Author: chimesfreedom

Editor-in-chief, New York.

That Dirty Little Coward That Shot Mr. Howard

Ford Jesse James“Now the people held their breath,
When they heard of Jesse’s death;
They wondered how he’d ever come to fall;
Robert Ford it was a fact,
He shot Jesse in the back,
While Jesse hung a picture on a wall.”

On April 3, 1882, Robert “Bob” Ford shot Jesse James in the back, thus ensuring both men would be immortalized in one of the great American folk songs. The song “Jesse James,” with the lyrics quoted above, referred to the outlaw Jesse Woodson James by his famous real name and by the alias he was using at the time of his death, Thomas Howard. The song has been covered by singers such as Woody Guthrie, Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen, and Van Morrison.

Singer-songwriter Nick Cave performed a version of the song in the excellent 2007 movie, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, with Brad Pitt as Jesse James and Casey Affleck as Robert Ford. This scene from the movie shows how Ford laid poor Jesse in his grave. Note that these clips contain spoilers from the movie.

Here is Nick Cave’s appearance in the movie, singing “Jesse James” in a saloon to Robert Ford (Affleck).

As for the aftermath of Jesse’s death, Ford and his brother Charles Ford had been promised a large reward by Missouri Governor Thomas T. Crittenden, but they only received a small portion of what was promised. And they were surprised at the hostility they received for killing James.

Both brothers met tragic ends. In 1884, the terminally ill Charles killed himself. Robert Ford, like James, would later be assassinated. A little more than ten years after Jesse’s death, on June 8, 1892 Edward O’Kelley surprised Ford by calling his name in Ford’s Colorado tent saloon, shooting Ford dead as he turned. Robert Ford’s tragic end is captured in this beautiful ending sequence from The Assassination of Jesse James.

Robert Ford and Jesse James are forever linked, although Jesse’s family understandably did not appreciate the association. Ford’s tombstone reads, “The man who shot Jesse James.” By contrast, Jesse James’s tombstone would read: “Jesse W. James, Died April 3, 1882, Aged 34 years, 6 months, 28 days, Murdered by a traitor and a coward whose name is not worthy to appear here.”

Photo of Robert Ford via public domain.

What is your favorite story of an outlaw’s death? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Brandon Flowers and Others Cover “New” Johnny Cash Songs

    French video series La Blogothèque has released a video of three performers covering tracks off of the upcoming Johnny Cash release, Out Among The Stars. As we previously reported, the new album puts together tracks that Cash recorded in 1981 and 1984, including one song that David Allan Coe had a hit with in 1985. This new video features Brandon Flowers (of the Killers), Father John Misty, and Local Natives each covering one song from the CD, performing isolated in the desert.

    First, Flowers performs “I Came to Believe.” Father John Misty plays “Baby Ride Easy,” which is a duet by Cash and June Carter Cash on the album. Finally, Local Natives gives their take on the title song from the album, “Out Among the Stars.” Check it out.

    If you want to hear a little more from the actual Johnny Cash album, here is another track that appears on the album. Johnny Cash joins Waylon Jennings singing the Hank Snow song, “I’m Movin’ On.”

    Out Among the Stars hits stores Tuesday, April 1. For those excited about the new album from Johnny Cash, there are more unreleased Cash recordings in the vaults.

    Will you get the new Johnny Cash album? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    John Denver’s First Number One Song

    In March 1974, John Denver had his first number one song with “Sunshine on My Shoulders,” aided by a number of factors.

    Sunshine on My Shoulders

    On March 30, 1974, John Denver’s song “Sunshine on My Shoulders” became his first number one hit. The song — co-written by Denver, Dick Kniss, and Mike Taylor — first appeared on the album Poems Prayers & Promises in 1971. After originally appearing as a B-side to “I’d Rather Be a Cowboy (Lady’s Chains),” the song was then re-released as an A-side single in 1973.

    Denver’s previous single, “Rocky Mountain High” was a hit too, but it only went to number nine in 1973 on the Hot 100 chart. The timing  may have had something to do with the popularity of “Sunshine on My Shoulder.” The song about sunshine warming you up might be popular as winter was coming to a close in March.

    There is another reason the timing may have helped the song’s popularity. The sad-sounding song might might have received a boost from the fact that the nation was in a melancholy mood as the Watergate scandal dragged on in 1974.

    Another reason that “Sunshine on My Shoulders” may have gotten a boost to be Denver’s first number one song is that in 1973 the song had appeared in a TV movie, “Sunshine,” which starred Cliff DeYoung and Cristina Raines. The sad sound of the song perfectly fit the storyline, about a woman who learns she has terminal cancer and then starts to tape record a journal for her musician-husband and their daughter.

    In the movie, which later led to a short-lived TV series, Cliff DeYoung sings “Sunshine on My Shoulders.” You may hear the version DeYoung, who was in a band before he began his acting career, on YouTube (around the five-minute mark).

    More recently, Carly Rae Jepson covered the song for a new generation. Her version appears on her 2008 album Tug of War.

