Podcast Summary
The Costs of Obsession: A Tale of Genius and Neglect: Obsession can lead to neglecting relationships and personal growth, and can result in negative consequences despite initial passion and dedication.
Obsession, while driven by passion and dedication, can have significant costs and consequences. This was explored through the peculiar tale of Richard Riley Shepherd, a musician and writer who spent decades on a single grand project. Although he was a genius and a great father figure to his daughter, Stasha, Riley was also a compulsive liar and a small-time crook. His obsession with his work led him to neglect his relationships and eventually led him to a dead-end. This story serves as a reminder of the importance of balance in our pursuits and the potential risks of becoming too consumed by one thing. It also highlights the complexities and nuances of human beings, who can be both brilliant and flawed at the same time.
A life of art, ambition, and hardship: Riley's claim to fame, 'Blue Christmas,' was not his creation. Instead, he funded an encyclopedia of folk music through investments.
Riley's life was filled with artistic aspirations and connections to Hollywood and music, but was also marked by financial struggles and deception. Although he claimed to have written the famous song "Blue Christmas," it was actually penned by others. Instead, his most significant artistic project was an encyclopedia of folk music, which he funded through investments from others. Despite his charisma and stories of success, Riley faced financial difficulties and even deceit, as revealed when a caller accused him of taking their savings. Riley's life was a complex mix of art, ambition, and hardship.
The Multitalented and Entrepreneurial Cowboy Philosopher: Born in North Carolina, Riley Shepherd dropped out of school and pursued a career in music, becoming a prolific songwriter and savvy businessman in the world of hillbilly music, despite his unreliability and penchant for playing fast and loose.
Dr. Richard Riley Shepherd, also known as the Cowboy Philosopher, was a multitalented and entrepreneurial figure in the world of hillbilly music. Born in North Carolina, he dropped out of school and pursued a career in music, starting out in minstrel shows and eventually moving to Chicago where he toured with hillbilly groups and cultivated his image as a cowboy crooner. He was a prolific songwriter, often releasing a new record every month, and a savvy businessman who used various stage names and hustled to sell his songs to record labels. Despite his unreliability and penchant for playing fast and loose, he managed to make a name for himself with his educational lectures and continued to write and perform music. However, his personal life was not without consequences, as evidenced by Marion Kimineck's discovery that her father was Riley Shepherd.
A Charismatic Musician's Deceitful Life: Despite his charm and talent, a charismatic musician's life was marked by instability and deceit, leaving a trail of broken relationships and unpaid debts.
Riley Shepard, a charismatic musician, used deceit and manipulation to evade responsibilities in both his personal and professional life. He left a trail of broken relationships and unpaid debts, eventually moving to Hollywood to start a new project, an encyclopedia of folk music. However, his past caught up with him, and when his daughter Stasha confronted him about his dishonesty, he tried to smooth things over with charm and apologies. Despite his apologies, Stasha's relationship with her father was marked by his constant evasiveness and deceit. Riley's life was filled with shortcuts and deceitful schemes, including writing porn under a pseudonym, to make a quick buck. Despite his talent and charm, Riley's life was characterized by instability and dishonesty.
The speaker's father's unstable life left a lasting impact: The speaker cherished her father's affectionate moments but was hurt by his deceitful actions, and regretted not asking him about his regrets before he passed away.
The speaker's father, Riley Shepard, was a con man who led an unstable life, which included fleeing their home due to unpaid rent and leaving his family for extended periods of time. These experiences left a lasting impact on the speaker, who struggled with feelings of love and distaste towards her father. Despite his deceitful actions, the speaker cherished the memories of her father's affectionate moments, such as making smoke rings and taking her to the brown derby. However, as Riley grew older, he became agitated about his past actions and regretted the harm he had caused. Unfortunately, the speaker did not ask him to share more about his regrets before he passed away. After Riley's death, the speaker ensured that his obituary accurately reflected his complex past by including all of his known pseudonyms.
Riley Shepherd's Posthumous Legacy: A Folk Music Encyclopedia: Riley Shepherd, a drifter and con man, left behind an extensive encyclopedia of American folk music, consisting of 43,000 titled songs, despite his questionable past.
Riley Shepherd, a drifter and a con man, left behind an impressive and monumental work on American folk music. After his death, his encyclopedia, which he had been working on for over two decades, was discovered at the Library of Congress. In a letter to the registrar of copyrights in 1976, Riley described his project, which involved indexing over 43,000 titles of folk songs, including variants in multiple languages, and cross-referencing them with their sources. Despite not having access to a computer, Riley hoped to make his encyclopedia accessible to a wider audience. The Library of Congress offered suggestions and even held some of his samples. The enormity of the project became clear to folklorist Steve Winick as he sifted through the materials, which consisted of 43,000 individual sheets that needed to be sorted into 4,000 categories and cross-referenced. Riley's work represented a significant contribution to the study of American folk music, showcasing his dedication and meticulousness despite his less-than-reputable past.
