Frankie and Albert [Laws I3]

DESCRIPTION: Frankie discovers her husband (Albert/Johnnie) involved with another woman. She shoots him. Depending on the version, she may be imprisoned or allowed to go free
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1904 (Copyright as "He Done Me Wrong" by Hughie Cannon)
KEYWORDS: infidelity homicide bawdy betrayal execution jealousy judge prison trial
FOUND IN: US(Ap,MA,MW,SE,So,SW) Australia
REFERENCES (43 citations):
Laws I3, "Frankie and Albert"
Belden-BalladsSongsCollectedByMissourFolkloreSociety, pp. 330-333, "Frankie and Albert" (1 text, composite)
Randolph 159, "Frankie and Johnny" (6 texts, 2 tunes)
Randolph/Cohen-OzarkFolksongs-Abridged, pp. 166-170, "Frankie and Johnny" (1 text, 1 tune -- Randolph's 159A)
Randolph/Legman-RollMeInYourArms I, pp. 477-484, "Frankie and Johnny" (5 texts, 1 tune)
Eddy-BalladsAndSongsFromOhio 108, "Maggie Was a Lady" (3 texts, 3 tunes)
Morris-FolksongsOfFlorida, #61, "Frankie and Johnny" (1 text, 1 tune)
Brown/Belden/Hudson-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore2 251, "Frankie and Albert" (3 texts plus 2 excerpts and mention of 4 more; 4 of these were called "Frankie Baker" by the informants, but none of the texts appear to use that name in the body of the song)
Brown/Schinhan-FrankCBrownCollectionNCFolklore4 251, "Frankie and Albert" (3 excerpts, 3 tunes)
Chappell-FolkSongsOfRoanokeAndTheAlbermarle 111, "Frankie and Johnny" (1 text, 1 tune)
Hudson-FolksongsOfMississippi 65, pp. 189-191, "Frankie" (1 text)
Scarborough-OnTheTrailOfNegroFolkSongs, pp. 80-84, "Frankie and Albert" (4 texts plus 2 excerpts, 2 tunes)
Cambiaire-EastTennesseeWestVirginiaMountainBallads, pp. 5-8, "Frankie Baker" (1 text)
Burton/Manning-EastTennesseeStateCollectionVol2, pp. 33-34, "Frankie and Albert" (1 text, 1 tune)
Leach-TheBalladBook, pp. 761-765, "Frankie and Albert (Johnnie)" (2 texts)
Leach-HeritageBookOfBallads, pp. 150-153, "Frankie and Johnny" (1 text)
Friedman-Viking/PenguinBookOfFolkBallads, p. 211, "Frankie and Albert (Frankie and Johnny)" (2 texts)
Cray-EroticMuse, pp. 137-149, "Frankie and Johnnie" (4 texts, 1 tune)
Grigson-PenguinBookOfBallads 113, "Frankie and Albert" (1 text)
Sandburg-TheAmericanSongbag, pp. 76-77, "Frankie and Albert"; 77-81, "Frankie and Johnny"; 82-82, "Frankie Blues"; 84-85, "Josie"; 86, "Sadie" (5 texts, 6 tunes)
Lomax/Lomax-FolkSongUSA 88, "Frankie and Albert" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax-FolkSongsOfNorthAmerica 305, "Frankie" (1 text, 1 tune)
Lomax/Lomax-AmericanBalladsAndFolkSongs, pp. 103-110, "Frankie and Albert" (2 texts, 2 tunes)
Dunson/Raim/Asch-AnthologyOfAmericanFolkMusic, p. 58 "Frankie" (1 text, 1 tune)
Cohen-AmericanFolkSongsARegionalEncyclopedia1, pp. 378-379 "Frankie" (1 text)
Arnett-IHearAmericaSinging, pp. 148-149, "Frankie and Johnny" (1 text, 1 tune)
Spaeth-ReadEmAndWeep, pp. 31-36, "Frankie and Johnnie" (1 text with variant stanzas, 2 tunes)
Johnson-BawdyBalladsAndLustyLyrics, pp. 33-38, "Frankie and Johnnie" (1 text)
Courlander-NegroFolkMusic, pp. 182-184, "(Frankie and Albert)" (1 text)
Cox-FolkSongsSouth 46, "Maggie Was a Lady" (2 texts)
Roberts-SangBranchSettlers, #20, "Frankie and Albert" (1 text, 1 tune)
Richardson/Spaeth-AmericanMountainSongs, pp. 38-39, "Frankie Baker" (1 text, 1 tune)
Shay-BarroomBallads/PiousFriendsDrunkenCompanions, pp. 31-36, "The Lamentable History of Frankie and Johnnie" (1 text, 1 tune)
Seeger-AmericanFavoriteBallads, p. 64, "Frankie And Johnny" (1 text, 1 tune)
Silber/Silber-FolksingersWordbook, p. 177, "Frankie And Johnny" (1 text)
Fuld-BookOfWorldFamousMusic, pp. 233-235, "Frankie and Johnny"
DT 316, FRANJOHN* FRANJON2
