Anyone who listens to The Clash’s ‘London Calling’ with obsessive frequency (and I would be one), will know the track ‘Wrong ‘Em Boyo’. Nestled between ‘The Guns of Brixton’ and ‘Death Or Glory’ it’s a cover of an old Rulers song. But before the bouncing ska patterns get underway, there’s an abandoned take of another song: ‘The Ballad of Stagger Lee’ – one of the most prevalent and recorded pieces in music history.
Just before the Christmas of 1895, a black criminal by the name of Stag Lee Shelton, shot a white man called Billy Lyons in St. Louis. It was reported Lyons had taken Lee’s hat from his head as a drunken prank and paid with his life.
For uncertain reasons, the occasion of Billy Lyons' murder almost instantly captured the public’s imagination and the tale spread along the Mississippi. Initially the story was enthusiastic gossip, then a song and eventually an eternal, bona fide legend.
The song itself is wrapped in almost as many myths as the shooting itself. Ragtime was the pop music of the 1800s, particularly enjoyed by the black population of the Deep South of the USA. A much loved Ragtime melody from this time was ‘The Bully of the Town’ which has a tune very close to that of ‘The Ballad of Stagger Lee’.
For uncertain reasons, the occasion of Billy Lyons' murder almost instantly captured the public’s imagination and the tale spread along the Mississippi. Initially the story was enthusiastic gossip, then a song and eventually an eternal, bona fide legend.
The song itself is wrapped in almost as many myths as the shooting itself. Ragtime was the pop music of the 1800s, particularly enjoyed by the black population of the Deep South of the USA. A much loved Ragtime melody from this time was ‘The Bully of the Town’ which has a tune very close to that of ‘The Ballad of Stagger Lee’.
Lyrically, it also tells of a shooting:
Have you heard about that bully that just come to town?
He’s down among the niggers, layin’ their bodies down.
I’m a-lookin’ for that bully and he must be found.
In the America of the late 19th century the word ‘nigger’ was common (but still derogatory), and its use in ‘The Bully of the Town’ was no bar to the song’s appearance in a stage musical ‘The Widow Jones’ which opened on Broadway in September 1895 – two months before Billy Lyons was killed. It’s highly probable that, as the news of Stag Lee’s crime spread, someone re-wrote the words to ‘The Bully of the Town’ to include the event.
Indeed, it is claimed a white journalist, Charles Trevathan, sang ‘Bully’ to train passengers on a journey from Chicago. To pass the time, it is said he set about creating new lyrics to give the crowd a new rendition before reaching their destination. However, this may well be another fanciful strand to the Stagger Lee legend, rather than an actual explanation of the song’s real origins.
For the first couple of years of the 20th century, ‘The Ballad of Stagger Lee’ was passed from person to person, by mouth and ear. Many people knew the song, but there was no transcript until 1903 when the plot involves Stagger killing a prostitute rather than Lyons. Another hand written version from this year does have the victim as Billy, but concentrates on Lee’s arrival in Hell and his dethroning of The Devil.
From here, the song goes from strength to strength. A report from 1910 tells of black dock workers singing ‘The Ballad of Stackolee’ each day, as they load and unload boats on the New Orleans levees.
All this while, the real Stag Lee Shelton is very much alive. Following a show trial, he was jailed for slaying Lyons but in 1909 he was pardoned by Democratic Governor Joseph Folk in a political bid rather than a valid legal action. Perhaps inevitably, he killed again, taking the life of one William Atkins while trying to burgle his house. Imprisoned once more, Stag Lee Shelton died from TB in the goal hospital. Nevertheless, unlike Lee himself, his song refused to fade away.
A full account of every recorded version of ‘The Ballad of Stagger Lee’ would require a great deal more space than we have here, but in 1923 Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians made it a hit record. The following year, Lovie Austin released ‘Skeeg-a-Lee Blues’ – notable as this was the first recording by a black artist.
Have you heard about that bully that just come to town?
He’s down among the niggers, layin’ their bodies down.
I’m a-lookin’ for that bully and he must be found.
In the America of the late 19th century the word ‘nigger’ was common (but still derogatory), and its use in ‘The Bully of the Town’ was no bar to the song’s appearance in a stage musical ‘The Widow Jones’ which opened on Broadway in September 1895 – two months before Billy Lyons was killed. It’s highly probable that, as the news of Stag Lee’s crime spread, someone re-wrote the words to ‘The Bully of the Town’ to include the event.
