Frankie and Johnny

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Gene Autry - Frankie and Johnny , 1929
Johnny Cash - Frankie and Johnny , live at the Town Hall Party , 1958

Frankie and Johnny (alternatively: Frankie and Albert , Frankie Was a Good Girl ) is the title of an American folk song about the dramatic end of a love affair.

It dates back to the murder of Al Britt by Frankie Baker in St. Louis in 1899 . The first printed version of the song appeared in 1904, Hughie Cannon is given as composer and lyricist. In the song, the unlucky Johnny is seduced by Nellie Bly and turns away from Frankie, whereupon Frankie becomes jealous and shoots him in revenge.

The song has been recorded by numerous artists including Mississippi John Hurt (1928), Brook Benton , Lonnie Donegan , Mae West , Johnny Cash , Sam Cooke , Stevie Wonder , Jerry Lee Lewis , Gene Vincent , Louis Armstrong , Bob Dylan , Charley Patton , Duke Ellington and Sammy Davis Jr. The most successful version was published in 1959 by Johnny Cash under the title Frankie's Man, Johnny and reached number 9 in the country charts and number 57 in the Billboard pop charts. Also in 1959, Johnny Seas version placed in the country charts at number 13.

The plot of the song was also the template for the film Frankie and Johnny with Elvis Presley .

One from Cyd Charisse to the version by Sammy Davis Jr. danced scenery of the song is part of the feature film Meet Me in Las Vegas .

Trivia

There is a verse in the song in which Franky catches her unfaithful husband with his lover, Nellie Bly . It's probably not this Nellie Bly , but the original character from the Stephen Foster song .

Remarks

  1. ^ Brown, Cecil (2011). "Frankie and Albert / Johnny". In Smith, Jessie Carney: Encyclopedia of African American popular culture . Santa Barbara, California: ABC_CLIO, LLC., 2011, pp. 542-6
  2. ↑ http://theanthologyofamericanfolkmusic.blogspot.it/2010/01/frankie-mississippi-john-hurt.html
  3. ↑ US Catalog Number: Columbia 41371; the B-side You Dreamer You reached number 13 on the country charts
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel: The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits. 1944-2006 . 2nd Edition. New York, NY: Billboard Books, 2006, p. 74
  5. ^ Whitburn, Joel: Top Pop Singles 1955-1993 . Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Ltd., 1994, p. 95
  6. ^ US catalog number: NRC 019; Whitburn, Joel: The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits. 1944-2006 . 2nd Edition. New York, NY: Billboard Books, 2006, p. 306
  7. ↑ Stephen Foster - Nelly Bly. genius.com, accessed January 25, 2020 .