ADDITIONAL: Harold Courlander, _A Treasury of Afro-American Folklore_, Crown Publishers, 1976, pp. 394-396, "Frankie and Albert" (1 text)
~~~~~
Versions of "Leaving Home," the Charlie Poole song:
Cohen/Seeger/Wood-NewLostCityRamblersSongbook, pp. 144-145, "Leaving Home" (1 text, 1 tune)
Rorrer-RamblingBlues-LifeAndSongsOfCharliePoole, p. 72, "Leaving Home" (1 text)
DT 316, FRANJON3*
Roud #254
RECORDINGS:
Arkansas Woodchopper [pseud. for Luther Ossenbrink], "Frankie and Johnnie" (Gennett 7036/Supertone 9569/Champion 15852 [as West Virginia Rail Splitter], 1930; Superior 2590 [as James Burke], 1931; Champion 45038. C. 1935; Champion 33064, n.d.) (Conqueror 7879, 1931)
Gene Autry, "Frankie and Johnny" (Velvet Tone 7063-V/Diva 6037-G/OKeh 45417 [as Johnny Dodds]/Clarion 5026-C, 1930; Parlophone [Australia] A3061 [as Johnny Dodds], n.d.; rec. 1929))
Emry Arthur, "Frankie Baker, pts. 1 & 2" (Vocalion 5340, 1929)
Al Bernard, "Frankie and Johnny" (Brunswick 2107, 1921)
Big Bill Broonzy, "Frankie and Johnny" (on ClassAfrAm)
James Burke, "Frankie and Johnnie" (Superior 2590, 1931)
Frank Crumit, "Frankie and Johnnie" (Victor 20715, 1927)
[Tom] Darby & [Jimmy] Tarlton, "Frankie Dean" (Columbia 15701-D, c. 1931; rec. 1930)
Slim Dusty, "Frankie and Johnny" (Regal Zonophone [Australia] G25403, n.d.)
Dykes' Magic City Trio, "Frankie" (Brunswick 127/Vocalion 5143, 1927; on RoughWays1)
Louise Foreacre, "Frankie was a Good Girl" (on Stonemans01)
Brian Hawkins, "Frankie and Johnny" (Piotr-Archive #708, recorded 10/11/2023; text seems somewhat updated)
Roscoe Holcomb, "Frankie and Johnny" (on Holcomb2)
Mississippi John Hurt, "Frankie" (OKeh 8560, 1928; on AAFM1, RoughWays2); "Frankie and Albert" (on MJHurt04); "Frankie No. 2" on MJHurt05)
Billy Jones, "Frankie and Johnny" (Edison 52284, 1928)
Frankie Marvin, "Frankie and Johnny" (Brunswick 400/Crown 3076, 1930)
McMichen's Melody Men, "Frankie and Johnny" (Decca 5418, 1937)
Nick Nichols, "Frankie and Johnny (The Shooting Scene) Part 1"/"Frankie and Johnny (The Courtroom Scene) Part 2" (Columbia 2071-D, 1929)
Charley Patton, "Frankie and Albert" (Paramount 13110, 1931; rec. 1929)
Nicola "Aunt Nicky" Pritchard (Turbyfill), "Frankie and Johnny" (Piotr-Archive #29, recorded 02/08/2021)
Riley Puckett, "Frankie and Johnny" (Columbia 15505-D, 1930; rec. 1929) (Bluebird B-8277, 1939)
Carson Robison, "Frankie and Johnny" (QRS 1014, c. 1929)
Jimmie Rodgers, "Frankie and Johnny" (Victor 22143, 1929; Montgomery Ward M-4309/Bluebird B-5223, 1933; Montgomery Ward M-4721, c. 1935)
Mike Seeger, "Frankie" (on MSeeger01)
Pete Seeger, "Frankie and Johnny" (on PeteSeeger17)
Bessie Smith, "Frankie Blues" (Columbia 14023-D, 1924)
Mamie Smith & her Jazz Hounds, "Frankie Blues" (OKeh 4856, 1923)
Leo Soileau & his Aces "Frankie and Johnny" (Decca 5133, 1935)
Leonard Stokes, "Frankie and Johnny" (Montgomery Ward M-4309, 1933)
Ernest Thompson, "Frankie Baker" (Columbia 168-D, 1924)
Welby Toomey, "Frankie's Gamblin' Man" (Gennett 3195, 1926/Challenge 232, 1927)
Frances Turbyfill (Campbell), "Frankie and Johnny" (Fragment: Piotr-Archive #150, recorded 04/25/2022; extremely defective and with much background noise)
Edith Wilson w. Johnny Dunn's Original Jazz Hounds, "Frankie" (Columbia A3506, 1921)
~~~~~
Versions of "Leaving Home," the Charlie Poole song:
New Lost City Ramblers, "Leaving Home" (on NLCR02, NLCRCD1)
Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, "Leaving Home" (Columbia 15116-D, 1926; on CPoole01, CPoole05)
Swing Billies, "Leavin' Home" (Bluebird B-7121, 1937)
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "The Boll Weevil" [Laws I17] (tune)
