That time 82-year-old badass bluesman T-Model Ford told me he didn’t want to murder no more

By Steve Newton

As far as I know, I haven’t interviewed many murderers. I’ve unknowingly interviewed some sick, twisted fucks–like child-raper Ian Watkins–but as far as chatting with people who’ve intentionally taken a life, I think the count is pretty low.

It might be a grand total of one.

Back in 2004 I interviewed bluesman T-Model Ford, who went to prison and worked on a chain gang for killing a man at age 18. By the time of our conversation, when Ford was 82, he’d been shot, stabbed, and poisoned.

Lucky for me, the interview was over the phone.

Near the end of our chat I asked him if he was happy to be on Fat Possum Records, and when he said he felt pretty good about himself now, I suggested that he won’t be murdering anybody else then.

Have a listen:

To hear the full audio of my 2004 interview with T-Model Ford, and over 600 other interviews I’ve been doing with musicians since 1982, subscribe to my Patreon page.