Twice in recent weeks Iâve delved into Hazel Dickensâs work to find songs that walk the line between life and death in Americaâs coal fields. âBlack Lungâ is no murder ballad, but we saw how it used Primitive Baptist singing … Continue reading →
âWell itâs cold blooded murder friends, Iâm talking about âŚâ Such is the accusation that opens the angry chorus of âThe Yablonski Murder.â Hazel Dickens penned the musical indictment in January of 1970 after she read the newspaper story describing what … Continue reading →
Prelude: The Ears of Babes âMy class loves this song!â This is my daughter. Sheâs referring to her elementary school class of 10 and 11 year-olds. She says this as we are driving down the highway a few weeks ago, listening to … Continue reading →
In my last post, I looked at how â through music â people tried to make sense of the infamous Mountain Meadows Massacre of 1857, in which a group of Mormon militiamen deceived and murdered 120 members of the Baker-Fancher … Continue reading →
In September of 1857, in a meadow about 300 miles south of Salt Lake City, a group of Mormon militiamen murdered 120 people. The victims were members of the Baker-Fancher wagon train, making their way from Arkansas to California. All … Continue reading →
A little less than a year ago we started a new series within Murder Ballad Monday called âConversations with Death.â  These brief, emotional posts allow us to explore songs that resonate for us in ways we find typical of our genre of choice, … Continue reading →
âLike thereâs nothing going wrongâ I first heard Hurray for the Riff Raffâs âThe Body Electricâ through a National Public Radio article by Ann Powers last month: âThe Political Folk Song of the Year.â Â I appear to be rather late … Continue reading →
Big news! Weâre on our annual holiday hiatus this month, but wanted to add one more post for 2014 to announce that we are moving! Weâre joining forces with Sing Out! magazine. We are tremendously excited and honored to join Sing Out!. … Continue reading →
Neil Young, New York 1970 photo by Joel Bernstein This is the fourth and final post of our initial discussion of Neil Youngâs âOhio.â Here are the first, second, and third posts. I know, I know. On the fourth post … Continue reading →
Crosby, Stills, and Nash perform âOhioâ at a May 4 Commemoration at Kent State University, 1997 (photo: Kent State University archives) This is our third post on Neil Youngâs âOhio.â Read the first here and the second here. In researching … Continue reading →
