Stagolee remains one of the most famous badman ballads ever told. Popularized as a folk song through the African American oral tradition in the early twentieth century, the song was eventually performed by individuals in the African American community and beyond. The oral story became increasingly popular as jazz, rock, and rhythm and blues musicians crafted new versions of the frightful fight one Christmas night in 1895. Based on the real-life conflict between notorious St. Louis pimp Lee “Stack” Shelton and Billy Lyons, the song has continued to inspire odes to Lee Shelton and is thought to be a precursor to contemporary gangsta rap.
Stagolee fulfills the archetype of the traditional badman ballad. The African American ballad was popular between the 1890s and 1920s. These creative songs typically focus on an antihero who faces conflict with a fellow African American or must grapple with authority, typically represented as a white man connected with the police or the judicial system. The protagonists of the narrative are typically troublemakers by nature, known as badmen. They are individuals who seek fights, break up parties, and attempt to assert their dominance over any individual misguided enough to stand up to them. They often swear and brandish weapons including switchblades, shanks, guns, and their powerful fists. Their strength lies in their callous demeanor and fearless attitudes. Additionally, their language signals a lack of decorum and civility. In comparison, their adversaries often seem submissive, effeminate, and weak. The juxtaposition between the badman and his rival only further emphasizes the badman’s power. Whether he gets away with his crimes or is punished for his misdeeds, the badman never apologizes for his behavior. Instead, the badman relishes the chaos and conflict inflicted on other men and women whether they are friend or foe.
There are several versions of the Stagolee ballad, but most versions feature the conflict between Stagolee and Billy Lyons. The classic version of the ballad begins at the end of the story with a reflection on Stagolee’s cruelty and meanness. The introduction also emphasizes that neither the police officers nor their superiors are any real match for Ole Stag’s viciousness. Then the story shifts to the past and explores how Billy Lyons met an untimely end at the hands of Stagolee. In a seedy bar late at night, Stagolee enters and challenges Billy to a game of dice. Billy accepts the challenge, not realizing that Stagolee possesses a trick set of dice that ensures victory.
As they gambled late into the night, they began to argue about Stag’s last dice roll. Stagolee claims to have rolled a seven while Billy swears on his mother that Stag rolled an eight. Their conversation turns heated and Billy grabs Stagolee’s hat as payment for the cheat. We learn that Stagolee’s hat was one of his most prized possessions, and he refuses to let Billy leave with it. Stagolee demands the hat back, but Billy is determined to keep it.
Finally, Stagolee has had enough of Billy and threatens to kill him with his forty-four caliber pistol. Billy is frightened, but refuses to give up the hat. Billy begs and begs, asking Stagolee to consider his wife and children. Stagolee’s heart turns cold as he tells Billy that his family doesn’t matter. Billy’s wife and children are not Stag’s affair. All that matters to Stagolee is the pristine Stetson hat. Stagolee loses patience with Billy and aims the gun right at Billy’s head. He unloads two clean shots that leave Billy dead. People run screaming into the night from the terrible scene.
The police are alerted to the fight and come quickly to find Stagolee sitting at the bar with his prize Stetson on his head. Stagolee doesn’t put up a fight. The police haul him off to court where the jury finds Stagolee guilty, despite the fearsome performance by the defense attorney, Nathaniel Dryden. Stagolee is sentenced to death by hanging. Standing on the gallows, Stagolee shows no signs of remorse. Stagolee’s cold disposition send a chill into everyone in attendance. The judge demands that Stagolee be punished immediately before the gambler escapes and causes more harm. Thus, Stagolee swings for the crime of murdering Billy Lyons in cold blood over his precious Stetson hat.
Several different musical versions of the Stagolee story were released over the early decades of the twentieth century. In 1950, famed jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, and composer Sidney Bechet released the “Old Stack O’ Lee Blues.” This version features a piercing clarinet solo that distinguishes it from other renditions of the song. Lucious Curtis and Willie Ford released an up-tempo version in 1940, while Archibald Cox delivered a rhythm and blues version in 1950. By far the most critically and commercially successful version of the ballad was released by Lloyd Price in 1959. This version became a number-one hit the same year. But Stagolee’s significance in music continued as other contemporary artists covered Price’s version throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Popular versions were recorded by James Brown, the Clash, Hugh Laurie, Beck, Bob Dylan, and Amy Winehouse.
In 2003, novelist, short story writer, and folklore scholar Cecil Brown completed a study of the subject, titled Stagolee Shot Billy. Brown contextualizes the popular impact of the fabled fight. More importantly, Brown provides historical records documenting the background of the episode. On Christmas night 1895, William Lyons and his friend Henry Crump visited a local tavern, the Bill Curtis Saloon. This bar had a very bad reputation as a dangerous place. People frequently brawled late into the night and were murdered there. Before entering the bar, Lyons asked his friend for a weapon to defend himself in case a fight started. Crump gave Lyons a knife before they entered. Initially, they enjoyed themselves drinking beer and listening to music, but their good times ended when Lee Shelton walked into the bar. Shelton was a well-known pimp who took great pride in his appearance. Lyons drank with Shelton for some time before their conversation turned violent. Apparently, Lyons grabbed Shelton’s hat, and Shelton immediately retaliated by shooting Lyons in the head.
Unlike the ballad, Shelton was tried twice for the murder of Lyons. The first trial resulted in a hung jury. Many believe that this result stemmed from Nathaniel Dryden’s skill in litigating the case. Dryden was a respected St. Louis lawyer. His vibrant performance in court helped Shelton avoid the consequences of Lyons’s murder. However, the second trial ended less favorably for Shelton. At its conclusion, Shelton was convicted of murder and given a twenty-five-year prison sentence. According to Brown, Shelton served only ten years before being released. However, Shelton did not improve in jail. In fact, soon after his release, he was arrested again. This time, Shelton did not live to face trial for his crimes. Once placed in police custody, Shelton fell ill with tuberculosis and died while awaiting trial. Unlike the romantic tale made popular by countless singers and musicians, Shelton’s life ended far less memorably. Shelton’s judicial battles emphasize the consequences criminals face in reality. Instead of a gun-wielding badman, Shelton died sick and alone, hardly representing the brash, dapper, gambling pimp of his youth. But in death, Shelton’s status became legendary as the nefarious activities throughout his life outshone the violence and tragedy that marked his death.
Jennifer L. Hayes
See also Badman; Ballad; Blues as Folklore; Frankie and Albert/Johnny; Outlaw Heroes; Silver, Frankie
Further Reading
Brown, Cecil. 2003. Stagolee Shot Billy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Bryant, Jerry H. 2003. “Born in a Mighty Bad Land”: The Violent Man in African American Folklore and Fiction. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Jackson, Bruce, ed. 1999. Wake Up Dead Man: Hard Labor and Southern Blues. Athens: University of Georgia Press.
Polenberg, Richard. 2015. Hear My Sad Story: The True Tales That Inspired “Stagolee,” “John Henry,” and Other Traditional American Folk Songs. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press.