Comments on: That bad man, Stack O' Lee.

That bad man, Stack O' Lee.

1f2frfbf — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 12:20:28 -0800

One Christmas night in a bar in the Third Ward in St. Louis, Missouri, "Stag" Lee Shelton shot Billy Lyon (cache) in a argument over a hat. This simple crime went on to inspire a song that lives on after more than one hundred years. (more inside)

By: 1f2frfbf

1f2frfbf — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 12:21:41 -0800

The song went to the top of the charts with Lloyd Price in 1958. Prior to that versions were recorded by Mississppi John Hurt, Frank Hutchinson and Furry Lewis. In the modern era, it's been done by the Grateful Dead, and Bob Dylan. It's been reworked by Hawiian Guitarist Sol Hoopii and in wonderfully raunchy style by Nick Cave. It was sung by marching Black Panthers (cache) and Bobby Seale went so far as to name his son after him. There's a graphic novel, a scholarly investigation (excerpt, pdf), a comprehensive list of versions and even a blog (with photos of Billy Lyon's unmarked grave). At the end of it all, there's only the song that lives on and grows.

By: Mayor Curley

Mayor Curley — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 12:25:54 -0800

My favorite is The Clash's "Wrong 'Em Boyo."

By: sonofsamiam

sonofsamiam — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 12:27:48 -0800

Also, The Clash. op: oops.

By: notsnot

notsnot — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 12:32:55 -0800

I just saw Frank Morey perform this song last night.

By: PeterMcDermott

PeterMcDermott — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 12:33:53 -0800

Are you perplexed under another nym, by any chance? Because I was prompted to find all of these links several years ago in response to this post.

By: 1f2frfbf

1f2frfbf — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 12:39:11 -0800

PeterMcDermott: Nope, sorry. I knew everyone would trot out their favorite versions as soon as I posted it, so no slight meant by forgetting anyone. (yes, I shoulda remembered the Clash. Oh well, next time...)

By: DieHipsterDie

DieHipsterDie — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 12:43:51 -0800

Wow. I was just reading about this today on Wiki. Weird.

By: MrMoonPie

MrMoonPie — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 12:50:28 -0800

I have 10 or so versions of this on mp3. Can't remember where I found them, but it was likely via metafilter. Anyone remember?

By: Doofus Magoo

Doofus Magoo — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 12:53:07 -0800

Nice post. I never knew Stagger Lee as anything but one of the many low points in Houston sports history.

By: OmieWise

OmieWise — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 12:53:49 -0800

Yup, much as I love the more classic and straightforward versions of this song, Wrong 'Em Boyo is also my favorite.

By: Banky_Edwards

Banky_Edwards — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 12:55:30 -0800

Frank Morey does a great version! I miss that guy. I'm a sucker for the Dead's version, big time. "As Stagger Lee lit a cigarette, she shot him in the balls." You just don't get that kind of detail from other versions. Also, if I'm not mistaken, Lloyd Price had to cut two versions of his song because the original's mention of "gambling" got it banned from many radio stations.

By: MrMoonPie

MrMoonPie — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 13:00:28 -0800

c'mon--Jerry Lee Lewis, the Beach Boys, Nick Cave, several others--where did I find that? Anyone?

By: y2karl

y2karl — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 13:03:02 -0800

Also previously on MetaFilter. Casey Jones, Stagolee, Frankie and Johnny - Murder and Death Ballad Back Stories

By: puddinghead

puddinghead — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 13:03:03 -0800

Shamelessplugforafriend- Friend of mine wrote the graphic novel, and it's very very good. Go get it.

By: Kid Charlemagne

Kid Charlemagne — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 13:07:43 -0800

For those of you who want to make the pilgrimage, it's now 11th and Convention Plaza. Not too far from where the brothers Greene grew up.

By: RubberHen

RubberHen — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 13:09:18 -0800

Sorry, this GeoCities site is currently unavailable. The GeoCities web site you were trying to view has temporarily exceeded its data transfer limit. Please try again later. ----------------------- Ahhh Metafilter -- how doth it love thee - let them count the bytes....

By: trip and a half

trip and a half — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 13:09:58 -0800

My personal favorite is "Stack O'Lee" by Cliff Edwards (aka 'Ukulele Ike' aka the voice of Jiminy Cricket).

By: 1f2frfbf

1f2frfbf — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 13:26:33 -0800

*ahem* fixed link for Kid Charlemange's map

By: ibmcginty

ibmcginty — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 13:34:04 -0800

Funny that the contemporary newspaper article from the first link in the post doesn't mention any gambling, just an argument about politics. The Dead, Clash, and Price versions, at least, all peg gambling as the cause of the conflict.

By: IndigoJones

IndigoJones — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 13:54:52 -0800

The Dead, Clash, and Price versions, at least, all peg gambling as the cause of the conflict. "Lord Palmerston!" "Pitt the Elder!" Do admit, gambling has a lot more panache than politics.

By: katillathehun

katillathehun — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 14:15:18 -0800

I love Mississippi John Hurt, but I have to say that Nick Cave's rendition beats all. (And violently.)

By: sonofsamiam

sonofsamiam — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 14:17:13 -0800

"Lord Palmerston!" "Pitt the Elder!" Wow, how often do you get to use that reference?

By: fixedgear

fixedgear — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 14:55:00 -0800

Nice post.

