Stagger Lee Shelton
Lee Shelton (March 16, 1865 - March 11, 1912) was a black carriage driver and pimp convicted of murdering William "Billy" Lyons on Christmas night, 1895 in St. Louis, Missouri. The crime was immortalized in a popular song that has been recorded by numerous artists. Stagger Lee (also "Stackalee," "Stackolee" and "Stagolee") ultimately becomes a folk figure of the trickster type as numerous legends accumulated around him.
Lee Shelton was not a common pimp — described by Cecil Brown, "Lee Shelton belonged to a group of pimps known in St. Louis as the 'Macks'. The Macks were not just 'urban strollers'; they presented themselves as objects to be observed." Shelton died in prison in 1912, of tuberculosis.
Read more about Stagger Lee Shelton: The Crime, Stagger Lee As Archetype, In Popular Culture
Famous quotes containing the words stagger and/or lee:
“The strongest wind cannot stagger a Spirit; it is a Spirit’s breath. A just man’s purpose cannot be split on any Grampus or material rock, but itself will split rocks till it succeeds.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“I see you’re a man with ideals. I guess I better be going while you’ve still got them.”
—Mae West, U.S. screenwriter, W.C. Fields, and Edward Cline. Flower Belle Lee (Mae West)