âDavid âStringbeanâ Akemanâ (image from Dirk aka Dave Kelly, via myspace) Murder in Music City Although the story behind this weekâs song, âThe Ballad of Stringbean and Estelle,â is forty years old, itâs in the minority of songs among our … Continue reading →
Introduction Our first post this week dealt with the lyrics and the provenance, as well as we can know it, of the ballad âWillie Moore.â Â If youâre looking for information and discussion along those lines, I encourage you to click … Continue reading →
Leonard Rutherford (fiddle) and Dick Burnett (banjo) â Theirs is the earliest known recording of âWillie Mooreâ Introduction One thing I find about murder ballads in my own life is that I often remember the first time and place I … Continue reading →
The Sinking of the âCumberlandâ by the Ironclad âMerrimacâ, off Newport News Va. March 8th 1862 â Currier and Ives, 1862 Introduction This week we return once again to the American Civil War for some music that might make the … Continue reading →
Not Laura Foster This is the fifth post in a series on âTom Dooleyâ and related songs. The first post discusses some of the facts behind the story that inspired the song. The following three posts âHang down your head, … Continue reading →
Neil Young This our fourth post so far on the familiar murder ballad âTom Dooley.â âThe first post discusses some of the history behind the song. âThe second post discusses the history of the song itself, from regional to international … Continue reading →
Arthel Lane âDocâ Watson This is our third post this week on âTom Dooley.â You can read the first here and the second here. Introduction My heart sank just a little after reading in John Edward Fletcherâs book about the … Continue reading →
G.B. Grayson and Henry Whitter [This is the second post this week on âTom Dooley.â The first post gives the basics of the underlying story.] Hardly a fiddler or a banjo picker in our county⌠âIâll tell you all Verlee and I … Continue reading →
Confederate soldier âNot having the fear of God before his eyesâŚâ    The Jurors for the State upon their oath presented that Thomas Dula, late of the County of Wilkes, not having the fear of God before his eyes, … Continue reading →
Lord Goddard, Lord Chief Justice of England 1946 â 1958 In the first part of this weekâs blog we followed two young teenage boys, Christopher Craig, aged 16, and Derek Bentley, aged 19, as they were surrounded by the police … Continue reading →
