The History Of

“Frankie & Johnny”

This week, The Friday Night Cat Fight tackles one of the greatest folk tunes of all-time, “Frankie & Johnny.” We trace the history of the tune back to the Nineteenth Century and play 15 different versions of the song. Only 6 versions are in competition in the Cat Fight this week, though. The classic blues rendition of the tune by Mississippi John Hurt leads us off, then we jump to Johnny Cash’s telling of tale as “Frankie’s Man, Johnny” from 1959. From there, Brook Benton and Sam Cooke give the tune a soul twist from the early ’60s. Versions by the Greenwood Country singers and Elvis round out the competition.

The rest of the show is filled out with various blues, country, big band and rockabilly versions of “Frankie & Johnny” that it’ll make any man think twice before doing his woman wrong.

So listen, dig and VOTE for your favorite version of “Frankie & Johnny” on the Friday Night Cat Fight Radio Podcast with Matt The Cat.

Click Here To Listen To The Cat Fight Podcast