WARNING: thread creep.

Joe: While most of the Carter Family songs in their original forms are now public domain, the Carters altered them substantially, as the behest of their manager, Ralph Peer. The most familiar versions now usually stem identifiably from the Carters' altered arrangements, which ARE copyrighted. Some songs were wholly the Carters' creations, as were the music for some songs which came to them in text-only form.