1. INTRODUCTION
American music has a long tradition of murder ballads. These songs, whether in the folk, blues, country, jazz, or
other veins, have one thing in common: each is based on the story of a murder, and most of those stories are true.
The players in the bloody dramas were both black and white. Some were rich, though most were poor. The
settings ranged from the deep mountains of Virginia to the scarlet streets of New Orleans and St. Louis to the
crossroads of East Texas.
“Tom Dooley,” the best known, tells the tale of Dula, who was hanged in 1865 for the murder of his fianceé. The
song was composed in the early 20th century and passed through many hands before becoming a hit in 1960 for
the Kingston Trio. “Stagger Lee,” another song that survived the ages, is based on a brawl in a St. Louis saloon in
1897. The narratives that inspired “Ella Speed” and “Little Delia” are supported by news accounts and court and
police records. The “Betty and Dupree” murder was splashed across the front pages of Atlanta newspapers for
months in 1921. Many more ballads follow this same intriguing pattern.
In terms of significance, murder ballads act as small history lessons and morality plays. And there’s one more
quality that distinguishes them: they all make the grade as good music, the best of the lot sung to the most
moving melodies - bloody murder and all.
2. FICTION MEETS MUSIC (MEETS FILM)
“Death Don’t Have No Mercy” is a unique project that presents a collection of twelve short stories, each a
fictional rendition of the incident that inspired a murder ballad, and each one written by a different name author,
along with a companion CD of twelve murder ballads, each one performed by a different artist of note. A DVD of
twelve music videos, each one created by a noted director, is being considered as an addition, as is an audiobook
CD of the short story collection.
3. THE STORIES AND THE SONGS
The following is an initial list of songs suggested for this project, along with factual information about the incident
that inspired each one. Research on some songs is ongoing. At least seven of the twelve are listed as “Traditional”
and in the public domain. For examples of each song in an original genre, visit the tracks page.
DUNCAN AND BRADY
Storyline: A gambler murders a policeman when he tries to break up a game.
Behind the Story: On October 6th, 1880, Patrolman James Brady was shot and killed at the Charles Starkes
Saloon in downtown St. Louis. A simple brawl exploded into gunfire when police arrived on the scene to take
suspects into custody. Brady was hit in a hail of bullets and died from his wounds. Harry Duncan was arrested for
the murder, despite his pleas of innocence. According to Duncan, the crime had actually been committed by bar
owner Charles Starkes. The prevailing legend is that the crime was a reaction to police harassment of African-
Americans in what was the city’s red light district. In any case, Duncan was convicted and sentenced to hang for
the crime, but fought the decision with a series of appeals that went all the way to the Supreme Court. Lawyer
Walter Moran Farmer presented his case and holds the distinction of being the first African-American attorney to
argue a case before the Court. The appeal was denied and Duncan was hanged on July 27th, 1894. According to
some accounts, Starkes confessed to the murder on his deathbed.
PRETTY POLLY
The Storyline: A woman is impregnated, then murdered and her body buried.
Behind the Story: Pretty Polly is one of the two murder ballads in this program that has a vague and mysterious
history. The song goes back to 18th century England and is derived from a long ballad called "The Gosport
Tragedy” that follows the sadly familiar narrative of a callous young man murdering his girlfriend when he learns
she is pregnant. In the British original, the murderer tries to escape by sailing away, but a great storm comes
along and the ghost of his victim rises from the waves. In the American version, the murderer leaves Polly in her
grave. Folklorists point to the specific location of Gosport as evidence that the ballad was likely based on a real
incident, though no record has yet been found. Another curious bit of information may have a connection to the
song: Pretty Polly was the nickname of Jack the Ripper’s first victim.
TOM DULA
The Storyline: Tom Dula (Dooley) is hanged for the murder of Laura Foster.
Behind the Story: In 1862, Tom Dula left Wilkes County, North Carolina to fight for the Confederacy, leaving
his sweetheart Ann Foster behind. He returned in 1866 after being released from a POW camp (where the guards
called him “Dooley”) to find that Ann had gotten married. He began courting her sister Laura and when she
became pregnant, the two made plans to elope. On the night of April 26th, she disappeared. Days later, her body
was found in a shallow grave. She had been stabbed to death. Dula was arrested for the crime and though he
claimed his innocence to the end, was hanged on May 1st, 1868. Ann (Foster) Melton was later tried and acquitted
of involvement in Laura’s death. In 2001, Tom Dula was officially exonerated of Laura’s death. No one knows
who in fact committed the crime.
JOHN HARDY
The Storyline: John Hardy murders a man after a fight over a dice game.
