Muncie journalists Keith Roysdon and Douglas Walker have written a couple of entertaining books about true crime in my hometown of Muncie, Indiana: Wicked Muncie and Muncie Murder & Mayhem. The first book contains a chapter about Gerald Chapman, the "Gentleman Bandit," a celebrity gangster who for a time was regarded as Public Enemy Number One and inspired two popular songs, one of which was recorded within weeks of his execution.
The crimes
Chapman's 1921 robbery of a Manhattan mail truck took in about $2.5 million worth of loot, which at the time made it the biggest heist in US history. He escaped from prison twice, shot a policeman during a robbery in Connecticut, and hid out for a time on a farm in Eaton, Indiana.
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| Gerald Chapman |
Chapman is mentioned in Wicked Muncie because he was finally captured in Muncie after local police were tipped off to his whereabouts. He was sent to Connecticut to stand trial for the murder of the policeman, James Skelly, and was quickly sentenced to death. On April 6, 1926, Chapman was executed by means of "a neck-breaking device known as the 'upright jerker'," Roysdon and Walker write.
The songs
In the months following his execution, two popular songs about Chapman appeared: "Story of Gerald Chapman," recorded by Carl Conner, and "Gerald Chapman, What a Pity," recorded by Arthur Fields. Both are what folklorists or musicologists sometimes refer to as event ballads, which are topical songs that capitalize on current news events.
The songs are different from each other in that Conner's ballad is a fairly straightforward account of Chapman's crimes, capture, and execution, whereas Fields' song takes Chapman to task for his poor life choices and wonders what Chapman could have accomplished if he'd stayed on the straight and narrow. The lyrics and audio of both songs are provided below.
Carl ConnerConner's song was recorded in Atlanta on April 23, 1926, less than three weeks after Chapman's execution, and was released by Columbia Records. It's a simple recording that features only voice and guitar. As far as I can tell, this single was Conner's only release, and not much is known about him. He struggles to squeeze in some of the metrically challenged lyrics.
"Story of Gerald Chapman"
Oh, come all you young people and listen while I tell
The fate of Gerald Chapman, who was hung in a prison cell
Just shortly after midnight, he was called to meet his God
And shortly after sunrise was laid beneath the sod
He was a desperate criminal from the cradle to the grave
He murdered a policeman—for it his life he gave
He spent long years in prison in Auburn and Sing Sing
He robbed the mail of over a million, got back in jail again
He was sent to Atlanta prison and tunneled out of that pen
Was shot three times and captured, escaped from the hospital again
He went up in Connecticut and, in New Britain town,
While attempting to rob a store there, he shot James Skelly down
He was captured in Indiana, was brought back to Connecticut state
The jury found him guilty, and hanging was his fate
He died with his secret in his heart and never told his name
Or where his money was hid till his last breath he was [unintelligible]
Before the pardon board in his own behalf he pled
He did not ask for mercy, only justice, he said
When told of the board's decision, he did not mourn or cry
But he only uttered, "I'm not afraid to die"
He entered the death cell and not a word he said
And then two minutes later, he was pronounced dead
Young people all take warning from Gerald Chapman's fate
And lead an honest life before it is too late
Arthur Fields
Arthur Fields' song about Chapman was recorded August 23, 1926, and issued by Boston's Grey Gull Records. Fields was a much better-known artist than Carl Connor, with an extensive discography and a career that spanned over 30 years. If he's remembered today, it's usually for having cowritten the song "Aba Daba Honeymoon," which became a Top 3 pop hit for Debbie Reynolds and Carleton Carpenter in 1950 after it was featured in the film Two Weeks with Love.Fields' performance style on "Gerald Chapman, What a Pity" is odd. He approaches it almost as a recitation but with a sing-song cadence, and then belts out two of the lines for dramatic effect. If you listen to some of Fields' other records, like "Oh! Susanna" from 1925, you'll find that he typically sang in a more conventional manner. The instrumental arrangement of "Gerald Chapman, What a Pity" is also a bit unusual in that it prominently features the xylophone of George Hamilton Green, who was frequently heard on Grey Gull recordings.
This is the tale of a misspent life
A life of folly and crime
Bent on plunder and murder and strife
And the improper use of his time
Gerald Chapman, the bandit king
A robber of Uncle Sam's mail
Why did you live in the underworld
And spend half of your life in jail?
You showed by your speech and your letters
That you could have done better things
Than killing a brave policemen
And leading those bandit rings
And then there was someone who loved you
Loved you as she did her life
Why didn't you walk on the level
And make this poor woman your wife?
If you had gone straight, her innocent babe
Would bear a father's name
But let us all hope he won't grow up
And hear of his father's shame
While the going was good it was all honey
You lived in the best of style
You might have made just as much money
By living a life worthwhile
Was it worth the price? Those endless days
Watching the minutes roll by
Sitting alone back of prison bars
Awaiting the hour to die
You paid the price for taking a life
You might be alive today
If when you stood at the crossroads
You'd chosen the proper way
Gerald Chapman, what a pity
You wasted your life, to be sure
But maybe t'will serve as a lesson
A lesson we hope will endure
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