By: inoculatedcities

inoculatedcities — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:19:12 -0800

Here's a pretty extensive listing of all Stagger Lee songs. Beck's version is pretty mediocre. I'd say MJH's is the best. Then again, I've never heard Neil Sedaka's cover...

By: strawberryviagra

strawberryviagra — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:22:00 -0800

This is the best version

By: DMcCulloch

DMcCulloch — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 15:29:48 -0800

Hey, I'm the guy what wrote the graphic novel. Per the rules, I won't pimp my book here beyond that introductory sentence, but I wanted to thank 1f2frfbf for starting this thread - I've been getting hits galore on my book blog. I'd never heard of MetaFilter before today, but will be checking it out thoroughly.

By: oats

oats — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 16:03:39 -0800

I'd say MJH's is the best. I would too. And this has the best rendition of it.

By: raysmj

raysmj — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 16:43:25 -0800

How many of you have even heard of, say, Champion Jack Dupree? Go onto iTunes or somewhere and look up the old versions, why don't you?

By: raysmj

raysmj — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 16:52:05 -0800

Unfortunately, you can't find version by a piano dude named Archibald from this collection online. It's linked here, but the link doesn't work.

By: LarryC

LarryC — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 17:15:14 -0800

Great post and great thread. Kudos all around. Cecil Brown, the author of Stagolee Shot Billy has a website for the book, which has (aggravatingly brief) samples of some of the many versions of the song, including one from 1895!

By: wfrgms

wfrgms — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 17:21:14 -0800

I had a girlfriend who was obsessed with this song and spent lots of time tracking down covers - the more obscure the better. She had hundreds of tracks devoted to this thing. I had sort of forgot all about that... thanks!

By: IndigoJones

IndigoJones — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 17:22:23 -0800

Wow, how often do you get to use that reference? Not often enough, and I sure as hell wasn't going to let the opportunity slideo.

By: DMcCulloch

DMcCulloch — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 20:13:34 -0800

Unfortunately, you can't find version by a piano dude named Archibald from this collection online. I have that one on vinyl, what looks like a British bootleg from the early 1980s. It's a great track - in many ways the ultimate version, because it collects the essential elements so thoroughly all in one piece - but the recording is terrible. Or at least the pressing I have is. It sounds like it was recorded from the next room with the mike pressed against the wall. Terribly muffled. Dr. John's version on Gumbo is essentially a cover of the Archibald version, and it's great too.

By: fieldtrip

fieldtrip — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 21:03:30 -0800

Tony Furtado's is good.

By: kingfisher, his musclebound cat

kingfisher, his musclebound cat — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 21:08:17 -0800

MJH version? Cab Calloway Long Cleve Reed And Little Harvey Hull Ike and Tina

By: kingfisher, his musclebound cat

kingfisher, his musclebound cat — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 21:19:31 -0800

I briefly believed that by searching for something, I could query a cultural object into existence that had not existed before submit. But, alas, a "Hasselhoff Stagger Lee" search yields nothing but an embarrassing airline incident. Other hits via Songbird. Sorry for the double MJH.

By: raysmj

raysmj — Tue, 19 Dec 2006 21:28:43 -0800

DMcCulloch: The one on the CD box set I linked to sounds great--or at least it does on the (highly generous, but now apparently unavailable) sampler version of that I have around. Somebody did a hell of a remastering job with it. It still sounds old and somewhat mufflled, but it is listenable. (And is the low-fi thing still in style, with that rugged and muffled sound? This is really, really low-fi.)

By: 1f2frfbf

1f2frfbf — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 08:03:12 -0800

I just now realized I linked to the wrong page in the Mississippi John Hurt interview. Here's the relevant part to our discussion where he tells the Stag O'Lee tale as he heard it (about halfway down the page). It may be the quintessential Southern Story: Jesse James, coal mines, guns, liquor and gambling. The rest of the interview is a great read too. He really was an interesting person, and all too happy to tell his tale, as y2karl has wonderfully demonstrated before.

By: y2karl

y2karl — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 09:55:23 -0800

Also previously: John Smith Hurt: An Interview and the Mississippi John Hurt Blues Foundation

By: y2karl

y2karl — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 10:04:43 -0800

There is another list of versions at The Annotated "Stagger Lee" as well.

By: puddinghead

puddinghead — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 12:28:08 -0800

Welcome, DMcC!

By: Twang

Twang — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 19:24:24 -0800

Don't leave widout diggin that Boss Talk Dictionary.

By: bleucube

bleucube — Wed, 20 Dec 2006 20:05:07 -0800

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds sing about him too.

By: MrMoonPie

MrMoonPie — Fri, 22 Dec 2006 07:27:47 -0800

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds sing about him too.

O R L Y?

By: MrMoonPie

MrMoonPie — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 15:44:20 -0800

OK, I didn't find the soruce of all the versions, but I did find my own directory of them. Lemme know if you'd like to download 'em. I have versions by:

Beck Bert Garvin (with Danielle Fraley) Dave Van Ronk Dion and the Belmonts Doc Watson Dr. John Elvis Fats Domino Grateful Dead Huey Lewis and the News Ike and Tina Turner Jerry Lee Lewis Jimmy Barnes Johnny Rivers Lloyd Price Lloyd Price big band version Lucious Curtis and Willie Ford Mississippi John Hurt Nick Cave Sol Hoopii Taj Mahal Taj Mahal live version The Beach Boys The Clash The Down Home Boys The Journeymen