Ever since the days of Cain and Abel, many a fine murder story has gripped people’s imagination. Jealousy is not the only root cause of man’s murderous impulse. Greed, lust, guilt, power – any one of these, it seems, is sufficient to justify taking a human life. Every day we read of brutal murders being committed. These stories were ripped from newspaper headlines and recast into verse and recorded, often within weeks of the actual event. They became part of the repertoire of hillbilly bands, blues guitarist, jugbands, R&B and Tin Pan Alley entertainers, bluegrass artists and calypso singers.
“Murder!” contains 23 of the best songs of that tradition, songs of brutal crime and vicious killings and ballads about “outlaws”, who took revenge for crimes commited against the poor.