. In June 1931, the Carters did a recording session in Louisville, Kentucky along with Jimmie Rodgers. In 193C, Maybelle met the Cook Family Singers at the World's Fair in Chicago and fell in love with their signature sound. She asked them to tour with the Carter Family.