TL;DR -- Quixotic Luddite defeats steam drill, loses life. John Henry and John Hardy were different people. Jubilant recording believed (by some) to include fourth performer.
I discovered this Substack just this morning, and I am overwhelmingly impressed by both the passion and the scholarship you put into it. Just finished reading (well, skimming, really) the article on John Henry. Fantastic job, Rodney! Once you complete all 84 songs from the Anthology, you will have produced a landmark piece of research on American folk music. Very well done, indeed!
I discovered this Substack just this morning, and I am overwhelmingly impressed by both the passion and the scholarship you put into it. Just finished reading (well, skimming, really) the article on John Henry. Fantastic job, Rodney! Once you complete all 84 songs from the Anthology, you will have produced a landmark piece of research on American folk music. Very well done, indeed!