Behind the Story: Hardy and his victim Thomas Drews were both black railroad workers who were part of the
crews digging the C&O tunnels near Eckman, West Virginia. The two men were playing craps on payday and
argued over money. In the altercation that followed, Hardy shot Drews dead. He escaped and climbed aboard a
westbound train, but was captured and returned within days. Then it came out that there was more to the story
than a fight over dice. Both men were smitten with the same local woman and she was said to have preferred
Drews. Hardy was convicted and hanged on January 20th, 1894. The story that Hardy composed the song while
waiting to die and then sang it on the gallows is likely legend rather than fact. Because of the similarities in
name, occupation, and geography, John Hardy has been confused with John Henry. Henry was a near-mythical
hero who died gloriously while Hardy went down in history as a “desperate little man.”
STACKOLEE
The Storyline: Stack Lee murders William Lyons in a St. Louis saloon.
Behind the Story: On the night of December 27th, 1895, William Lyons, a levee hand, was shot by Lee Sheldon, a
carriage driver, who also went by “Stag Lee” or “Stack Lee.” Witnesses at the saloon reported that during an
argument over politics, Lyons snatched Sheldon's hat from his head. Lyons refused to return the hat and Sheldon
drew his revolver and fired. When the victim fell, Sheldon snatched the hat from the wounded man’s hand and
walked away. He was later arrested and taken to jail. Lyons was carried to the dispensary where he died the next
day. Sheldon was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder, but his trial ended in a hung jury. A month later,
the earliest known mention of a song about the incident appeared in print. Sheldon’s second trial resulted in a
guilty verdict and he was given a 25-year sentence. He was released after serving thirteen years.
LITTLE SADIE
The Storyline: Lee Brown murders his lover and goes on the run.
Behind the Story: Though the murderer, his victim, the North Carolina town where the crime occurred, and the
South Carolina town where the suspect was captured are all part of the narrative, “Little Sadie” is the other
mystery song in the collection. Research has been minimal. No record of a “Lee Brown” committing a murder has
yet been uncovered. That has not stifled the longevity of the song. It has been reconstructed as “Cocaine Blues,”
"Bad Lee Brown," "Transfusion Blues," "East St. Louis Blues,” and other titles.
BETTY AND DUPRE
The Storyline: Dupre kills a man while stealing a diamond ring for Betty.
Behind the Story: On September 6th, 1922, Frank Dupre, a drifter and petty thief, was hanged for a murder
committed during the theft of a diamond ring from an Atlanta jewelry store. Frank had met Betty Andrews a
little over a week before committing the December 1921 crime. When Betty, a showgirl, admitted that she was
married, Frank hatched a scheme to win her affections by getting her the diamond ring that her estranged
husband had failed to provide. With no money, he snatched a ring and then shot the two men who tried to block
his escape. He went on the run and the mystery of his whereabouts made headlines all over the Eastern U.S. He
was caught in Detroit three weeks after his escape and returned to Atlanta. He was tried, convicted, and
sentenced, and became the last person hanged in the yard of the infamous Fulton Tower. Betty drifted into
obscurity. The song that was composed a few years later remains.
MCKINLEY’S GONE
The Storyline: McKinley, the 25th president of the United States, is assassinated.
Behind the Story: President William McKinley was shot on September 6th, 1901 while shaking hands in a crowd
at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. He was shot twice by Leon Czolgosz, an anarchist. The first
wound was superficial. The doctors, unable to find the second bullet, left it in his body. McKinley initially appeared
to be recovering, but took a turn for the worse and died on September 14th. Czolgosz went on trial on nine days
later. The jury took only a half hour to convict him. On September 26th, he was sentenced to death and was
executed three days later. William McKinley was the third president to be assassinated. Theodore Roosevelt
became president upon his death.
ELLA SPEED
The Storyline: Louis Martini murders Ella Speed in a jealous rage.
Behind the story: On the morning of September 3rd, 1894, a shot and a scream were heard from inside a New
Orleans brothel. The madam ran to the upstairs hall and saw Ella Speed, a woman of color, standing in the
doorway of her room in her chemise, her left breast "on fire," and screaming "Louis shot me!" The madam saw
Louis Martini standing in the room with a pistol in his hand. Ella collapsed and died shortly afterwards. Louis fled,
but turned himself in early the next morning. He testified that the shooting had been accidental. Before Judge
John Ferguson, he was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 20 years. By 1901, he was back in Storyville.
Incidentally, Ferguson is remembered for "Plessy vs. Ferguson," the U.S. Supreme Court case establishing that
"separate but equal" facilities for blacks and whites were constitutional.
FRANKIE AND ALBERT
The Storyline: Frankie Baker murders her lover Al Britt after catching him with another woman.
Behind the story: It has been suggested that the song was inspired, or its details influenced, by several different
murders. The most likely candidate took place in St. Louis on October 15, 1899, when Frankie Baker, a 22-year-
old dancer, stabbed her 17-year-old lover Allen "Al" Britt after catching him with a woman named Alice Pryor.
