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Frankie and Johnny

[ Roud 254 ; Laws I3 ; Ballad Index LI03 ; DT FRANJOHN ; Mudcat 2601 , 43656 ; trad.]

‘Mississippi’ John Hurt sang the song of infidelity, jealousy and murder, Frankie, in a recording made in Memphis, Tennessee, on 14 February 1928. It was included in 1952 on the Folkways Anthology of American Folk Music Volume One: Ballads. The booklet of the album’s 1997 CD reissue noted:

John Hurt (1894-1966), from Avalon, Mississippi, in the heart of the Delta, recorded twelve songs for Okeh records in 1928, but for most of his life he worked as a tenant farmer and played only for local gatherings.

In 1963 music enthusiast Tom Hoskins went looking for him on the basis of his song Avalon My Home Town. He was still living there. and so ‘Mississippi’ John Hurt soon found himself with a second career making recordings and playing numerous venues including Friends of Old Time Music concerts and the Newport Folk Festival. Hurt was greatly loved by both audiences and performers. Folk singer Tom Paxton wrote the song Did You Hear John Hurt to honour him, and the chorus of his song Coffee Blues—“Just a lovin’ spoonful” became the name of a popular 1960s rock group. His understated style of guitar playing influenced many who heard him in both blues and folk music worlds.

Snakefarm sang Frankie and Johnny on their 1998 album Songs From My Funeral. Anna Domino noted:

Frankie and Johnny was a hit early in the 20th century, with hundreds of versions running loose around the country, followed by rumours of Frankie’s retirement.

Beth Orton sang Frankie in a recording ar Meltdown Festival, Royal Festival Hall, London, on 2 July 1999 that was included in 2006 on the CD/DVD set The Harry Smith Project: Anthology of American Folk Music Revisited.

Johnny Silvo sang Frankie and Johnnie on his and Diz Dizley’s 1999 Fellside album Blues in the Backyard.

The Long Hill Ramblers sang Frankie & Johnny or Leaving Home on their 2014 album Beauty and Butchery. They noted.

Laura [Hockenhull] and Ben [Paley] each learnt this song of infidelity, jealousy and murder as children from their respective fathers, both of whom learnt it from Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers. But it’s been recorded by everyone, from Roscoe Holcomb through Elvis Presley to Lindsay Lohan.