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There are two songs entitled "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," but they share the same melody. The first version is a gospel song co-written by the great Methodist hymn writer Charles Gabriel and English evangelist Ada Habershon in 1907. Unfortunately, there's no decent recording of it on Youtube.

The country-western song, originally titled "Can the Circle Be Unbroken" dates from the 1920's.

The version NGDB sang is credited to AP Carter who was wrongly credited with writing a couple of other songs as well. The Carters were from the western edge of Virginia.

My wife was born in 1950 and her grandmother who mainly raised her was a piano and voice teacher in Knoxville and rented space from a local piano store for her classes. My wife remembered one day a woman came in to the store and sat down and began "banging" as her grandmother called it on a piano & writing down words. She said look at her. LOL. The woman playing was Maybelle Carter.

It was sad in a way. My wife's grandmother came from the first family that settled in & founded Sevier County, TN but despite her mountain heritage she did not like Folk nor Bluegrass aka Mountain Music. She taught classical music and voice for Opera mainly. Even her daughter though whom despite lessons could not read a note of music could play good enough to be the church pianist.

Lot's of older & well known musicians from this region can't read music. Like Dolly Parton who has written hundreds of songs including the tunes but can't read music. She didn't get her start from Porter Wagonner either. She got her start as a teenager on a Knoxville TV station being on a variety show ran by a local Politico/Grocer.