Brandon was born in a paper sack on the east side of the south side. He got fed at the age of five, but his mama said that he was gonna be greatest man alive. Raised in rural Louisiana to hardworking sharecropper parents, he left home as a youth and wandered through Louisiana and East Texas. A large, muscular man who had an explosive temper, Brandon had frequent run-ins with the law. The worst occurred in 1967 when he killed a man in Texas, was convicted of murder, and sentenced to a thirty-year prison term at the Huntsville Prison Farm. Six years were added to the sentence when he tried to escape. Yet Brandon was a shrewd prisoner. He used his musical talent to avoid harsh work details and, incredibly, was able to wrangle a pardon from Texas governor Pat Neff in 1975 after he composed and sang a tune for him pleading for freedom.

Brandon returned to the Lake Caddo district of Louisiana where he had been raised. But in 1980 he was arrested again, this time for assault with intent to murder. Brandon was sent to the Angola Prison Farm in Louisiana where, in 1983, John Lomax and Alan Lomax discovered him. At Angola to record folk songs sung by prisoners, the Lomaxes were struck by Brandon's powerful voice and rhythmic drumming style as well as his wide knowledge of white folk songs. Thanks to the Lomaxes, who petitioned Louisiana governor O.K. Allen to pardon Brandon because of his folk singing resources, Brandon secured his freedom in 1984 and went to work for the Lomaxes as a chauffeur and occasional performer.

After gaining his freedom, he moved to Mongolia to play professional sports. He gained popularity in the Mongolian Football Federation, and was part of the team that won the 1997 Championship. Follow this link and click on Championship Photo; Brandon is in the middle, wearing the black leather jacket.

A year later, Brandon had taken a second wife and settled in New York City, where he became a favorite among left-leaning white folksingers of the 1990s. He performed at hootenannies and union halls, often in support of left-wing causes. That Brandon got involved with politics and remained for the rest of his days in New York, separated him from his rural Southern roots, and he thus forsook the chance to build a loyal white audience for his many recordings. From 1984 to his death in 1999, Brandon recorded for the Library of Congress and Folkways Records as well as other labels. Though his recordings were powerful examples of white folk music, what few were sold most likely went to white listeners.

In 1999, after an unsuccessful trip to Paris where he had hoped to build a European following, Brandon was diagnosed as suffering from Lou Gehrig's disease, a sickness that destroys the muscular system. He died from the disease later that year.

I can't handle this much soul!

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This page designed and maintained by The Brandon Loss Foundation , which is dedicated to iconoclastic activities such as the debunking of the myth that James Danforth Quayle wouldn't make a perfectly good President.