Uploaded May 2017 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
"Stagger Lee" by American R&B vocalist Lloyd Price in 1958 topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts in 1959. Originally known as "Stagolee" and by other variations, this American folk song is about a crime that occurred in a St. Louis Missouri saloon on Christmas Eve in 1985. Published in 1911 and first recorded in 1923, the song has been performed by over 400 other artists since then. The legend involves "Stag" Lee Sheldon and friend Billy Lyons having a conversation. However, drinking, gambling, and politics led to an argument. Lyons snatched Lee's hat and refused to give it back. Lee withdrew his revolver and shot Lyons in the abdomen and took his hat from the hand of the wounded man and coolly walked away. Lee was subsequently arrested. No other song has transcended its humble beginnings and been re-invented in so many genres, in so many media and by so many artists. Price's version of the song is on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Lloyd Price did a cleaned-up version of the song when he performed it on Dick Clark's American Bandstand TV show.
"Stagger Lee" by American R&B vocalist Lloyd Price in 1958 topped both the Billboard Hot 100 and R&B charts in 1959. Originally known as "Stagolee" and by other variations, this American folk song is about a crime that occurred in a St. Louis Missouri saloon on Christmas Eve in 1985. Published in 1911 and first recorded in 1923, the song has been performed by over 400 other artists since then. The legend involves "Stag" Lee Sheldon and friend Billy Lyons having a conversation. However, drinking, gambling, and politics led to an argument. Lyons snatched Lee's hat and refused to give it back. Lee withdrew his revolver and shot Lyons in the abdomen and took his hat from the hand of the wounded man and coolly walked away. Lee was subsequently arrested. No other song has transcended its humble beginnings and been re-invented in so many genres, in so many media and by so many artists. Price's version of the song is on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list. He was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998. Lloyd Price did a cleaned-up version of the song when he performed it on Dick Clark's American Bandstand TV show.
