Philadelphia Lawyer (song)
Encyclopedia
Philadelphia Lawyer is a Woody Guthrie
song about a divorce lawyer from Philadelphia who is shot by a jealous husband. It is a folksong version of a lawyer joke
. It is also known by the title Reno Blues.
Woody Guthrie
Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie is best known as an American singer-songwriter and folk musician, whose musical legacy includes hundreds of political, traditional and children's songs, ballads and improvised works. He frequently performed with the slogan This Machine Kills Fascists displayed on his...
song about a divorce lawyer from Philadelphia who is shot by a jealous husband. It is a folksong version of a lawyer joke
Lawyer joke
A lawyer joke is a joke, often self-deprecating, about a lawyer or the legal profession. Lawyers when giving a talk, especially to the profession, often employ lawyer jokes as icebreakers....
. It is also known by the title Reno Blues.
Recordings
- Ramblin' Jack Elliot on Hard Travellin' 1989
- Tennessee Ernie FordTennessee Ernie FordErnest Jennings Ford , better known as Tennessee Ernie Ford, was an American recording artist and television host who enjoyed success in the country and Western, pop, and gospel musical genres...
on Sixteen Tons 1960 - Flatt and Scruggs, "1959-1963" (5-vol. CD Set, Bear Family)
- Merle HaggardMerle HaggardMerle Ronald Haggard is an American country music singer, guitarist, fiddler, instrumentalist, and songwriter. Along with Buck Owens, Haggard and his band The Strangers helped create the Bakersfield sound, which is characterized by the unique twang of Fender Telecaster guitars, vocal harmonies,...
as Reno Blues on Like Never Before 2003 - (various artists): "Hillbilly Honeymoon" (Maddox Brothers and Rose) (Acrobat Music, 2004)
- Maddox Brothers and RoseMaddox Brothers and RoseThe Maddox Brothers and Rose, known as America’s Most Colorful Hillbilly Band from the 1930s to the 1950s, consisted of four brothers, Fred, Cal, Cliff and Don Maddox, along with their sister Rose. Cliff died in 1949 and was replaced by brother Henry...
"America's Most Colorful Hillbilly Band, v.1" (Arhoolie Records, 1976/1993) - Bonnie OwensBonnie OwensBonnie Owens , born Bonnie Campbell, was an American country music singer who was married to Buck Owens and later Merle Haggard.-Biography:...
on "Hi-Fi to Cry By" (Capitol Records, 1969) - Rosalie SorrelsRosalie SorrelsRosalie Sorrels is an American folk singer-songwriter who resides in the mountains near Boise, Idaho. She began her public career as a singer and collector of traditional folksongs in the late 1950s. During the early 1960s she left her husband and began traveling and performing at music festivals...
on Songs of Idaho and Utah Folkways RecordsFolkways RecordsFolkways Records was a record label founded by Moses Asch that documented folk, world, and children's music. It was acquired by the Smithsonian Institution in 1987, and is now part of Smithsonian Folkways.-History:...
1961 - Mark ErelliMark ErelliMark Erelli is an American folk singer/songwriter from Reading, Massachusetts. He currently resides in Massachusetts. Erelli is a 1996 graduate of Bates College, where he majored in Biology, and holds a Master's Degree in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology from the University of Massachusetts...
& Jeffrey FoucaultJeffrey FoucaultJeffrey Foucault is a singer-songwriter from Whitewater, Wisconsin. His 2001 debut album, Miles from the Lightning, won much praise from critics and helped to kick-start a career of tours across the United States, Canada, and Europe. Along the way, he has played with such artists as Greg Brown,...
on Seven Curses 2010