(She is called “Alice Fry” and “Alkali” in various versions of the song) Britt died of his wounds two days later. At
the trial, Baker claimed that Britt had attacked her with a knife and that she had acted in self-defense. She was
acquitted and left St. Louis. She died in a Portland, Oregon mental institution in 1952.
OMIE WISE
The Storyline: Frank Lewis impregnates Naomi Wise, a servant girl, and then drowns her.
Behind the story: In the spring of 1808, Naomi (“Omie”) Wise, an orphan girl, worked as a servant in the home
of William Adams in Randolph County, North Carolina. She was pursued and seduced by Jonathan Lewis, who
lived nearby. In April of that year, Omie disappeared. Sometime later, her body was found floating in the river.
The coroner found that she had been pregnant at the time of her death. Lewis was arrested and taken to jail, but
escaped a month later and disappeared. As the notoriety of the murder grew, members of the Lewis family began
leaving North Carolina for Kentucky, where Jonathan had settled and started a family, six years after Naomi's
death. When word of his whereabouts reached Randolph County; local citizens demanded that he be apprehended.
He was arrested in 1814 and tried once more, but found not guilty, despite witnesses and evidence, and was freed
to return to Kentucky. Five years later, in 1820, he died of an illness, confessing to the murder of Omie Wise on
his deathbed.
LITTLE DELIA
The Storyline: Delia, a woman who consorts with rounders, is murdered by her spurned lover.
Behind the story: 14-year-old Delia Green was shot and killed by 15-year-old Mose “Cooney” Houston late on
Christmas Eve 1900, in Savannah, Georgia, after an argument that began when Houston had boasted of a sexual
relationship with her. Although Houston reportedly confessed to the murder at the time of his arrest, at trial he
claimed the shooting was accidental. Other witnesses, however, testified that he had committed the crime after
Green called him "a son of a bitch.” He was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, but was paroled after
serving thirteen years. According to reports, he died forgotten in New York City in 1927.
4. PROSPECTIVE MUSICIANS AND AUTHORS (AND DIRECTORS)
The musicians, authors, and directors invited to write the stories, record the songs, and direct the videos will be
chosen based on their unique and eclectic prior work. These individuals will be granted the freedom to interpret
the stories and songs according to their visions, without
limits on genre, style, setting, and other narrative, musical, and visual facets. A confidential list of names of
those individuals with whom contacts have been initiated or are planned is available with the understanding that it
continues to evolve.
5. THE SHORT STORY COLLECTION
The collection of twelve short stories will be offered in hardcover or trade paperback if the budget is more limited.
Authors will deliver stories of between 3000 and 5000 words, for an estimated book length of 220 pages. Within
wide bounds, the styles of the narratives will be left to the authors. An audiobook option, with a different actors
reading the stories, is being considered as an additional CD and digital audio component.
6. THE CD
An eclectic selection of solo artists and bands will be invited to participate, representing rock, blues, jazz,
alternative acoustic, Latin, country, and hybrids of these genres. The producers will encourage crossing stylistic
and genre boundaries, such as inviting a blues musician to take on one of the ballads from the country archive.
The twelve songs will be offered on the CD enclosed in the box and in digital formats.
7. THE MUSIC VIDEOS
The addition of music videos to the project requires special attention, due to the production costs for twelve short
pieces. If and when this option goes forward, each director will choose a song on a first-come, first-served
arrangement. As a production matter, each director will be granted essentially the same production and post-
production budget. In addition to being included on the DVD, the videos will be offered for individual broadcast.
8. BROADCAST PROGRAM
As a video addition or an alternative, the producers will develop an hour-long broadcast program on the subject of
murder ballads to include performances, documentary segments, interviews with musicians and other interstitial
material. The program will be offered for sale to cable channels and can be included as a DVD in the boxed set.
8. DISTRIBUTION
“Death Don’t Have No Mercy” will be offered as a stand-alone book, a stand-alone CD of the songs, and a
package combining the two. If the music video option is included, a DVD of the twelve videos will be added to the
set. The options for packaging will be determined by the budget, with the options of either a book with a CD and
a DVD inside the back cover or a boxed set with the short story collection, the CD, and the DVD enclosed. The
various new digital media platforms offer a wide range of opportunities for distribution of the components and the
package, including the embedding of audio files within ebooks. Digital versions of music and video components
will allow for efficient distribution.
9. CONCLUSION - ENDURING MUSIC
American music, past and present, is among our most vital national treasures. As much as any other body of
distinctly American art – and more than most – it has defined our nation to its citizens and to the rest of the
world. At the core of American music, it terms of history and quality, are those rare genres that fall under the
sobriquet of “Americana.”
“Death Don’t Have No Mercy” represents a rare and important chapter in the ongoing saga of murder ballads and
their unique transcendence.
