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Lee Shelton (March 16, 1865 – March 11, 1912), popularly known as "Stagolee", "Stagger Lee", "Stack-O-Lee", and other variations, was an American criminal who became a figure of folklore after murdering Billy Lyons on December 25, 1895.
"Stagger Lee", also known as "Stagolee" and other variants, is a popular American folk song about the murder of Billy Lyons by "Stag" Lee Shelton, in St. Louis, Missouri, at Christmas 1895. The song was first published in 1911 and first recorded in 1923, by Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians , titled "Stack O' Lee Blues".
The participants were two black men, a levee hand named William “Billy” Lyons and a part-time carriage driver and full-time pimp named Lee Shelton. In the course of an argument, Billy snatched Lee’s Stetson hat from his head, whereupon Lee first struck and then shot him.
May 9, 2011 · The events of the murder were fairly commonplace; two friends, Billy Lyons and “Stagger” Lee Shelton, were drinking at Bill Curtis’s saloon and became enthralled in a conversation about politics.
Apr 1, 2010 · On Christmas night 1895, a barroom argument between two men—one named Billy and another named "Stag" Lee—takes place, leading to murder. The killing would inspire an iconic blues song.
Jul 10, 2018 · Cecil Brown’s 2003 book Stagolee Shot Billy argues that “bad man ballads” had been sung long before Lyons was murdered and that Stagolee became a handy go-to bad-guy figure who could be...
Feb 27, 2020 · The story is based on events that took place on Christmas Eve of 1895 in a bar in St Louis, Missouri, where two acquaintances, "Stag" Lee Shelton and William "Billy" Lyons were having a...
