13 | Larry Brinton | Cash-for-Clemency Scandal, ‘Marie’ Movie | JFK Visit, Janet March Murder | August 2019 Issue

08/01/19 • 52 min

Veteran reporter Larry Brinton recalls growing up in Hillsboro Village, how he became a journalist, and more of his big news stories, including the Janet March murder in 1996 and President Kennedy’s Nashville visit in 1963. This special podcast, on the occasion of Brinton’s recent death, is a continuation of the interview from Episode 01 by host Allen Forkum (editor of The Nashville Retrospect newspaper). (Segment begins at 04:14)

[EDITOR’S NOTE: For even more, see our video presentation “True Crime Nashville: The Reporting of Larry Brinton."]

Larry Brinton is shown in photos he estimated were taken in the early 1940s. In the left photo, Larry (left) stands with his brother, Reuben Brinton. On the right, Larry stand with his sisters Ann and Jean. Larry was born on Sept. 8, 1930, and died on July 25, 2019. (Images: Larry Brinton)

Larry Brinton is pictured in a 1964 “mugshot” for the Nashville Banner. He started working for the Banner after leaving the Navy in 1954, first as an obituary writer, then as a police reporter. (Image: Nashville Public Library, Nashville Room)

In this snapshot, Perry March (left) is pictured with Brinton at March’s house in Ajijic, Mexico. Brinton was the only reporter to whom March would talk. Brinton said of March: “From day one I was convinced he had murdered his wife of nine years. There wasn’t a doubt in my mind, ever.” (Image: Larry Brinton)

Part of the original caption from the Dec. 26, 1961, Nashville Banner: “Banner color cameras record the drama of the spectacular blaze which destroyed the historic Maxwell House Monday night, leaving in ruins one of the most famous landmarks in the Nashville area. Roaring flames ate through the roof of the century-old building while soot-smeared firemen fought stubbornly to bring the angry blaze under control. ...” (Image: Nashville Public Library, Nashville Room, photo by John Morgan)

Country music star Patsy Cline is pictured in publicity photo. Brinton covered the story of her 1963 death by visiting the crash site of her airplane in Camden, Tenn. (Image: Nashville Public Library, Nashville Room)

President John F. Kennedy steps out of his open-top limousine at Vanderbilt’s Dudley Field in May 1963. During his visit, Brinton had an encounter with the president at the Hermitage Hotel. (Image: Nashville Public Library, Nashville Room)

Also hear the award-winning journalist discuss his role in exposing the cash-for-clemency scandal of Gov. Ray Blanton, which eventually led to Brinton’s portrayal of himself in the 1985 movie “Marie.” (Segment begins at 42:25)

Marie Ragghianti stands in front of Nashville’s Federal Courthouse in 1977. While heading the state parole board, Ragghianti met secretly with Larry Brinton in September 1976, saying that she suspected paroles were being sold by Gov. Ray Blanton’s administration. (Image: Nashville Public Library, Nashville Room, photo by Dean Dixon)

The front page of the Oct. 23, 1976, Nashville Banner on which Brinton’s story about the cash-for-clemency scandal first appeared. (Image: Tennessee State Library and Archives)

In the 1985 Warner Brothers movie “Marie” about the cash-for-clemency scandal, Brinton portrayed himself. This screen capture from the movie’s trailer shows Sissy Spacek as Marie Ragghianti with Brinton in the background. (Image: Warner Brothers)

And finally, Allen Forkum reviews some of the contents of the August 2019 issue, including the 1926 execution of the “Petting Party Bandit” and an 1899 outbreak of illness in Nashville due to contaminated buttermilk. (Segment begins at 01:48)

SHOW NOTES

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

• “Growing Up in Hillsboro Village” by Larry Brinton, The Nashville Retrospect, October 2016

• “4 Opry Stars Die In Crash,” by Larry Brinton and Clay Harges, Nashville Banner, March 6, 1963 (The Nashville Retrospect, March 2010)

• “Police Push For Killers Of Stringbean, Wife,” by Robert Glass, Nashville Banner, Nov. 12, 1973 (

[EDITOR’S NOTE: For even more, see our video presentation “True Crime Nashville: The Reporting of Larry Brinton."]

