Stagger Lee (2:35)

Stagger Lee is a story based partly on truth and partly on legend. The murder took place in the 1800’s, and the first music recording about the subject was done by Frank Hutchenson back in 1927.

The most well know versions of this song are Mississippi John Hurt’s 1928, and this version, by Lloyd Price. Lloyd’s version was an updated R&B version for the 1950s.

Released in 1959, parts of this song are used in the 1967 track Wrong’em Boyo by The Rulers, as well as 1979 cover Wrong ‘em Boyo by The Clash.

Stagger Lee has been covered by hundreds of artists in a variety of ways from 1927 to today. Versions can be found by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds, Huey Lewis and the News, Grateful Dead, Taj Mahal and many others. Many artists cover the original Frank Hutchensen version, others cover Lloyd Price’s version, and others still create entirely new versions of the song.

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