This past summer, my good friend Kara Suzanne & I were asked to participate in The 78 Project.  We performed our own version of the murder ballad “Omie Wise,” recorded straight to a 78RPM acetate via a vintage Presto-Direct-to-Disc machine (the same kind famed folk music collector Alan Lomax used to use in field recordings). 

“Omie Wise” is a classic murder ballad about a ne’er-do-well young man who lures Omie Wise with promises of marriage and then drowns her in a river.  Yes, it’s dark matter for song, but remember, folks in the early 20th century didn’t have a tabloid press to spread the sordid details of crimes.  Folk music was how these stories were spread. 

For our version, we re-worked the lyrics of “Omie Wise” so that the original story is integrated with a more modern and familiar murder trial from the 90s that involved a White Bronco.  If that hint didn’t uncover the secret you’ll just have to click on the link and listen to the words to figure out just WHO we’re singing about.