Skip James: A Sawmill Shootout, Pimping, Bootlegging, and the Son of a Preacher Man
DISGRACELAND
Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts
4.6 • 13.4K Ratings
🗓️ 18 April 2023
⏱️ 38 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
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:
X (formerly Twitter)
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
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Disgraceland is a production of Double Elvis. |
| 0:03.0 | The stories about Skip James are insane. |
| 0:17.0 | One of the last discovered authentic Delta Bluesmen of the 1960s blues revival, |
| 0:23.3 | Skip James shot and perhaps killed more than one man. |
| 0:27.9 | He was a pimp, a bootleger, and a preacher's son. |
| 0:32.1 | Yet Skip James was celebrated, fetid, and embraced for his undeniable musical talent, |
| 0:41.0 | because Skip James made great music. Unlike that music I played for you at the top of the show, that wasn't great music. |
| 0:47.9 | That was a preset loop from my Melotron called Wiggle Waggle Wackle MK2. I played you that clip because I can't afford the rights to |
| 0:57.5 | Ragdoll by Frankie Valley in the four seasons. And why would I play you that specific slice of |
| 1:04.6 | Jersey Boy cheese could I afford it? Because that was the number one song in America on July 26, 1964. And that was the day |
| 1:15.5 | Skip James first played the Newport Folk Festival, an event that would mark the long overdue |
| 1:21.0 | arrival onto the scene of one of the greatest bluesmen of all time, and simultaneously marked |
| 1:26.7 | the beginning of the end for the tortured and doomed |
| 1:29.2 | blues singer. On this episode, Sawmill shootouts, pimping, bootlegging, and the son of a preacher man, |
| 1:37.6 | Delta blues singer Skip James. I'm Jake Brennan, and this is Disgraceland. Balantus is a condition where the head of the penis becomes inflamed, causing pain, swelling, |
| 2:21.2 | itching, a rash, and a strong smelling discharge. Episadius is what it is called when one is born |
| 2:28.1 | without a fully developed urethra. So the opening that is normally at the top of one's penis |
| 2:33.1 | ends up on the side of one's penis. |
| 2:35.9 | This causes a shorter, wider penis that is abnormally shaped. |
| 2:40.3 | Priaphysm is an erection that lasts four or more hours, the result of which is extreme |
| 2:45.8 | and constant pain that cannot be relieved by any normal methods. |
| 2:51.0 | Manually draining the blood from the penis in a hospital room is, as of this writing, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of Exactly Right and iHeartPodcasts and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.