Prison Songs
| Series | |
|---|---|
| The Other Side | |
| Original Broadcast Date | |
| 10/31/1999 | |
| Cast | |
| Joe Frank | |
| Format | |
| 1 hour | |
| Preceded by: | No Angel |
| Followed by: | The Box |
It was a particularly hot day of a sweltering summer in Manhattan.
Prison Songs is a program Joe Frank produced as part of the series The Other Side. It was originally broadcast on October 31, 1999.
Synopsis
Narrator and mother on the beach. Peeping at a naked woman, friend falls to his death. Man's story of coming to USA as a boy and wanting a girl but winds up learning about being Jewish. Prison song. Struggling performer meets with a priest becomes a salesman for priest's materials ends in a strange relationship. Narrator recalls losing a girlfriend like an amputation. "Needs Love" diatribe. Russian immigrant describes person who lost his joy once he became successful. Song. A guy describes being in and out of prison for 18 years. Narrator and an lavish party where a man explodes. Narrator describes his father killed in a grinder when he was five, piano lessons when ten, therapist who dies. Driving a cab for foreign, arguing couple. Contemplations of purpose and success.
Music
- "Angel Dust" - DJ Cam (from Substances, 1996) | YouTube [Intro]
- "Whoa Buck" - C.B. (from Prison Songs • Historical Recordings From Parchman Farm 1947-48 • Volume One: Murderous Home, 1997) | YouTube [12:31]
- "Rosie" - C.B. And Ten Others With Axes (from Prison Songs • Historical Recordings From Parchman Farm 1947-48 • Volume One: Murderous Home, 1997) | YouTube [41:27]
Miscellanea
- The prison songs which appear here and in several other programs are from a compilation of field recording made in 1947 by and released in the 50s on the album "Negro Prison Songs." The album has been re-released, along with previously unpublished material from the same source tapes, on two CDs by Rounder:
- Prison Songs: Historical Recordings from Parchman Farm 1947-48 Volume 1: Murderous Home (Alan Lomax, Rounder CD 1714, 1997, #ASIN: B0000002UV)
- Prison Songs: Historical Recordings from Parchman Farm 1947-48 Volume 2. Don'tcha Hear Poor Mother Calling? (Alan Lomax, Rounder CD 1715, 1997, #ASIN: B0000002UW)