Skip James: A Sawmill Shootout, Pimping, Bootlegging, and the Son of a Preacher Man

DISGRACELAND

Jake Brennan

Society & Culture, Music, True Crime

4.6 • 13.1K Ratings

🗓️ 31 December 2025

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Skip James’s most famous lyric was “I’d Rather be the Devil” and he put his money where his mouth was. He is believed to have shot a man dead, spent time as a pimp and a bootlegger, and womanized up and down the United States. Skip may have eventually found religion, and even recognition as the last great bluesman to be discovered by white America, but all that devilish living–and a possible hex–would bring his lifestyle to a brutal end. To view the full list of contributors, see the show notes at ⁠www.disgracelandpod.com⁠. This episode was originally released on April 18, 2023. To listen to Disgraceland ad free and get access to weekly bonus content and more, become a Disgraceland All Access member at ⁠disgracelandpod.com.⁠ Sign up for our newsletter and get the inside dirt on events, merch and other awesomeness - ⁠GET THE NEWSLETTER⁠ Follow Jake and DISGRACELAND: ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠YouTube⁠ ⁠X⁠ (formerly Twitter) ⁠Facebook Fan Group⁠ ⁠TikTok To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Double Elvis.
0:07.7	At Betway Casino, stake 10 pounds and get 150 free spins for new customers.
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0:22.1	At Warwick Business School, we don't just teach business. We put you at the centre of it.
0:27.8	As our London hub in The Shard, you'll be surrounded by global players, bold thinkers and key decision makers.
0:35.0	Talked by industry leaders, you'll step out of the office and into an environment
0:39.1	that's closer to the boardroom than a classroom, where every conversation and connection counts.
0:45.2	Discover our executive education, MBA and DBA programs now by searching WBS, London.
0:53.0	Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis.
1:05.5	The stories about Skip James are insane.
1:10.0	One of the last discovered authentic Delta Bluesmen of the
1:13.0	1960s blues revival, Skip James shot and perhaps killed more than one man. He was a pimp,
1:21.4	a bootleggar, and a preacher's son. Yet Skip James was celebrated, feted, and embraced for his undeniable musical talent,
1:30.3	because Skip James made great music.
1:34.8	Unlike that music I played for you at the top of the show, that wasn't great music.
1:40.3	That was a preset loop from my Melotron called Wiggle Waggle MK2.
1:46.3	I played you that clip because I can't afford the rights to Ragdoll by Frankie Valley in the Four Seasons.
1:53.5	And why would I play you that specific slice of Jersey Boy cheese could I afford it?
2:00.1	Because that was the number one song in America
2:03.1	on July 26, 1964. And that was the day Skip James first played the Newport Folk Festival,
2:11.4	an event that would mark the long overdue arrival onto the scene of one of the greatest
2:15.6	bluesmen of all time, and simultaneously marked the beginning of the of the greatest blues men of all time and simultaneously marked
	...

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