"Blackjack David"
#567 / Flood Time Capsule: 1974
In the Winter of 1974, Dave Peyton and Charlie Bowen’s new musical partnership was not yet two months old and they were still teaching each other their favorite songs.
As reported here earlier, the Peyton-Bowen duo that ultimately gave rise to The 1937 Flood began at a New Year’s Eve party at Dave and Susie’s Mount Union Road home.
From the start, Dave and Charlie knew that, while they shared a number of musical enthusiasms — Bob Dylan, Phil Ochs, The Beatles, Donovan — they also were bringing very different traditions to the union. Charlie’s musical roots were in a love for jazz and blues, hokum music and urban folk music. Dave, by contrast, drew his inspiration from Appalachian roots music, rock and commercial country.
So, while Charlie taught Dave to love Jim Kweskin and his Jug Band, Dave taught Charlie to love The Carter Family, which brings us to today’s featured tune.
About the Song
Peyton had an abiding affection for Maybelle Carter and her sister-in-law Sara, and The Carter Family’s 1940 recording of “Black Jack David” formed the basis for his solo performance of the tune — recorded exactly 52 years ago this very night — as you’ll hear in the video below:
“Black Jack David” is a centuries-old anthem of rebellion that has survived the journey from Scottish dungeons to American jukeboxes.
Originally cataloged as Child Ballad 200 or “The Gypsy Laddie,” the song’s earliest printed versions date back to the early 1700s. However, the legend likely stems from a darker historical reality: the 1624 execution of Johnny Faa, a charismatic gypsy king who was hanged for charming Lady Jean Hamilton away from her aristocratic husband.
While the real history ended in execution for the lover and imprisonment for the lady, the ballad evolved into a celebration of romantic defiance. As the song crossed the Atlantic, it found a natural home in Appalachia.
The Records
As noted, the pivotal moment for the song’s American identity came with Maybelle and Sara Carter’s 1940 recording. They thoroughly Americanized the track, transforming the 18th-century gypsy lad into a romantic outlaw perhaps with more in common with Jesse James than Robin Hood.
Crucially, this version highlights female agency. Unlike many traditional ballads in which wayward wives are punished, the heroine of “Black Jack David” willingly trades her warm feather bed for the cold, cold ground, defying her husband and social station without apparent regret.
A year before the Carter Family disc, Cliff Carlisle made the first recording in 1939, introducing the tune to the American record-buying public. Since then, it has been reinvented dozens of times, highlighted by:
• Bob Dylan, who returned the song to a mysterious minor key on his 1992 album Good As I’ve Been To You.
• The White Stripes, who gave the ballad a crunchy electric makeover in 2003.
• Dave Alvin, who described the song’s timeless appeal simply: it contains the essential elements of folk storytelling: ”lust, babies and horses.”
More from Brother Dave?
Meanwhile, if hearing Peyton in the video above has you hankering for more from our buddy Dave, drop by the free Radio Floodango music streaming service and click on the David Channel for a random playlist of Peyton tunes from over the decades.
Click here to give it a listen,
Meanwhile, in Movie News!…
“These Boys,” Randy Yohe’s new documentary about the 50-year history of The 1937 Flood, continues to receive kudos. We learned today that the film is now the January selection for “Best Feature Documentary” in the East Village New York Film Festival.
The East Village’s festival is dedicated to showcasing the best in independent filmmaking from around the globe. Each month, a selection of winner films are screened in the heart of New York’s iconic East Village. The festival celebrates a wide range of genres and styles, providing a platform for both emerging and established talents.
As reported earlier, “These Boys” also has been selected as a semi-finalist in the Austin International Art Festival. In addition, earlier this year, director Yohe was honored in France by the Cine Paris Film Festival, an international event uniting artists, creatives and filmmakers and focusing on discovery of new talents and works.
Right now “These Boys” is working its way through film festivals like these, but we look forward to sharing the completed film with everyone later this year. We’ll keep you posted.