Indeed, it is claimed a white journalist, Charles Trevathan, sang ‘Bully’ to train passengers on a journey from Chicago. To pass the time, it is said he set about creating new lyrics to give the crowd a new rendition before reaching their destination. However, this may well be another fanciful strand to the Stagger Lee legend, rather than an actual explanation of the song’s real origins.
For the first couple of years of the 20th century, ‘The Ballad of Stagger Lee’ was passed from person to person, by mouth and ear. Many people knew the song, but there was no transcript until 1903 when the plot involves Stagger killing a prostitute rather than Lyons. Another hand written version from this year does have the victim as Billy, but concentrates on Lee’s arrival in Hell and his dethroning of The Devil.
From here, the song goes from strength to strength. A report from 1910 tells of black dock workers singing ‘The Ballad of Stackolee’ each day, as they load and unload boats on the New Orleans levees.
All this while, the real Stag Lee Shelton is very much alive. Following a show trial, he was jailed for slaying Lyons but in 1909 he was pardoned by Democratic Governor Joseph Folk in a political bid rather than a valid legal action. Perhaps inevitably, he killed again, taking the life of one William Atkins while trying to burgle his house. Imprisoned once more, Stag Lee Shelton died from TB in the goal hospital. Nevertheless, unlike Lee himself, his song refused to fade away.
A full account of every recorded version of ‘The Ballad of Stagger Lee’ would require a great deal more space than we have here, but in 1923 Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians made it a hit record. The following year, Lovie Austin released ‘Skeeg-a-Lee Blues’ – notable as this was the first recording by a black artist.
The song’s longevity may have been somewhat less impressive had it not been for the milestone version by Mississippi John Hurt. This is the rendition which attracts jazz, rock, blues, country, calypso and folk artists to this day. Beck covered it in 2001, for instance (although when Dylan released it, his source was Frank Hutchison). Interestingly, the story on Hurt’s record is very different from the one we know as fact. This narrative has Stagger as a white man fighting with Jesse James over a card game in a coal mine.
In all, more than 400 artists have recorded ‘The Ballad of Stagger Lee’ – although the titles vary slightly. From The Black Keys and The Blue Aeroplanes to The Fabulous Thunderbirds and the Isley Brothers, it seems a band hasn’t truly matured until it has its own take on this mysterious 110 year old song.
So why has the ballad endured, when many thousands of other tunes have come and gone over the decades? Well, it has those timeless themes woven through it. Murder, anger, revenge, betrayal, hats. Although ‘The Legend of Stagger Lee’ has a history rooted in the 1800s, its emotion, drama and appeal are universal. Sadly, we’re unlikely to see a time when we don’t hear of strikingly similar occurrences. And when we do, we’ll talk about them.
On a more simplistic level, it’s just a rollicking good tune. Whoever’s putting a spin on it, the results are almost always enjoyable, because it readily lends itself to so many styles and so many artists. Some songs – Louie, Louie, Wild Thing, Scarborough Fair – are just made that way.
Few things are certain about the saga of Stagger Lee. But I think we can be sure Billy Lyons had no idea, when he pinched the hat from another man’s head, he was simultaneously initiating his own murder and launching one of the most venerable songs in popular culture.
In all, more than 400 artists have recorded ‘The Ballad of Stagger Lee’ – although the titles vary slightly. From The Black Keys and The Blue Aeroplanes to The Fabulous Thunderbirds and the Isley Brothers, it seems a band hasn’t truly matured until it has its own take on this mysterious 110 year old song.
So why has the ballad endured, when many thousands of other tunes have come and gone over the decades? Well, it has those timeless themes woven through it. Murder, anger, revenge, betrayal, hats. Although ‘The Legend of Stagger Lee’ has a history rooted in the 1800s, its emotion, drama and appeal are universal. Sadly, we’re unlikely to see a time when we don’t hear of strikingly similar occurrences. And when we do, we’ll talk about them.
On a more simplistic level, it’s just a rollicking good tune. Whoever’s putting a spin on it, the results are almost always enjoyable, because it readily lends itself to so many styles and so many artists. Some songs – Louie, Louie, Wild Thing, Scarborough Fair – are just made that way.
Few things are certain about the saga of Stagger Lee. But I think we can be sure Billy Lyons had no idea, when he pinched the hat from another man’s head, he was simultaneously initiating his own murder and launching one of the most venerable songs in popular culture.