The front page of the Oct. 23, 1976, Nashville Banner on which Brinton’s story about the cash-for-clemency scandal first appeared. (Image: Tennessee State Library and Archives)

SHOW NOTES

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

• “Growing Up in Hillsboro Village” by Larry Brinton, The Nashville Retrospect, October 2016

• “4 Opry Stars Die In Crash,” by Larry Brinton and Clay Harges, Nashville Banner, March 6, 1963 (The Nashville Retrospect, March 2010)

• “Police Push For Killers Of Stringbean, Wife,” by Robert Glass, Nashville Banner, Nov. 12, 1973 (

Previous Episode

12 | Early TV, Hermitage Hotel, WWII Marriage | ‘Near You’ and Music City USA | March 2019 Issue

Dancing at the Hermitage Hotel. Being at teenager at the start of World War II. Confronting Jim Crow injustices. Host Allen Forkum (editor of The Nashville Retrospect newspaper) interviews 94-year-old Mary B. Williams, who also recalls her career as a presenter in the early days of Nashville television, when commercials were performed live and occasionally made for humorous bloopers. (Segment begins at 04:40)

(Special thanks to Tom Vickstrom)

Mary Binkley Williams and her husband, Thurman P. Williams, are pictured at the time of her marriage in 1942 when she was 18 years old. She grew up at 1509 Russell St. in East Nashville before going with her husband to Virginia the day after their marriage. (Image: Mary B. Williams)

The Hermitage Hotel, Nashville’s first million-dollar hotel, opened in 1910 and is pictured here on a vintage postcard. Mrs. Williams has fond memories of the hotel, from fraternity dances, to sorority lunches, and even her honeymoon. (Image: Mike Slate)

Mrs. Williams landed a job modeling clothes for a N.Y. designer at Tinsley’s, a women’s clothing store in downtown Nashville. These advertisements appeared in the Jan. 21, 1945, Nashville Tennessean. (Image: Newspapers.com)

Original caption from the Aug. 13, 1950, Nashville Tennessean: “Behind the Camera’s Eye—Shelton Weaver, WSM-TV studio engineer, makes an adjustment on one of the station’s expensive television cameras. A single tube used in the camera costs $1,300.” In the podcast, Mrs. Williams recalls her career as at presenter in live commercials at WSM-TV. (Image: Newspapers.com, photo by Robert C. Holt Jr.)

Mrs. Williams today lives in the Green Hills area of Nashville.

Also hear Don Cusic, Curb professor of music industry history at Belmont University, tell the story of Nashville’s first big hit record, “Near You” in 1947, and the beginnings of Music City USA. Hear Donia Dickerson recount the origins of the song, written by her father, Francis Craig, a famed Big Band leader in Nashville. (Segment begins at 46:00)

(Special thanks to Beth Odle)

Francis Craig and His Orchestra are picture at a performance at the Hermitage Hotel. (Image: Nashville Public Library, Nashville Room)

Original caption from the Aug. 28, 1947, Nashville Banner: “Francis Craig, Nashville orchestra leader, is shown with the first record of ‘Near You,’ the song written and recorded by him and which is now the most popular choice on the juke boxes of America. Craig has broken an all-time record by being the first Southern man to write, play, and record a song in the South and see it make the Hit Parade.” The record would go on to sell millions of copies and start Nashville on the road to being a recording center. (Image: Nashville Public Library, Nashville Room)

This sheet music for Francis Craig’s “Near You” is part of his collection of papers at the Nashville Public Library, which was donated by his daughter, Donia Craig Dickerson.

And finally, Allen Forkum reviews some of the contents of the March 2019 issue, including Vanderbilt University first women’s basketball team in 1897, the death of Daniel Boone in 1809, and an obscenity case against homosexual movies in 1979. (Notice: The mentioned Clover Bottom Massacre should have been 1780, not 1870.) (Segment begins at 02:00)

SHOW NOTES

A list of articles relating to this episode that you can find in archive issues of The Nashville Retrospect (archive issues and be orderd by clicking here or on the issues links below):

• “Craig’s ‘Near You’ Tops Hit Parade,” Nashville Banner, Aug. 28, 1947 (The Nashville Retrospect, August 2011)

• “Artifacts: Francis Craig photo and record” by Clinton J. Holloway, The Nashville Retrospect, July 2015

• “Francis Craig’s Orchestra To Play For WSM Opening,” Nashville Banner, Oct. 4, 1925 (The Nashville Retrospect, October 2009)

Links relating to this episode:

*My Cup Runneth Over,” by Mary B. Williams

Nashville Sound: An Illustrated Timeline by Don Cusic

“Francis Crai...