Episodes

  • Episode 12: Stagolee (Part 2)

    Episode 12: Stagolee (Part 2)
    Sep 14 2024


    Welcome to Stagolee Part 2! In this episode we hear how Lee Shelton may have got the nickname ‘Stack’, how the ballad circulated throughout the country in a multitude of musical and cultural forms, crossing racial divides, and how its legacy can still be seen in the music of today.


    Sources - Hear My Sad Story, by Richard Polenberg

    - Stagolee Shot Billy by Cecil Brown

    - Wikipedia


    Spotify Playlist

    https://open.spotify.com/playlist/502Tb2TI78URZzIYiW1nSe?si=ykYAUUZaTtGWmalUMHw0IA&pi=a-VVlhNzoiTh-n
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    49 mins
  • Episode 11: Stagolee

    Episode 11: Stagolee
    Aug 28 2024



    On this week’s episode we have the first of another 2 parter, this time told by Amelia! we cover the fascinating and very culturally significant Stagolee aka Stacker Lee aka Stack O’Lee. Here who exactly Stack Lee was and why over 450 versions of the song have been recorded, in almost as many different iterations! And who knew a Stetson could be the cause of so much trouble?! Sources: Stagolee Shot Billy by Cecil Brown, Hear My Sad Story by Richard Polenberg

    Spotify playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/08Zvk6x1xGL0GRW5vd1kY3?si=omZT_NFGQ_6EP3W_9Z0gyw
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Episode 10: Tom Dula (part two)

    Episode 10: Tom Dula (part two)
    Aug 13 2024

    Episode 10: Tom Dula (part two)


    Amelia and Allison (and our special guest) carry on with the highly dramatic “love pentagon” of Tom Dula! Find out what happens to poor Laura and who got away with it! All ending with Allison’s ballad of the secret instigator of this whole mess! Also please note our accompanying playlist of all the various versions of The Ballad of Tom Dooley to enhance your listening experience: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7jxcETWFugDvyVdELTyTK0?si=Hxk84g_bSby7pAny49nCDg


    Sources: The True Story of Tom Dooley by John Edward Fletcher PhD, Unprepared to Die by Paul Slade, and The Ballad of Tom Dooley by John Foster West
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    47 mins
  • Episode 9: Tom Dula (part one)

    Episode 9: Tom Dula (part one)
    Jul 31 2024
    Episode 9: Tom Dula (part one) Dula? Dooley? Potato? Potahto? Amelia and Allison dive deep into the real story behind one of the most popular songs responsible for the big folk boom of the 50s and 60s. This one is SCANDALOUS! Fetch your smelling salts and clutch your pearls as Allison tells the true story of the “round-heeled” Tom Dula! Sources: The True Story of Tom Dooley by John Edward Fletcher PhD, Unprepared to Die by Paul Slade, and The Ballad of Tom Dooley by John Foster West Spotify Companion Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7jxcETWFugDvyVdELTyTK0?si=zo4nSGFeQ2yqdYhNzYc5TA
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    40 mins
  • Special Episode 8: A Necessary Hiatus (Put on Your Own Oxygen Mask First)

    Special Episode 8: A Necessary Hiatus (Put on Your Own Oxygen Mask First)
    Jul 16 2024
    Special Episode 8 - A Necessary Hiatus (Put on Your Own Oxygen Mask First) WE’RE BAAAAAACK!!! Did you miss us? So our return episode marks a departure from our regularly scheduled programming… Amelia tells her story and the reason behind our absence. Trigger Warning - this episode discusses PMADs (Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders) and suicidal ideation. In NYC and the US: The Motherhood Center https://themotherhoodcenter.com/ Postpartum Support International https://www.postpartum.net/ In Australia: https://www.cope.org.au/new-parents/postnatal-mental-health-conditions/asking-help/
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Episode 7: Delia’s Gone

