The most famous of those musical renditions were 1928’s “Stack O’ Lee Blues” by Mississippi John Hurt and 1959’s “Stagger Lee,” an unlikely #1 pop hit for Lloyd Price. The song was covered by Pat Boone, and other versions were recorded in the 1960s by Ike and Tina Turner, The Righteous Brothers, James Brown, Wilson Pickett (whose version made number 22 on the US pop chart), Johnny and the Hurricanes (whose instrumental is called "High Voltage"), Dave Van Ronk on his 1962 album Dave Van Ronk, Folksinger, Tom Rush on his 1963 album, "Blues, Songs And Ballads", Doc Watson on his 1967 album Ballads From Deep Gap, and by Taj Mahal on the 1969 album Giant Step/De Ole Folks at Home. Cliff Edwards recorded Stack O' Lee in two parts - at the end of the first part he directs the … Stack O' Lee Ukulele Ike (Cliff Edwards) October 3, 1928 Unverified Billy Lyons and Stack O'Lee Furry Lewis 1928 Stack O'Lee Blues Mississippi John Hurt February 1929 Stack O'Lee Blues Johnny Dodds and His Chicago Boys Variously called "Stag-O-Lee," "Stack-O-Lee," and other names, the song is … Stack-O-Lee was just that to black Americans living in the Jim Crow south. sister projects: Wikidata item. [10] The earliest versions were likely field hollers and other work songs performed by African-American laborers, and were well known along the lower Mississippi River by 1910. W.C. He was nicknamed Stag Lee or Stack Lee, with a variety of explanations being given: 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. In the 2007 film Black Snake Moan, Samuel L. Jackson's character sings a boastful version of the song from Stagger Lee's perspective, titled "Stackolee". [15] Lloyd Price recorded the song as "Stagger Lee" in 1958, and it rose to the top of both the R&B and US pop charts in early 1959. [14] By the time W.C. Ad. 2021. He was paroled in 1909, but returned to prison in 1911 for assault and robbery. Stack O' Lee Blues - Mississippi John Hurt | Song Info | AllMusic. [5] Subsequently, Shelton shot Lyons, recovered his hat, and left. Tommy Roe's 1971 version of the song went to number 25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 17 on the Canadian Singles Chart. [19] Christian Rock musician Larry Norman wrote new lyrics using a bluesy version of the tune called Nightmare #97 about a religious experience where the narrator is caught up to heaven. FAVORITE Neil Sedaka recorded the song in 1983 for his album Come See About Me. Shelton wurde gefasst, des Mordes angeklagt und zu einer Gefängnisstrafe verurteilt. Amoeba Music. I was listening to Mississippi John yesterday. Fruit Jar Guzzlers is one of the most mysterious old-time groups to ever record. The version by Mississippi John Hurt, recorded in 1928, is regarded by many as definitive. Stagolee (1928) → information about this edition. List of number-one R&B singles of 1959 (U.S.), "Stacker Lee: A partial investigation into the historicity of a Negro murder ballad", "A Brief History of Stagger Lee and Billy Lyons", "Herb Wiedoeft's Cinderella Roof Orchestra", "Largehearted Boy: Book Notes - Derek McCulloch ("Stagger Lee")", "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stagger_Lee&oldid=1003665180, Southside Johnny & The Asbury Jukes songs, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz work identifiers, Wikipedia articles with multiple identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, This page was last edited on 30 January 2021, at 02:16. ;[16] while The Youngbloods released a version of the song on their 1971 album, Good and Dusty. Test your MusicIQ here! Lyons was also a member of St. Louis' underworld, and may have been a political and business rival to Shelton. Several older versions give Billy's last name as "De Lyons" or "Deslile". [9], A song called "Stack-a-Lee" was first mentioned in 1897, in the Kansas City Leavenworth Herald, as being performed by "Prof. Charlie Lee, the piano thumper". In 2005, Chris Whitley and Jeff Lang recorded their own arrangement of the song, called "Stagger Lee", ultimately released on their 2006 CD Dislocation Blues. Released in March 1928 on Harmony (catalog no. [18] The Clash's 1979 album London Calling includes a cover of the song "Wrong 'Em Boyo" by the Jamaican rocksteady group the Rulers, in which Stagger Lee is explicitly the hero and Billy the villain. Red Head Blues / Stack O'Lee Blues, a Single by The Arkansas Travellers / The Washingtonians. 