âDeath Gospel and the Heart of Saturday Nightâ The above-linked short essay on Adam Arcuragi and âDeath Gospelâ music came out today in âSightings,â an on-line journal of the University of Chicago Divinity Schoolâs Martin Marty Center for the Advanced … Continue reading →
    Holly Hunter and Nicholas Cage in âRaising Arizonaâ  Watching this pitch-perfect clip from Joel and Ethan Coenâs âRaising Arizona,â reminded me of Patâs introduction to âTwo Sistersâ , where he mentions that he first heard Clannadâs version … Continue reading →
The thirty eighth annual SPBGMA (Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America) award winners were announced. Those honored include Joe Mullins for Bluegrass DJ of the Year; Leigh and Eric Gibson for Bluegrass Song Writer of the Year … Continue reading →
  [Notes: Thanks to Pat for the title. Iâm going to add some songs in here that are not murder ballads, but they fire some of the same synapses, and their relevance to the story I tell below should … Continue reading →
âDown in the Willow Gardenâ brings us a tune with slightly different roots, and an interesting story about branches. Â Itâs the first ballad weâve taken up with distinctively Irish origins. Â For our first post this week, weâll introduce the ballad … Continue reading →
Glenna Bell For my final installment on âFrankie and Johnny,â I want to pick out two versions that, while not necessarily representing the kind of girl anthem (sardonic or otherwise) of Judy Henskeâs âLove Henry,â still present a womanâs voice … Continue reading →
Cyd Charisse as âFrankieâ in âMeet Me in Las Vegasâ   Going to the Movies:  Hipsters and Hootenannies  To paraphrase Lord Buckley,âFriends, blog-readers, countrymen, knock me your lobes.â  Sammy Davis, Jr. here takes a turn at Frankie … Continue reading →
Going to the Movies: Icons and Idols  The âFrankie and Johnnyâ story has gone through a few cinematic adaptations over the years.  It also appears in a few film musicals in productions that are otherwise unrelated to the âFrankieâ … Continue reading →
 Despite the fact that I think there was some âhourglass momentâ where this song slipped through a narrow channel to flow back out again, there is still so much diversity to the lyrics of this song that a âclose … Continue reading →
  âAs our American culture advances, it may be that classes will take up the Frankie songs as seriously as a play by Molière or a Restoration comedy or the Provençal ballads of FranceâŚ.While the Frankie story deals with … Continue reading →
