Ken Bigger is a writer based in the Midwest. He co-founded Murder Ballad Monday in 2012.
The Civil Wars (photo by Allister Ann) [This is our third post this week on The Civil Warsâ âBarton Hollow.â Â Read the first one here, and the second one here.]Take me to the riverIn her debut week with the blog, … Continue reading →
The Ryman Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee [This is the second post this week on âBarton Hollow,â by The Civil Wars. Â Read the first one here. Â Also, this post is not about the Mick Sterling album Between Saturday Night and Sunday Morning.]I … Continue reading →
The Civil Wars With two Grammy Awards to their credit this year, The Civil Wars hardly need our blog to lift them out of obscurityâŚto the extent that we are able to lift anybody out of obscurity for anyone.  Good … Continue reading →
Bob Weir [This is the fourth post this week on Marty Robbinsâs âEl Paso.â Â You can find the first one here, the second here, and the third here.]Iâve found over the course of doing my weeks at the blog that … Continue reading →
[This is the third post this week on Marty Robbinsâs âEl Paso.â Â Read the first here, and the second here.] In todayâs post, letâs give a listen to some of the Western material that Robbins created both at the time … Continue reading →
Laurette Luez [This is the second post on the song âEl Paso.â  Read the first one here.]Crossing BordersIn his essay on âEl Pasoâ in The Rose and the Briar: Death, Love and Liberty in the American Ballad,â music critic and … Continue reading →
Out in the west Texas town of El PasoOf all the songs Iâve explored so far in this blog, none has proven quite as elusive as âEl Pasoâ to find the proverbial handles to grab on to it and open … Continue reading →
This is the third of three posts on the ballad âBold William Taylor.â Â Read the first post here, and the second post here.Those of you who have been following my posts for a while may have noticed that I tend … Continue reading →
(photo by K. Bigger) This is our second post on the ballad âBold William Taylor.â Â To read the first post, click here.When is a murder ballad not a murder ballad?The performance that brought âWilliam Taylorâ back to my attention (acknowledging … Continue reading →
Illustration from âBilly Taylorâ broadside âThe Tragedy of the Press-Gang: Â A True and Lamentable Ballad callâd Billy Taylor, shewing the fatal effects of Inconstancy.â Transvestism! Â Seafaring! Â Betrayal! Â Murder! In my last full week of posts, I explored âThe Demon Loverâ … Continue reading →
