UNPREPARED TO DIE
America’s greatest murder ballads and the true crime stories that inspired them
by Paul Slade
- Published: November 2015
- Paperback and Kindle
- ISBN: 9780992948078
- 2×8 page plates sections
- Price: £16.99
The Gory Stories Behind The Murder Ballads
Cheerfully vulgar, revelling in gore, and always with an eye on the main chance, murder ballads are tabloid newspapers set to music, carrying word of the latest ‘orrible murders to an insatiable public. Victims are bludgeoned, stabbed or shot in every verse and killers often hanged, but the songs themselves never die. Instead, they mutate – morphing to suit local place names as they criss cross the Atlantic and continue to fascinate each generation’s biggest musical stars. Paul Slade traces this fascinating genre’s history through eight of its greatest songs.
Stagger Lee’s “biographers” alone include Duke Ellington, James Brown, Bob Dylan, Dr John, The Clash and Nick Cave. No two tell his story in quite the same way. Covering eight classic murder ballads, including “Knoxville Girl”, “Tom Dooley” and “Frankie & Johnny”, Slade investigates the real-life murder which inspired each song and traces its musical development down the decades. Billy Bragg, The Bad Seeds’ Mick Harvey, Laura Cantrell, Rennie Sparks of The Handsome Family and a host of other leading musicians add their own insights.
Praise for Paul Slade’s murder ballads essays
- “Great work.” – Kristin Hersh, Throwing Muses.
- “Fantastic.” – Dave Henderson, Mojo.
- “Compulsive stuff.” – Ian Anderson, fRoots.
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About the author
Paul Slade is a London based journalist who has written for The Daily Telegraph, The Independent, The Guardian, The Times, The Observer, The Sunday Telegraph, The Independent On Sunday, The Sunday Times, Mojo, Fortean Times, The Idler, Time Out and more. This is his first book.
For more information, contact Phil Godsell, [email protected]