    Episode 7: Delia’s Gone
    May 7 2024
    It’s SOME DARK HOLLER DAY!! On this week’s episode we finally leave North Carolina and take you to the state of Georgia. We cover the tragic murder of young Delia Green at the hands of her also young boyfriend, Moses ‘Cooney Houston’. Her death inspired songs which crossed borders, and generations, sung by the likes of Harry Belafonte, Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan. And Amelia adds her own song to this legacy, attempting to right some of the wrongs done to her character over the years. Source material: ‘Delia’ by John Garst, ‘Sing Out! Delia/Delia’s Gone: A Digital Compendium 1900-1992’ by Patrick Blackman, ‘The Sad Song of Delia Green and Cooney Houston’ by Sean Wilentz, and ‘Murder By Gaslight: Delia’s Gone, One More Round’. Spotify link to playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0tvvHjUKy2CNO3Ol1O5hwO?si=lL9bTQ2iTdCvsjuHVjq4ew&pi=u--TABYgtuTiCM YouTube Link to Johnny Cash’s Delia’s Gone Video: https://youtu.be/Y1iKEPzF1Js?si=wqgmVzqTpM0mQCzV SUPPORT OUR FRIENDS! 15% off the amazing book ‘You’re Not a Real Parent Until…’ by Scott Dooley and Jason Chatfield using promo code DARKHOLLER at yourenotareal.com
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    1 hr
  • Episode 6: Poor Ellen Smith

    Episode 6: Poor Ellen Smith
    Apr 23 2024
    Episode 6: Poor Ellen Smith *AUDIO NOTE: there is a mildly annoying rattle of our mics throughout that Allison only noticed after recording and could not be edited out. My apologies. Lesson learned. Thank you for your patience In our 6th episode we stay in Good Ol’ North Carolina in the late 1800’s as we sing and tell the story behind the ballad of Poor Ellen Smith. Another good gal lead astray with the promise of romance and love. We tell her story and Allison rewrites the tragedy making Ellen “get a bit of her own back” as Amelia likes to say in a song entitled “Hell Hath No Fury”. Also we go on a few ridiculous tangents that are of upmost importance 🤪. Sources: Unafraid To Die by Paul Slade, Hear My Sad Story by Richard Polenberg, and an article in the New York Times: “Across Generations, Traces of a Poor Maid’s Murder” by Dan Barry Link to “Ellen Smith” by Henry Whitter: https://youtu.be/83TW_crEcjg?si=3Dpa76JHIL1M_Zp2 Spotify Playlist of Other Versions: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6C8w0EWxSXp5GmB7BUe8UN?si=jszdxWYRTdq3iXTGKXj1Qw
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Episode 5: The Lawson Family Tragedy

    Episode 5: The Lawson Family Tragedy
    Apr 9 2024
    CONTENT WARNING: This episode may be upsetting for some audiences! Listening Discretion Advised. In Episode 5, Amelia dives into the dark story that’s behind the ballad of the Lawson Family. This one is grim! BUT Allison does the best she can to try to bring up the mood somewhat, with questionable success. For this one, we go back to… you guessed it, NORTH CAROLINA during Christmas in 1930, where a father’s reprehensible choices lead to the worst tragedy imaginable! Allison and Amelia sing the unusually cheerful original murder ballad entitled: The Murder Of The Lawson Family. Then after discussing the true events of this horrific ordeal, the gals sing a haunting original ballad by Amelia entitled “Hey Charlie, Just Leave!” Which is what he SHOULD have done! Amelia has made a wonderful Spotify Playlist where you can hear many different versions of the original ballad, click here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4igVggPk1ZcNVcHrYQiU6P?si=8696eacd36de4f49 Source Material: White Christmas, Bloody Christmas by M. Bruce Jones and Trudy J. Smith The Meaning Of Our Tears by Trudy J. Smith Link to RAINN: The Nation’s Largest Anti-Sexual Violence Organization: https://www.rainn.org/ Or call 800-656-HOPE For Australia, contact 1800Respect: https://www.1800respect.org.au/
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    1 hr and 27 mins