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.[1] He was well known locally as one of the "Macks", a group of pimps who demanded attention through their flashy clothing and appearance.[2] In addition to these activities, he was the captain of a black "Four Hundred Club", a social club with a dubious reputation.[3]
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.[4] Subsequently, Shelton shot Lyons, recovered his hat, and left.[5] 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.[6]
There are so many versions of that song around, I picked one I had not heard before. Have you heard Dick Clark's version of Stagger Lee? He turns it into crap.
Did you mean Lloyd Price's version? Dick Clark did a lot of things but I don't think he sang. But to the point, Lloyd's is a '50's pop R&B song that co-opted the name and has no character and no resemblance to the classic folk song..
{Edit: OMG, Guthrie's lyrics are night and day, it/they/he shouldn't even have been allowed to use the name.}
Dick Clark told Lloyd Price that he had to change the words to Stagger Lee. Lloyd recorded it Dick's way, as in the above video, but the record he released to the public was the hit song version.
