STAGGER LEE (1969) by Taj Mahal

My favourite Taj Mahal album is 'De Ole Folks at Home', which includes this track. His feel for roots music on that album is incredible. It would be great to hear him do another album by himself again with just acoustic instruments such as guitar and banjo like he did on that album.

Stagger Lee is a popular blues folk song covered many times which is based on a murder by Stagger Lee Shelton. The first published version of the song was by folklorist John Lomax in 1910. The song was well-known in African American communities along the lower Mississippi River by the 1910s.

Before World War II, it was commonly known as "Stack O Lee". W.C. Handy wrote that this probably was a nickname for a tall person, comparing him to the tall smokestack of the large steamboat Robert E. Lee. By the time W.C. Handy wrote that explanation in the 1920s, "Stack O' Lee" was already familiar in United States popular culture, with recordings of the song made by such artists such as Frank Hutchison (1927), Mississippi John Hurt (1928) and Cliff Edwards (1928). In Hurt's version, as in all such pieces, there are many (sometimes anachronistic) variants on the lyrics. Several older versions give Billy's last name as "De Lyons" or "Deslile".

There are many different versions of the tale, but the general storyline is as follows: Stagger Lee (as well as Stack O' Lee, also known as Stagolee, Stackerlee, Stackalee etc.) gets into a dispute with a man named Billy DeLyon after losing his Stetson hat to Billy while gambling. Stagger Lee pulls a gun--sometimes identified as a .45, other times as a "smokeless .44"--on Billy who then pleads to be spared for the sake of his wife and children. Showing no compassion at all, Stagger Lee cold-bloodedly shoots and kills his opponent.

The killer's reputation for "badness" is a key to the story. According to some classic musical recordings of the legend (such as "Mississippi" John Hurt's "Stack O'Lee Blues"), the authorities are too frightened of Stagger Lee to arrest him for his crime. In some versions of the tale, he is eventually caught by the authorities, but the judge refuses to sentence him to prison because he fears that the badman will strike back against him. In certain tellings of the story, Stagger Lee appears in hell after he is killed or executed, but is so "bad" that he takes control of the devil's kingdom and turns it into his own badman's paradise. (Sources: The AKA Blues Connection's Stagger Lee Files and Wiki. The drawings in the video are by Timothy Lane and McCulloch/Hendrix).

I have done a slideshow video for this song and to try and help tell the story.

Ratings and comments are invited.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• stagger lee
• stagolee
• stack o' lee
• stack-o-lee
• stack o'lee
• taj
• mahal
• solo
• acoustic
• michaelbackhouse

[thetypemanfuckyou]

Going to see him tomorrow night! GREAT STUFF!

[fredatric]

Thanks, just ordered the album after listening to this. Great!

[Kezza4000]

Alan Lomax found it hard to find people who would sing the real Stagolee song, which had about 40 verses, and spoke of Stagolee throwing the Devil out of hell, and replacing him with himself. This is an old song, shrouded in mystery! And was portrayed as the devils music.

[olvinyldude]

I agree..! Have it also, and normally do not LIKE doubles...But this is great!

[inyobill]

THanks for posting, I'm going to look for the album.

Great rolling accump..., accompuh..., strings.

[lymeguy1156]

great song and terrific wording. thanks!

[Decatur7]

Great version and I love Taj on his own, but his first 'Statesboro Blues' with Leaving Trunk, slayed me, and set me on a course to emulate his vocals.

[paganmaestro]

Thanks for this. Wonderfully done. And I agree, it'd be great for Taj to make another solo album of 'roots' songs.

[DrBelser12]

@BenjaminKruga Hurt's version (which is the original of this version) titled Stack O' Lee Blues was one of the first known arrangements.

[redguns]

Great tune. Great artist. Great video still mix. Thank you for posting