American Songcatcher

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Today on the program, we’re proud to present the story behind the most widely recorded murder ballad in American history, the true St. Louis story of "Frankie and Johnny." Johnny’s real name was Albert, and though the phrase "He was doin’ her wrong” has been the constant refrain, the depiction of Frankie Baker has always been one of a vengeful murderess - rather than murder in self defense - and she fought nearly her entire life to change that narrative. For over 100 years, the song has continued to be recorded with many false depictions, and in this story, you’ll hear how it all unfolded and became such a hallmark murder ballad in American music history.

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Credits: Ryan Eastridge - Research, Writing 

Teddy Chipouras - Editing

Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, editing, recording and distribution

References:

“A Brief History of St. Louis.” City of St. Louis. 

Cellania, Miss. “The Story Behind ‘Frankie and Johnny.’” Mental Floss. May 3, 2016. 

Demain, Bill. “Ten Days in a Madhouse: The Woman Who Got Herself Committed.” Mental Floss. May 2, 2011.

Edwards, Bill. “Rags and Pieces by Scott Joplin, 1895-1905.” June 6, 2009. 

“‘Frankie’ of Famed Song Dies at 75.” Stockton Evening and Sunday Record. January 10, 1952. 

“Frankie and Johnny (1966).” IMDB.

“Frankie and Johnny (1991).” IMDB. 

 Huston, John. Frankie and Johnny. 1930. 

John, Finn J. D. “’Johnny’s’ Frankie lived in P-town, hiding from song.” Offbeat Oregon History website. April 1, 2021. 

Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries & University Museums. “Frankie and Johnny, or, You’ll Miss Me in the Days to Come.” The Lester S. Levy Sheet Music Collection. 

Kloppe, Adam. “Tom Turpin’s Rosebud Café.” Here’s History Podcast. October 16, 2023. 

Knox, Martha. “Words on Woodcuts” blog. March 26, 2016. 

Lomax, John A., Lomax, Alan. American Ballads and Folk Songs. The Macmillan Company, New York. 1934. pgs. 103-110. 

Morgan, Stacey. Frankie and Johnny: Race, Gender, and the Works of African American Folklore in the 1930s. University of Texas Press. 2017. pg. 20. 

“Murder Ballads (A Visit to a Bad Neighborhood part 2).” Riverside Blues Society. 

New York Public Library for The Performing Arts, Archives and Manuscripts. “Jack Kirkland papers, 1928-1969.”

Oswald, Charles J.; Kurres, Richard. “It’s Frankie and Albert Instead of Frankie and Johnny.” Lakeland Ledger. May 29, 1975. 

Polenberg, Richard. Hear My Sad Story: The True Tales that Inspired Stagolee, John Henry, and Other Traditional American Folk Songs. Cornell University Press. 2015. 

Richardson, Ethel Park; edited and arranged by Sigmund Spaeth. American Mountain Songs. Greenberg Publishing, New York. 1927. pgs. 38, 107. 

Sandberg, Carl. The American Songbag. Harcourt Brace & Company. 1927. pgs. 73-75. 

Slade, Paul. “It’s a Frame-Up: Frankie & Johnny.” 

Slade, Paul. Unprepared to Die: America’s Greatest Murder Ballads and the Stories that Inspired Them. Soundcheck Books LLP, London. 2015. 

“Soundtrack: ‘Frankie & Johnny.’” Our St. Louis History. April 20, 2018.  

St. Louis Post-Dispatch. January 24, 1995. pg. 39. 

Today, I’m sharing a conversation I had with Grammy-nominated folk singer, storyteller, humanitarian, author and multi-virtuoso-instrumentalist John McCutcheon. During his five-decade career, John has released 44 albums spanning an eclectic catalog of ballads, historical songs, children's songs, love songs, topical satire, fiddle and hammer dulcimer instrumentals, and even symphonic works. He is regarded as a master of the hammered dulcimer, and is also proficient on many other instruments including guitar, banjo, autoharp, mountain dulcimer, fiddle, and jaw harp, and has received six Grammy Award nominations for his children’s songs. I got to know a bit of John’s story early on, his evolution as a preservationist and what its been like to be an ambassador for as long as he has, what he’s up to these days, and of course some geeking out on music history. Enjoy!

