[To Ballad-L, March, 2002]

Brady was a white police officer in St. Louis. Harry Duncan was a
well-known black singer. When a fracas broke out in a downtown
saloon, Brady came running in off the street. Duncan had taken
refuge under/behind a counter, and when Brady leaned over the
counter, Duncan shot him. This, at least, is the official story,
which was accepted by a jury and which resulted in Duncan's being
hung. The unofficial story is that it is suspected that Brady was
actually shot by the owner of the saloon. This happened in the
1890s.

All of this is covered in great detail in the dissertation Tragedy
in Ragtime, by the late John Russell David. Copies can be had from
U Microfilms.

--
john garst