AP Carter copyrighted all the Carter Family songs in his own name, regardless of which of them actually did the most work writing, adapting or pirating the songs. He was probably the least musical of the three; though he did play fiddle, he didn't have a strong memory for tunes, and employed another musician (Riddle) to accompany him on his later song collecting trips to help him capture the music. Many of the songs they recorded came to them through Riddle, who also had a strong influence on Maybelle's guitar style. Of course, he has received virtually no credit for his contributions to the success of the Carters--and not a drop of the royalties.

Accounts of how they came by their songs show that the women were generally more involved in shaping the songs they recorded. So despite the "AP Carter" copyright attribution, it is most correct to speak of these songs as "theirs" rather than "his", except in those cases (only a handful) where it is known he wrote the songs.