1928. this version, set in St. Louis, talks about the fight between two "colored" men. Scrobble from Spotify? Watch the video for Stack O'Lee Blues from Mississippi John Hurt's 1928 Sessions for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. Buy Stack O' Lee Blues (CD) by Mississippi John Hurt (CD $12.98). The version by Pacific Gas & Electric, was included on the soundtrack for Quentin Tarantino's film Death Proof, the second portion of the 2007 double-feature Grindhouse. Watch the video for Stack O' Lee Blues by Mississippi John Hurt for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. Lyrics.com. We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly. Odum. Ma Rainey (1886–1939) was one of the earliest known American professional blues singers and one of the first generation of such singers to record. About Press Copyright Contact us Creators Advertise Developers Terms Privacy Policy & Safety How YouTube works Test new features Playing via Spotify Playing via YouTube The Grateful Dead frequently played and eventually recorded a version of the tale which focuses on the fictionalized hours after the death of "Billy DeLyon", when Billy's wife Delia tracks down Stagger Lee in a local saloon and "she shot him in the balls" in revenge for Billy's death. Playlist. 3 Apr. ""Stagger Lee," who pops on the Shakedown album is a fabled character who some suggest dates back to the Civil War. [4], On Christmas night in 1895, Shelton and his acquaintance William "Billy" Lyons were drinking in the Bill Curtis Saloon. [12], The song was first recorded by Waring's Pennsylvanians in 1923, and became a hit. The version by Mississippi John Hurt, recorded in 1928, is regarded by many as definitive. "Stack O' Lee" (2:55)- December 28, 1928, NYC - 401481-B, OK 8654 "Candy Man Blues" (2:44)- December 28, 1928, NYC - 401483-B, OK 8654 "Got The Blues (Can't Be Satisfied)" (2:49)- Dec 28, 1928, NYC- 401484-B, OK 8734 "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. [2] Shelton was well known locally as one of the Macks, a group of pimps who demanded attention through their flashy clothing and appearance. [6] Lyons died of his injuries, and Shelton was charged, tried, and convicted of the murder in 1897. I'm A Bear in a Lady's Boudoir. Ma Rainey recorded the song the following year, with Louis Armstrong on cornet, and a version was recorded by Frank Hutchison on January 28, 1927 in New York, and is included in Harry Smith's famous Anthology of American Folk Music (Song 19 of 84).[10]. Connect your Spotify account to your Last.fm account and scrobble everything you listen Record Company – The New York Recording Laboratories Notes Personnel unknown (guitar, banjo and vocals on side A; guitar and vocal duet on side B). Get instant explanation for any lyrics that hits you anywhere on the web! In 1996, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds included a song called "Stagger Lee" on their album "Murder Ballads". The Black Keys recorded a song entitled "Stack Shot Billy" on their 2004 album Rubber Factory.   That year, musicologist John Lomax received a partial transcription of the song,[11] and in 1911, two versions were published in the Journal of American Folklore by the sociologist and historian Howard W. This is considered THE definitive version/recording of the traditional murder ballad, "Stagger Lee." An extended version appears on Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes 1981 live album Reach Up And Touch The Sky. Huey Lewis and the News recorded "Stagger Lee" on their 1994 album of R&B covers, Four Chords And Several Years Ago. Also Stagger Lee still has problems in bars, and ends up shooting not only a bartender, but also another rival also called Billy. Watch the video for Stack O'Lee from Mississippi John Hurt's Avalon Blues: The Complete 1928 Okeh Recordings for free, and see the artwork, lyrics and similar artists. Lee. [10] In his version, as in all such pieces, there are many (sometimes anachronistic) variants on the lyrics. [10], In 1950, a version of "Stack-a-Lee" by New Orleans pianist Archibald reached number 10 on the Billboard R&B chart. In 1928, another old-time musician Cleve Chaffin from Wayne County, West Virginia had supposedly recorded a session with two men named Stevens and Bolar for Paramount Records as Fruit Jar Guzzlers. Josh Ritter recorded a version of the tale titled "Folk Bloodbath" on the album So Runs the World Away. 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