Otto Wood, the Bandit
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€88.99
A01=Trevor McKenzie
Appalachian ballads
Appalachian criminals
Appalachian history
Appalachian music
Author_Trevor McKenzie
blockading in Appalachia
Category=AVLT
Category=DNXC
Category=JBGB
Category=NHK
Country music
crime in Appalachia
eq_art-fashion-photography
eq_bestseller
eq_biography-true-stories
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_music
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
eq_society-politics
Folk music
Great Depression in Appalachia
Great Depression in North Carolina
moonshining in Appalachia
Murder ballads
North Carolina ballads
North Carolina criminals
Old-time music
Otto Wood
Outlaw ballads
prison escapes in North Carolina
prison escapes in Ohio
prison escapes in Tennessee
prison escapes in Virginia
prison escapes in West Virginia
prison reform in North Carolina
the Bandit
West Virginia criminals
Product details
- ISBN 9781469665665
- Weight: 333g
- Dimensions: 155 x 233mm
- Publication Date: 14 Sep 2021
- Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
- Publication City/Country: US
- Product Form: Hardback
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Legions of bluegrass fans know the name Otto Wood (1894-1930) from a ballad made popular by Doc Watson, telling the story of Wood's crimes and his eventual end at the hands of the local sheriff. However, few know the history of this Appalachian figure beyond the larger-than-life version heard in song. Trevor McKenzie reconstructs Wood's life, tracing how a Wilkes County juvenile delinquent became a celebrated folk hero. Throughout his short life, he was jailed for numerous offenses, stole countless automobiles, lost his left hand, and escaped state prison at least four times after a 1923 murder conviction. An early master of controlling his own narrative in the media, Wood appealed to the North Carolina public as a misunderstood, clever antihero. In 1930, after a final jailbreak, police killed Wood in a shootout. The ballad bearing his name first appeared less than a year later.
Using reports of Wood's exploits from contemporary newspapers, his self-published autobiography, prison records, and other primary sources, McKenzie uses this colorful story to offer a new way to understand North Carolina and the South during this era of American history.
Using reports of Wood's exploits from contemporary newspapers, his self-published autobiography, prison records, and other primary sources, McKenzie uses this colorful story to offer a new way to understand North Carolina and the South during this era of American history.
Trevor McKenzie is an archivist and musician living in Boone, North Carolina, where he works with materials in the W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection at Appalachian State University.
David Holt is a four-time Grammy Award-winning bluegrass musician, storyteller, and historian. He lives in the mountains of North Carolina.
Trevor McKenzie is an archivist and musician living in Boone, North Carolina, where he works with materials in the W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection at Appalachian State University.
David Holt is a four-time Grammy Award-winning bluegrass musician, storyteller, and historian. He lives in the mountains of North Carolina.
Trevor McKenzie is an archivist and musician living in Boone, North Carolina, where he works with materials in the W. L. Eury Appalachian Collection at Appalachian State University.