More on John:

Official Website

Facebook

Patreon

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Credits: 

Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, editing, recording and distribution

Today on the program, we present the story behind the Father of Soul, Sam Cooke. Growing up in the church, Sam knew he wanted to be a singer by the time he was five years old. There was a magnetic and infectious quality to this young Gospel singer, and he knew he was destined for bigger things than singing sacred music. The risk he took in becoming a pop singer was massive, but it produced the first records of what is now known as Soul music. Sam also was a pioneer when it came to being savvy about the music business, owning his own publishing company, negotiating contracts, and creating a container to nurture up and coming soul singers. At the height of the civil rights movement, and the pinnacle of his career, Sam’s life was cut short. Here is his story. 

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Credits: Jonah Nordeen - Research, Writing 

Teddy Chipouras - Editing

Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, Editing, Recording and Distribution

References:

Campbell, L. E. (2013, February 16). Jesus Gave Me Water. Archive. Today. 

DeCurtis, A., Henke, J., & George-Warren, H. (Eds.). (1992). The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll: The definitive history of the most important artists and their music (3rd ed). Random House.

Guralnick, P. (2005). Dream boogie: The triumph of Sam Cooke (1st ed). Little, Brown.

James, E., & Ritz, D. (2003). Rage to survive: The Etta James story (2. ed). Da Capo.

Ritz, D. (2022). Sam Cooke. In Encyclopedia Britannica. 

Robinson, L. (1964, December 31). Tragedy-Filled Life of Singer Sam Cooke. Jet, XXVII(13), 56–65.

Runtagh, J. (2021, January 21). Why Mystery Still Shrouds Singer Sam Cooke’s Shooting Death Nearly 60 Years Later. People. 

Documentaries:

Two Killings of Sam Cooke - Netflix

Who Murdered Soul?

The Sam Cooke Story. (2018, July 15). YouTube. 

Wharton, M. (Director). (1996). Legend [Documentary]. Amazon Prime.

Today on the program, through our host public radio station WNCW in Spindale, NC, we’re sharing one of our favorite cultural podcasts, called Southern Songs and Stories, a documentary series about the music of the American south and the artists who make it. The show is based in western North Carolina and the surrounding Appalachian and foothill regions, covering a wide array of musicians and bands, documenting the current music of the South and the story of how it came to be, put together by host and producer Joe Kendrick. 

This episode features a niche style, born from the long lineage of hymns and gospel songs that has been informing so many genres of American music since as early as the 18th century. Gospel music has tremendous depth and width, and here, the story focuses on one of its many branches, a little known tradition thriving in places like Washington D.C. and Charlotte, NC: the trombone shout band.    

Links:

Southern Songs & Stories

WNCW Radio

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Credits: 

Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, editing, recording and distribution

Today on the program, we’re proud to present the story behind the King of Western Swing, Bob Wills. One of the most influential and iconic bandleaders and musicians of the 1930’s-1950’s, Bob came from a humble life of a poor sharecropping family, and was deeply influenced by old time and breakdown fiddle through his Texas state champion family of fiddlers in his father and uncle. Bob also loved all the turn of the century and 1920’s black music, and this confluence of cultures would help him create the craze that became Western swing, and the details of his journey to get there will surprise you. 

Story by Brent Davis and Nicholas Edward Williams

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Story Credits:

Brent Davis - Research, Writing 

Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, writing editing, recording and distribution

Homecoming: Reflections on Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys, 1915-1973, Charles R.

Townsend.

Country Music Hall of Fame

Authentic Texas

OW Mayo

The Life and Times of Bob Wills

Country Music, an Illustrated History, Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns.

Country Music, a PBS documentary by Florentine Films, Ken Burns, director; Dayton Duncan,

writer.

OK History

Life and Times of Bob Wills (TNN)

Texas Monthly

Birthplace of Western Swing

The Country Music Pop-Up Book, by the staff of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

The Hag: The Life, Times, and Music of Merle Haggard, Marc Elliot.

Today, I’m sharing a conversation I had with GRAMMY-NOMINATED American guitarist, composer, producer and bandleader Charlie Hunter. He first came on to the scene in the early 1990s, and simultaneously plays bass lines, chords, and melodies, on custom seven and eight-string guitars, as featured in trios and quintet projects, as well as Garage-A-Trois. Notably, Charlie is also a student of ragtime guitar, using the true two finger technique pioneered by Arthur Blind Blake and very different from what he’s known for. We talked about Charlie’s upbringing in a musical family, finding his own path, the groove and authenticity, all things Blind Blake, and as usual, we geeked out on some music history. Enjoy!

