Todd Albright has a dedication to the 12-string acoustic blues that he doesn’t actually own a 6-string guitar. It’s a music that he was drawn to in his mid-teens, being first introduced to finger style blues when he heard John Lee Hooker and Dave Van Ronk for the first time, the latter via his local public library. At 16, he went to see Van Ronk and ‘Spider’ John Koerner in concert and was hooked. He’s preparing his latest album for release – Blues For Dexter Linwood is Albright’s fourth album, including one on Third Man Records, where he was signed by Jack White. He has played the tenth anniversary of Third Man Records, headlined by the Raconteurs; played at AmericanaFest; toured with Cedric Burnside, The Wood Brothers, Dick Dale; and performed at Merlefest (four times), Juke Joint Festival, SXSW (Third Man Records showcase), The Luck Reunion, and Mile of Music Fest.
Todd Albright shared his thoughts on today’s featured song with Americana UK, telling us that “”Frankie was a good girl, everybody knows.” That first line tells us everything we need to know about the real Frankie Baker, who was tried for the murder of Allen Britt in St. Louis, Missouri in 1899. Frankie was acquitted for the murder, but that’s where her troubles began. Shortly thereafter, Tin Pan Alley songwriters, who combed newspapers for salacious stories quickly landed on this tale and soon after the story was told in sheet music, records, and even in film. Musically, I got the song from Mississippi John Hurt who recorded it for Okeh Records in 1928 during his only pre-war recording session. There have been a lot of versions of the song over the years – some even changing the names of the principle characters – but I think John Hurt’s is the most durable and the most loved of them all. ”