cf. "Dark Was the Night, Cold Was the Ground" (lyrics)
cf. "Frankie and Johnny (II - Army Version)" (lyrics, theme)
cf. "Frankie and Johnny (III - Day Bomber's Lament)"
SAME TUNE:
Stripey and Blondie (File: Tawn049)
Billy Vest, "Frankie & Johnny - No. 2" (Banner 32762, 1933); "Frankie and Johnny No. 2" (Melotone M-12691, 1933)
NOTES [539 words]: Various theories have been proposed to explain the origin of this ballad. One theory connects it with the story of Frankie Silvers [Laws E13]. Another links it to the murder of Allen Britt ("Al Britt"= "Albert") by Frankie Baker in St. Louis, MO, on Oct. 15, 1899 (she was jealous of his relationship with Alice Pryor). (This murder was documented in the October 19, 1899 edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.) Versions have shown a tendency to take on local color and even be connected with local events. - RBW, EC
Legman offers extensive documentation for the ballad in Randolph/Legman-RollMeInYourArms I. - EC
Researcher Rusty David, of St. Louis, suggests that while the details of the current ballad support the Frankie Baker/Allen Britt story, in fact the ballad predates this murder, and describes a killing that took place in the same red-light district of St. Louis sometime around 1865-70. When the Baker/Britt killing took place, according to David, the earlier ballad was modified to fit the new events. He bases this suggestion on having found traces of the ballad before 1899. -PJS
Belden-BalladsSongsCollectedByMissourFolkloreSociety catalogs scholars who date the origins of the song before 1899, listing:
* Thomas Beer (who offers a date before 1863, and cites a date in the 1840s for the original murder). Belden finds no authority for these claims
* Sandburg-TheAmericanSongbag (claims widespread currency by 1888)
* Niles (claims it predates 1830, but without evidence)
* Orrick Johns (early 1890s)
* Tyrrel Williams (pre-Civil War), but Cohen says his evidence for this is "very weak"
* George Milburn ("long before 1899," using names other than Frankie and Albert)
Fuld, however, lists the first occurrence of the tune as 1904 (with documentation), and notes that the "Frankie and Johnny were lovers" version first appears in 1925.
The song "Leaving Home," recorded by Charlie Poole and others (and properly called "Frankie and Johnny"), is not actually a "Frankie and Johnny" text; it was written by the Leighton Brothers and Ren Shields and copyrighted in 1912. If it entered oral tradition, it is as a result of the Poole recording or some such similar source. It is, however, included under this entry because it is based on "Frankie and Johnnie" and often treated as a variant of that song.
Adding all this up, the verifiable facts appear to be as follows:
Whatever the earlier history, it seems certain that a canonical "Frankie and Albert" emerged from the Frankie Baker (1876-1952) and Al Britt (1882/3-1899) affair. The Leighton/Shields song supplied the names "Frankie and Johnny," which are now well-established. It is possible that "The Boll Weevil," or one of its musical relatives, contributed a tune at some point; not all "Frankie and Albert" texts are to this melody, but the usual "Frankie" tune sung today is close to "Boll Weevil." (Thanks to Paul J. Stamler for pointing this out.)
Frankie Baker, in her trial, claimed that Al Britt threatened her with a knife, and she shot him in self-defense. She was acquitted, but later left the area to try to find peace, and worked odd jobs for the rest of her life. She eventually sued Hollywood because of their treatments of the Frankie legend. - RBW
Last updated in version 6.7
File: LI03

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