Uneducated Man's Quest for American Folk Song Index: An uneducated man, Riley Shepard, cataloged thousands of American folk songs decades before technology, demonstrating determination and human curiosity's power in folk music history.
Riley Shepard, a man with a fifth-grade education and an unconventional background, attempted to create an extensive index of American folk songs decades before modern technology made such a project feasible. He meticulously cataloged thousands of songs, organizing them based on their origins and discovering connections between various musical traditions. Despite his limited resources and education, he managed to classify songs like "Holloway Joe," a sea shanty with Americanized lyrics, and even provided the music for many of them. His ambitious project, though unpublished during his lifetime, was a significant precursor to the work of professional folk song archivists and researchers. It's a fascinating story of determination and the power of human curiosity, showcasing the depth of folk music history in America.
A scholar's unyielding dedication to folk music: Through Riley Shepard's story, we learn about the importance of passion and commitment in scholarly pursuits, even when faced with financial hardship and rejection.
Riley Shepard was a dedicated and persevering folk song scholar who spent nearly his entire life working on an encyclopedia of traditional songs, only to face rejection and financial hardship. Despite the significant time, work, and money he invested, he could not recoup his expenses and was forced to move to a small farm with the little resources he had left. His story serves as a reminder of the passion and commitment required in scholarly pursuits, even when faced with challenges and setbacks. Additionally, the text highlights the shift from published books to computer documentation, which may have contributed to Shepard's struggles in getting his work recognized and published. Despite the challenges, Shepard's legacy continues to inspire and resonate with scholars in the field of folk music and folklore.
A Passionate Friendship: Riley Shepard's Encyclopedia of Folk Music: Riley Shepard's dedication to his encyclopedia of folk music symbolizes the power of passion and human connection. His friendship with Ted Enslin, rooted in their shared love of music, brought them closer and lasted until Riley's death, leaving behind a legacy of memories and cherished experiences.
Riley Shepard's dedication to his encyclopedia of folk music was a testament to his passion and the power of human connection. For years, he poured over books and collaborated with his friend Ted Enslin, who recognized the genius in his project. Their shared love of music brought them closer, and they spent countless hours working together. Despite Riley's obsession and disheveled appearance, Ted saw the extraordinary human being behind it. The friendship and partnership lasted until Riley's death, leaving behind 40 boxes of his life's work. Ted cherished the memories and enjoyed the music, valuing the experience over the potential monetary worth. The story of Riley Shepard serves as a reminder of the importance of passion, friendship, and the value of the journey over the destination.
Riley Shepard's Obsession with Creating a Hillbilly Music Encyclopedia: Despite the uncertainty of its value or recognition, Riley Shepard's obsession with creating a comprehensive hillbilly music encyclopedia showcases the importance of passionately pursuing one's interests.
The obsession of Riley Shepard, a country music historian, with creating an encyclopedia of hillbilly music, left behind a complex legacy. After his death, the encyclopedia was split up and some parts ended up in Nashville and the Buckowins Museum. A couple even tried to sell their copy to Starship, the producer of the podcast who is Riley's daughter. Despite her initial skepticism due to her father's fabrications and compulsive lying, she eventually bought it and was struck by the sheer size and effort he put into the project. Though Riley's obsession may have seemed like folly to some, as it didn't result in a widely recognized monument like the Taj Mahal or Hamlet, it's important to remember that we often don't know whether an obsession is a great quest or a great folly until it's over. This episode of Hidden Brain was made possible by the help of Radio Orkney in Scotland, who assisted in recording an interview with music historian Kevin Coffey, who had taped an interview with Riley. For more Hidden Brain, find us on Facebook and Twitter, and visit our website for a slideshow of photos of Riley Shepard.
Discovery of Early English Encyclopedia Britannica: An early edition of the English language Encyclopedia Britannica was discovered and made accessible online, preserving historical knowledge for future generations and demonstrating the power of technology to make information available globally.
A significant historical discovery was made and brought to life online. The boxes in question, filled with pages from the earliest edition of the English language Encyclopedia Britannica, were unearthed and transported to the Internet Archive in San Francisco. Shankar Vedantam, speaking on NPR, shared this news with listeners. This discovery marks an important milestone in the digital preservation of knowledge. The encyclopedia, which was first published in 1768, is now accessible to anyone with an internet connection. This development underscores the power of technology to make historical resources available to a global audience. It also highlights the importance of organizations like the Internet Archive, which are dedicated to preserving and sharing knowledge for future generations. Overall, this discovery is a testament to the enduring value of knowledge and the innovative ways in which it can be shared and accessed in the digital age.
