01 | Crime Reporting, Sit-in Protests, Newspaper Competition | Fisk Jubilee Quartet | April 2018 Issue

04/03/18 • 37 min

The Stringbean killings. The Marcia Trimble murder. The civil rights sit-in protests. These are just a few of the big news stories covered by Larry Brinton, an award-winning reporter who worked for the Nashville Banner in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s. Host Allen Forkum (editor of The Nashville Retrospect newspaper) interviews Brinton, who also discusses the Haynie Gourley case, competition with The Nashville Tennessean, the samurai sword case, and more (segment begins at 07:30).

[EDITOR'S NOTE: Be sure to also listen to Episode 13 for the second part of this interview with Larry Brinton, who died on July 25, 2019. And watch our video presentation “True Crime Nashville: The Reporting of Larry Brinton.”]

Larry Brinton being interviewed in his home in March 2018.

From the November 2010 issue of The Nashville Retrospect: On July 22, 1974, Dist. Atty. Gen. Tom Shriver (left), Banner reporter Larry Brinton (middle) and Metro Detective Davie Roberts wait as police divers search a nearby pond for the Stringbean’s satchel, which Brinton and some confederates had secretly recovered earlier in the day in order to scoop The Tennessean on the story. In the background, John Brown, who had shot and killed Grand Ole Opry star David “Stringbean” Akeman the previous November, is seen walking, handcuffed and under escort. (Image: Nashville Public Library, Nashville Room, photo by Jack Gunter)

Also in Episode 01, hear the story of “Golden Slippers,” a slave song recorded by the Fisk Jubilee Quartet in 1909 (segment begins at 33:10).

And finally, Allen Forkum reviews old newspaper articles reprinted in the April 2018 issue of The Nashville Retrospect, including original 1968 coverage of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. assassination and the resulting violence in Nashville (segment begins at 01:30).

SHOW NOTES

A list of stories relating to this episode contained in archive issues of The Nashville Retrospect (archive issues can be ordered by clicking here or on the issue links below):

• “75 Students Arrested,” Nashville Tennessean, Feb. 28, 1960 (The Nashville Retrospect, February 2010)

• “Nashville Banner & The Sit-Ins” by Larry Brinton (The Nashville Retrospect, February 2010)

• “Slain Girl Found in Woodbine Lot,” Nashville Banner, Dec. 2, 1969 (Kathy Jones murder, The Nashville Retrospect, November 2009)

• “Before Marcia Trimble” by Larry Brinton (The Nashville Retrospect, August 2011)

• “Police Push For Killers Of Stringbean, Wife,” Nashville Banner, Nov. 12, 1973 (The Nashville Retrospect, November 2010)

• “The Stringbean Murders” by Larry Brinton (The Nashville Retrospect, November 2010)

• “Samurai Sword” by Larry Brinton (The Nashville Retrospect, April 2010)

• See the April 2018 issue of The Nashville Retrospect for other stories referenced on this episode.

Previous Episode

00 | Trailer for the new Nashville Retrospect podcast

Hear the trailer for the Nashville Retrospect podcast, a new podcast covering historical stories about Nashville, Tenn., hosted by Allen Forkum, editor and publisher of The Nashville Retrospect newspaper.

Next Episode

02 | Women’s Suffrage Battle | Wolfman Jack at 15WLAC | May 2018 Issue

The fight for women’s right to vote came down to a final political battle that took place in Nashville. Host Allen Forkum (editor of The Nashville Retrospect newspaper) interviews Dr. Carole Bucy, the Davidson County Historian and professor of Tennessee history at Vol State Community College, about that dramatic struggle in the summer of 1920 over the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which recognized women’s right to vote. (Segment begins at 04:40)

Pictured at Nashville’s Hermitage Hotel in August 1920 are (left to right):Mrs. James S. Pinckard, president-general of the Southern Women’s League for the Rejection of the Susan B. Anthony Amendment; a Confederate veteran who (according to a hand-written caption on the photo) “‘fought and bled’ for Tennessee’s states rights”; and Josephine A. Pearson, president of the Tennessee Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage. (Image: Tennessee State Library and Archives, Josephine A. Pearson Papers)

This editorial cartoon, titled “Lest We Forget,” appeared in the Los Angeles Examiner on Aug. 21, 1920. It is one of many from the newspaper clippings collection of Carrie Chapman Catt, then president of the National Woman Suffrage Association. The Southern-gentlemen stereotype was used in many cartoons of the time to represent Tennessee. (Image: Tennessee State Library and Archives, Carrie Chapman Catt Papers)

Also in Episode 02, Tom Henderson talks about his personal recording of the April 1975 15WLAC radio show in which deejays Wolfman Jack and Spiderman Harrison ushered a programming change from rhythm and blues and soul to full-time rock ‘n’ roll. Hear audio excerpts from the pivotal show, including appearances by Muhammad Ali, Oprah Winfrey and deejay Hoss Allen. (Segment begins at 26:50.)

Nationally-syndicated deejay Wolfman Jack (right) and WLAC deejay Spiderman Harrison co-hosted the occasion, at which hundreds of people gathered at the Nashville radio station’s studio. (Image: Bill Massey)

Audio of the pivotal 15WLAC radio show was captured on reel-to-reel tape by Tom Henderson. Pictured are the tape and his index cards with notes.

And finally, Allen Forkum reviews some of the stories in the May 2018 issue of The Nashville Retrospect, including: Minnie Pearl's opinion of “new” country music (1986); Michael Jordan's baseball games at Greer Stadium (1994); photos of prom preparations at local high schools (1966); a shift in black votes away from the Republican party (1907); and a "fearful tornado" (1868). (Segment begins at 01:30.)

SHOW NOTES

A list of stories relating to this episode contained in archive issues of The Nashville Retrospect (archive issues can be ordered by clicking here or on the issue links below):

• “Suffrage Amendment Adopted By House,” Nashville Tennessean, Aug. 19, 1920 (The Nashville Retrospect, August 2010)

• “Battle Began For Suffrage Many Years Ago,” Nashville Tennessean, Aug. 19, 1920 (The Nashville Retrospect, August 2010)

• “Burn Changed Vote On Advice Of His Mother,” Nashville Tennessean, Aug. 20, 1919, (The Nashville Retrospect, August 2020)

• “Ratified! Tennessee Women and the Right to Vote: A Look at the State Museum Exhibition,” The Nashville Retrospect, August 2020

• “Epicenter of the Fight for Women Suffrage; Opposing Sides Headquartered in Nashville’s Hermitage Hotel,” by Tom Vickstrom, The Nashville Retrospect, August 2020

• “Rock ’n’ Roll Takeover” by Tom Henderson III, The Nashville Retrospect, May 2018

• See the May 2018 issue of The Nashville Retrospect for other stories referenced in this episode.