The Truth: Duncan and Brady

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Roughly 130 years ago, an event would transpire that would serve as the basis for the murder ballad Duncan and Brady that is still commonly played to this day. On October 6, 1880, Patrolman James Brady was shot and killed at the Charles Starkes Saloon in downtown Saint Louis, Missouri. A man by the name of Harry Duncan would be arrested, convicted and executed for the crime.

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The prevailing legend is that the crime was something of a reaction to police harassment of African-Americans in the area, which at the time was the “red light” district of Saint Louis. It all started with a simple brawl at the saloon that exploded into gunfire when police arrived on the scene and tried to take suspects into custody. Brady was hit in the hail of bullets and would die from his wounds.

Saint Louis has long been known as a hub for cranking out ballads. In fact, two other well-known murder ballads were spawned from separate incidents within a half-mile radius of the saloon within the next decade. The song Stagger Lee reportedly emerged from a crime that took place quite literally across the street from the Charles Starkes Saloon at the former-Bill Curtis Saloon in 1895. A crime at an apartment building a couple blocks away served as the inspiration for the murder ballad Frankie and Johnny in 1899.

Like many murder ballads, the events depicted in Duncan and Brady are loosely based on the actual events. Due to different variations and/or alternate lyrics that have been added over the years depending on the locale of the performance, the song today probably differs substantially from the original version. In the popular variation of the song, Patrolman James Brady is depicted as a corrupt officer who has “…been on the job too long,” drives around in an electric car, and is looking to “…shoot somebody just to see them die” (sound familiar?). His death is typically depicted as such:

Duncan, Duncan was tending the bar
In walked Brady with a shining star
And Brady says, “Duncan you are under arrest!”
And Duncan shot a hole in Brady’s breast

As is the case with most murder ballads, the truth can be even more interesting than the actual song. Harry Duncan was arrested for the murder of Patrolman James Brady, despite his pleas of innocence. According to Duncan, the crime had actually been committed by bar owner Charles Starkes, who denied it at the time. Duncan was convicted and sentenced to hang for the crime, but fought the decision with a series of appeals that took the case all the way to the United States Supreme Court. Lawyer Walter Moran Farmer presented his case and holds the distinction of being the first African-American attorney to argue a case before the Court. The appeal was denied and Duncan was executed by hanging on July 27, 1894. According to some, Charles Starkes would later confess to the murder on his deathbed.

Like the other buildings listed above that witnessed crimes that would later be represented by song, the Charles Starkes Saloon no longer exists today. However, a walk through downtown Saint Louis is both a walk through the history of American crime as it is something of a tutorial on the birth of American folklore through murder ballads. Through these simple tunes, the events of yesterday are still being recreated through music at bars and saloons around the world to this day.

As far as wearing red to a funeral goes, as is mentioned in some versions of the Duncan and Brady Ballad, it all stems from older African culture.  The Ashanti and Akan ethnic groups in Ghana will typically wear red and black during funerals. For special family members, there is typically a funeral celebration with singing and dancing to honor the life of the deceased. Afterwards, the Akan hold a somber funeral procession and burial with intense displays of sorrow. Other funerals in Ghana are held with the deceased put in elaborate “fantasy coffins” colored and shaped after a certain object, such as a fish, crab, boat, and even an airplane.

In other cultures, wearing red to a funeral is seen as disrespectful.   It is worn intentionally to disrespect the deceased.