Charlie's Links:

Official Website

Instagram

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Credits: 

Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, editing, recording and distribution

Today, we proudly present something a little different on American Songcatcher. Instead of the usual documentary podcast-style piece, this is a compilation of field recordings I did in Buncombe and Madison Counties just outside of Asheville, NC. Considered the mecca of the long held traditions in ballad singing and old-time mountain music, this area is also home to the “Minstrel of the Appalachians”, one of the most important yet lesser-known figures in folk and old time music, Bascom Lamar Lunsford - who was born on this day 142 years ago. 

Over the last year, I was fortunate enough to visit North Carolina several times, to visit with Bascom’s old home and talk with head of the non-profit that now owns it, perform at the annual Lunsford Festival at Mars Hill University, and witness the return of filmmaker David Hoffman, who first filmed Bascom in the 1964, and was coming back to visit the area for the first time in the nearly 60 years since. This is a window into a living tradition.

GoFundMe for Bascom's Home Restoration (for the Pondering Bascom non-profit)

Documentaries mentioned:

Music Makers of the Blue Ridge - David Hoffman (1965)

Madison County, North Carolina - Where Music History is Alive (2023)⁠

Special thanks to:

Rare Bird Farm

Golden Shoals

Madison County

Mars Hill University

Tim Duggan

David Hoffman

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Credits: 

Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, editing, recording and distribution

Today on the program, we present the story of the father of North Mississippi Hill Country Blues, Mississippi Fred McDowell. From humble beginnings, Fred was inspired from the likes of Charley Patton, his neighbor Eli “Booster” Green and the sounds he gathered from guitarists in Memphis, Mississippi and the Delta, and defined the often overlooked nuances of the blues. Like many of the great Southern pre-war blues guitarists born around the turn of the century, Fred was “discovered” by Alan Lomax in 1959, and continues to inspire slide guitarists to this day, despite not being a household name in the blues realm.

Watch the full documentary “Shake Em On Down”

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Credits: Ryan Eastridge - Research, Writing 

Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, editing, recording and distribution

References:

Shirley Collins Book | Alan Lomax Book | Laurence Cohn Book | UdiscoveredMusic |Allmusic| MS Blues Trail | KUNC | Mt. Zion Memorial Fund | John Szwed Book | Musicians Guide | Commercial Appeal | “Shake Em On Down”

Today on our program, we present the story of one of the most iconic American Folk songs, born from the lineage of 16th century ballads brought by immigrants from the British Isles, “Shady Grove”. Often used in both dance and courtship, the timeless melody was the backbone for countless ballads and folk songs that made their way into North America and took root in the Appalachian and Ozark Mountain ranges. To date, “Shady Grove” has been estimated to have amassed over 300 stanzas since it was first sung in the Cumberland Plateau region of Eastern Kentucky in the mid-nineteenth century. Story by Ryan Eastridge.

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Credits:

Ryan Eastridge - Research, Writing 

Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, editing, recording and distribution

References:

Discography of American Historical Recordings | LOC | “Songs and Rhymes from the South.” Journal of American Folklore | Tunearch.org |Wayfaring Strangers: The Musical Voyage from Scotland and Ulster to Appalachia | Ship History | English Broadside Ballad Archive

Happy release day! Today on our program, we’re delighted to release the first episode of Season 3, diving into the life of renowned songwriter, riverboat pilot, folklorist, song collector, music historian, accomplished fiddler and banjoist, clog & shuffle dancer, storyteller and consummate entertainer, John Hartford. One of the most brilliant yet lesser-known musicians of the last century, John was the key figure in redefining Bluegrass and American roots music for future generations, the unofficial father of “newgrass”, who had a life that was anything but ordinary.

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Credits: Ryan Eastridge - Research, Writing 

Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, editing, recording and distribution

References:

Rolling Stone | Art Menius | Fretboard Journal | JohnCowan.com | Mike Bub Interview | AllMusic.com | No Depression | The Bluegrass Situation | Official Website