Here's the partial gen on Paul Clayton's "Jesse James."

Clayton's *first* version of "Jesse James" appeared on Riverside RLP12-640, "Wanted for Murder," in 1958.   It reappeared in 1964 on Folk-Legacy's "Golden Ring: A Gathering of Friends Making Music."

The 1958 version is the text in the DT called "Jesse James (I Wonder Where my Poor Old Jesse's Gone)."

The Library of Congress Catalog of Copyright Entries for 1962 lists the following - which is Clayton's *second* version:

"JESSE JAMES, (I DON'T KNOW WHERE MY JESSE'S GONE); based on a traditional ballad, w & m Paul Clayton, pseud. of Paul Clayton Worthington, & Thee Phillips. NM: added words & new music. © Paul Clayton Worthington; 6Dec62."

This is the version I recall hearing on Oscar Brand's WNYC radio show in 1966 or '67.

The lyrics, as performed by the Chad Mitchell Trio:

https://www.musixmatch.com/lyrics/The-Chad-Mitchell-Trio/Jesse-James

Except for the chorus, the lyrics of both versions are reasonably close to the standard text.

The Catalog of Copyright Entries for 1958 lists no copyright for the earlier Clayton "Jesse James."

I find nothing about Thee Phillips except this, in Robert Blair St. George's "Material Life in America, 1600-1860," p. 75:

"Not only is Jesse James lauded because he 'took from the rich and gave to the poor,' his death is blurred, the chorus of his ballad underscoring the affection in which he is held by the living, and - at least in the version Carolina banjo-picker Thee Phillips sang to me, implying his uttermost reward will be heaven: 'I don't know where my poor old Jesse's gone, but I;ll meet you in that land, where we've never been before, and I don't know where my poor old Jesse's gone."

This awakened a memory - don't ask me how these things stick - that Brand had mentioned that Clayton's source (or partial source) was from North Carolina.

Clayton did field collecting in Virginia and elsewhere.

Hypothesis: Clayton learned the chorus from Phillips, who may or may not have known the whole song. For legal protection, the two of them copyrighted the song in 1962.

If Phillips is the ultimate source, the '62 version may be closer to what he sang, as it contains the striking line "He stopped on the Rocky Mountain shore" and has Jesse fancifully robbing the "Denver" bank. These sound to me like authentic "folk" touches rather than the creation of a 1950's/'60's folkie, like Clayton, who held a master's degree from the University of Virginia.

Further hypothesis: Clayton suppressed Phillips's Wild West references in 1958 because, though he liked Phillips's chorus, he wanted to record a more historically accurate version.

Does anyone know anything else more bout Thee Phillips, banjo-picker from North Carolina?