Stagger Lee shot Billy
Oh, he shot that poor boy so bad
Till the bullet came through Billy and it broke the bar
Tender's glass.
On Christmas day, 1895, a barroom confrontation between ‘Billy’ Lyons and ‘Stack’ Lee Shelton led to a shot from the latter that killed the former.
This event occurred at Curtis’s Saloon on 11th and Morgan Streets in St. Louis. Both men expected the trouble, and Lyons initiated it. He wielded a knife while plucking a hat from Shelton’s head. Stack pulled a pistol in reply and shot Lyons in the abdomen. Billy Lyons died at City Hospital several days later.
This basic, and otherwise prosaic crime story has been gilded and freighted with meaning for over a hundred years. There are scholarly works on the subject of this single tale, and a famous Lloyd Price song, Stagger Lee from 1958. The song has proven a potent lure for top-tier musicians. Covers include versions by Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan, James Brown, Ike and Tina Turner, The Grateful Dead, Fats Domino, The Clash, Charlie Pride and others.
Roots of a murder ballad
A deeper dive into the St. Louis history reveals references to a steamboat christened the Stacker Lee. It ran between Memphis and St. Louis in the early 1900’s. There are also mentions of a colorful steamboat pilot known as Stack Lee.
Lee Shelton, who everyone on the mean streets knew as ‘Stack,’ was a pimp and hustler. Tracing him through the newspapers uncovers a long background of petty crime.
| 1884 | March | Arrested for carrying brass knuckles. Fined $50.00 |
| November | Charged with vagrancy and acting as a lookout | |
| 1885 | August | Fined $10.00 for lounging; acting as lookout for a craps game. |
| 1888 | January | Assault and batter. Discharged when victim refused to prosecute. |
| October | Stole a watch. Tried and acquitted. | |
| 1889 | May | Charged with assault. |
| May | Struck in head with a brick during fight. Ugly wound. Taken to hospital | |
| June | Charged with cutting Frank Hall. Victim refused to prosecute. | |
| 1890 | September | Tried and acquitted of store robbery. |
| September | Charged with assaulting Dan O’Leary | |
| 1892 | February | Robbed woman he lived with. She refused to prosecute. |
| 1894 | September | Found lying in a stupor during an opium den raid. |
| November | Fight over a craps game. Beat a man on the head with revolver. |
It came as no surprise that Stack Lee precipiated the violent episode at Curtis’s Saloon on Christmas morning. Police charged and dispatched him to the city jail at Four Courts.
Shelton’s luck had run out. He was tried, convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison. Paroled in 1909, he was back in stripes again by 1911 for his part in a robbery. A song about his exploits in Curtis’s Saloon appeared that same year, and a legend was born. Stack got nothing for this, dying in prison two years later.
Let Lloyd tell you about it….
Resources
A special thanks to Marty Schwartz for his music blog: https://1000words1000days.ca/2019/08/06/day-266-go-stagger-lee/ . Not just for the cover art I used, but for his years of great guitar lessons. Rock on, Marty!
Also thanks to Timothy Lane for the comics panel from his 2007 piece, The Story Of Stagger Lee, done for The Riverfront Times, but no longer available on line.
Mike . I keep a file on this . The origin of that Stack name goes back to the Confederate officer , Stacker Lee , son of the prominent Memphis steamboat Lee family. Their Lee Line was very important between here and Memphis and the mansion is still standing in Memphis . Stacker was Capt. Stacker ‘s mother’s family name and he was liked and a sharp dresser known to the roustabouts on our Levee . Thus some named children after him. A popular comment ” Reason I like that Lee Line Trade , ’cause I get to sleep with Da chamber maid !”. Known for good food , gambling and possibly prostitution.
Thanks, Tom! It’s always great when a well-informed reader chips in with some detail. It really is all wrapped up in both river and city, in addition to music history.