Stagger Lee (song)
| "Stack O' Lee Blues" | |
|---|---|
| Single by Waring's Pennsylvanians | |
| B-side | Stavin' Change |
| Released | 1923 |
| Format | 10-inch 78 rpm record |
| Recorded | Camden, New Jersey, April 18, 1923 |
| Length | 3:21 |
| Label | Victor (no. 19189-A) |
| "Stagger Lee" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Lloyd Price | ||||
| B-side | "You Need Love" | |||
| Released | November 1958 | |||
| Recorded | September 11, 1958 New York City |
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| Genre | Pop, R&B | |||
| Length | 2:20 | |||
| Label | ABC-Paramount | |||
| Writer(s) | Lloyd Price, Harold Logan | |||
| Producer(s) | Don Costa | |||
| Lloyd Price singles chronology | ||||
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"Stagger Lee", also known as "Stagolee" and other variants, is a popular American folk song about the murder of Billy Lyons by "Stag" Lee Shelton in St. Louis, Missouri at Christmas, 1895. The song was first published in 1911, and was first recorded in 1923 by Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians. A version by Lloyd Price reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959.
The historical "Stagger Lee" was Lee Shelton, an African-American pimp living in St. Louis, Missouri in the late 19th century. He was nicknamed "Stag Lee" or "Stack Lee", with a variety of explanations being given for the moniker: he was given the nickname because he 'went "stag"', meaning he was without friends; he took the nickname from a well-known riverboat captain called "Stack Lee"; or, according to John and Alan Lomax, he took the name from a riverboat owned by the Lee family of Memphis called the Stack Lee, which was known for its on-board prostitution. He was well known locally as one of the "Macks", a group of pimps who demanded attention through their flashy clothing and appearance. In addition to these activities, he was the captain of a black "Four Hundred Club", a social club with a dubious reputation.
On Christmas night in 1895, Shelton and his acquaintance William "Billy" Lyons were drinking in the Bill Curtis Saloon. Lyons was also a member of St. Louis' underworld, and may have been a political and business rival to Shelton. Eventually, the two men got into a dispute, during which Lyons took Shelton's Stetson hat. Subsequently, Shelton shot Lyons, recovered his hat, and left. Lyons died of his injuries, and Shelton was charged, tried and convicted of the murder in 1897. He was pardoned in 1909, but returned to prison in 1911 for assault and robbery, and died in incarceration in 1912.
The crime quickly entered into American folklore and became the subject of song as well as folktales and toasts. The song's title comes from Shelton's nickname, "Stag Lee" or "Stack Lee". The name was quickly corrupted in the folk tradition; early versions were called "Stack-a-Lee" and "Stacker Lee"; "Stagolee" and "Stagger Lee" also became common. Other recorded variants include "Stackerlee", "Stack O'Lee", "Stackolee", "Stackalee", "Stagerlee", and "Stagalee".
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