A.P. Carter

1891–1960 · American folk musician and song collector

A.P. Carter (1891–1960) was a founder of the Carter Family, one of the most influential acts in country music, and is credited with writing ‘When I’m Gone’, recorded in 1931. He was famous for roaming Appalachia collecting and reshaping folk songs, so the melody itself reaches back further still. He is the figure the cup game’s fame obscures most completely: not the viral performer, not the arranger, but the writer of the song underneath it all.

Who recorded it

Songs written by A.P. Carter

Cups (When I'm Gone)

Written by them — first recorded by Lulu and the Lampshades

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