    Despite the sad sound of the original version, the lyrics are more uplifting than depressing. Things cannot be too bad if the singer promises, “If I had a day that I could give you, I’d give to you a day just like today.” Further, the only crying is from sunshine in the eyes.  And most of the time sunshine makes the singer high.

    Denver, who passed away in October 1997, explained in 1974 that he wrote “Sunshine on My Shoulders” because he was feeling down and “wanted to write a feeling-blue song.” But he realized that the song ended up being more optimistic than he had originally intended. The song “is what came out.”

    What is your favorite John Denver song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Snow Angels (Missed Movies)

    When one considers that much of the U.S. has snow on the ground for a significant part of the year, it is somewhat surprising that so few movies are placed in that setting. There are the Christmas movies.  But where are the movies set in the frigid and dreary months of January and February?

    Perhaps because I grew up in the snow and later lived part of my life in areas without snow, I especially enjoy a good snow movie. And there are some excellent movies set in the snow such as the sad The Sweet Hereafter (1997).  There’s also Paul Newman’s fine performance in Nobody’s Fool (1994).  Murder sagas also seem to work well in the snow, as shown by Fargo (1996) and Insomnia (2002).

    Snow Angels
    photo: Adam Colton (licensed for reuse)

    One of my favorite snow movies, though, is Snow Angels (2006).  The film is set in a 1970s small town in Pennsylvania.  The time of year is during the weeks when snow stays on the ground but it seems too cold for more snowflakes.

    In the opening scene of Snow Angels, a marching band practices as their director tries to inspire them.  The students suddenly hear gun shots in the distance. The screen goes dark and we jump to “weeks earlier.” So we know from the start that somehow at least one person is heading toward a tragedy.

    There are tragic turns in the movie, but I will not ruin the film. The movie focuses on two families. In one, Annie (Kate Beckinsale) and Glenn (Sam Rockwell) are separated spouses struggling with the failure of their marriage while trying to take care of their young daughter.

    Annie works with and used to babysit for teenager Arthur (Michael Angaro).  And the other family focus is Arthur’s family. While Arthur is developing a relationship with a new girl at school, his parents are separating.

    The acting in Snow Angels is superb and believable. Sam Rockwell may not immediately come to your mind when listing the top actors today, but he continues to make his every movie worth watching. Here, as the troubled Glenn, he is outstanding.  He makes viewers sympathize with someone they probably would not want to be around in real life.

    I had seen Snow Angels several years ago.  So I watched it again before writing this entry. I enjoyed the movie the second time too, although it may not be a movie you will want to watch repeatedly.  Although there is a great deal of sadness in the movie, one may also find a little hope toward the end.

    The movie is based on the book Snow Angels by Stewart O’Nan. Apparently the book included someone making a literal snow angel, while the movie does not. Still, the title suits the movie in a number of ways.  “Snow Angels” may refer to real angels or to the cold emotions and isolation faced by many of the characters.

    If you are looking for a light comedy or uplifting story for this weekend, you should look elsewhere. But if you are in the mood for an intense drama that keeps you enthralled, you may like Snow Angels.

    The trailer gives away too much of the movie.  So, you are better off not seeing the trailer before seeing the movie. But if you want to know more before deciding whether to watch the film, the trailer for Snow Angels is here.

    “Snow Angel” the Song

    Instead of the trailer I will introduce you to an excellent band from Ohio called Over the Rhine.  The band consists of the husband and wife team of Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist.

    Below is a fan recording of their live performance of their beautiful song, “Snow Angel.” The song is not related to the movie of the similar name. The singular “Snow Angel” is off their album of the plural Snow Angels (2008).

    In the song, the singer tells of saying goodbye to her “one and only love” who goes off to war (“The rumors of a distant war / Called my true love’s name”). But the man is killed during the war, leaving the singer heartbroken (“Snow angel, snow angel / Someday I’m gonna fly / This cold and broken heart of mine / Will one day wave goodbye”).

    Like the movie Snow Angels, the song “Snow Angel” captures something about the pain and loneliness of winter.  It also reminds us to enjoy our days of warmer weather.

    Movies You Might Have Missed is a Chimesfreedom series to inform our readers about good movies that did not receive the attention they deserved.

    If you saw     Snow Angels, what did you think? Any thoughts on the very last scene? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Christopher Walken’s Movie Dance Montage

    Christopher Walken Dancing
    Huffington Post recently compiled a video of movie scenes with actor Christopher Walken dancing. The clip features scenes of Walken’s moves from more than fifty movies, all set to C+C Music Factory’s “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now).” Movies featured in the montage include The Deer Hunter (1978), Batman Returns (1992), Wayne’s World 2 (1993), Pulp Fiction (1994), Wedding Crashers (2005), Hairspray (2007), and A Late Quartet (2012). Seeing the large number of films that feature Walken’s moves, I wonder if some filmmakers hire him on that talent alone. 2025 Update: Unfortunately, the video is no longer available for embedding.

    Walken has not only danced in movies. With all of Walken’s great film work, he is also known for his footwork in the great video for Fatboy Slim‘s “Weapon of Choice.”

    What is your favorite Christopher Walken dance? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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