S3:E7 // Frankie & Johnny

Today on the program, we're proud to present the story behind the most widely recorded murder ballad in American history, the true St. Louis story of "Frankie and Johnny." Johnny's real name was Albert, and though the phrase "He was doin' her wrong" has been the constant refrain, the depiction of Frankie Baker has always been one of a vengeful murderess - rather than murder in self defense - and she fought nearly her entire life to change that narrative. For over 100 years, the song has continued to be recorded with many false depictions, and in this story, you'll hear how it all unfolded and became such a hallmark murder ballad in American music history.

__

Support Educational Programming:

⁠Tax-Exempt Donations⁠

Join the⁠ Patreon Community⁠

One-time donations:⁠ Venmo⁠ or⁠ PayPal⁠

Follow ⁠American Songcatcher⁠ on ⁠Instagram⁠

Credits: Ryan Eastridge - Research, Writing

Teddy Chipouras - Editing

Nicholas Edward Williams - Production, research, editing, recording and distribution

References:

"A Brief History of St. Louis." City of St. Louis.