A little over 30 years ago singer/songwriter Joni Mitchell had her limo driver conduct her to the humble home of bluesman Furry Lewis. Joni was out to cop a little inspiration, which she apparently did, as she subsequently named a song after him. At that point, the name of Furry Lewis was suddenly made known to millions of people who'd never heard of him before. Perhaps a few of those folks even sought out Lewis' recordings. Course, back then there were no CD reissues, no YouTube, no mp3s floating around in the ether. But you can check out Mister Furry Lewis now: no need to have your limousine take you to the ghetto! Oh, but as far as Joni's tune, well, Furry wasn't all that pleased about it.
posted by flapjax at midnite on Sep 30, 2007 - 48 comments

One Christmas night in a bar in the Third Ward in St. Louis, Missouri, "Stag" Lee Shelton shot Billy Lyon (cache) in a argument over a hat. This simple crime went on to inspire a song that lives on after more than one hundred years. (more inside)
posted by 1f2frfbf on Dec 19, 2006 - 45 comments