Episode 76: “Stagger Lee” by Lloyd Price
A History of Rock Music in 500 Songs
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Shelton's Trial in Missouri
In 1896, 90% of black voters in Missouri voted Democrat for the first time. This made him popular among black people, but less so among whites. At his next trial, in late 1897, Shelton was convicted and sentenced to 25 years in prison. But even before his trial, a song called Stack-A-Lee was mentioned in the papers as being played by a ragtime pianist in Kansas City. Ragtime had become popular in the US after Scott Joplin's performance at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. It seems likely that the earliest ragtime versions of the Stagg-A- Lee song were written by Tom Turpin.
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