Stagger Lee Shelton - in Popular Culture

In Popular Culture

• In 1928, Mississippi John Hurt published the song "Stagolee", in which he depicts the tale of Stagger Lee Shelton and William Lyons.
• In his book, Black Folk Tales, Julius Lester includes an updated version called "Stagger Lee" which reworks the story with Lee as a larger than life Trickster.
• Stagg R. Leigh is the assumed name under which Thelonious Ellison, the protagonist of Percival Everett's novel Erasure (2001) writes his parody of blaxploitation literature My Pafology.
• Stagger Lee, a graphic novel telling the story and a fictionalized version of it with political themes, was published by Image Comics in May 2006, written by Derek McCulloch and drawn by Shepherd Hendrix (ISBN 1582406073).
• Folk artist Josh Ritter tells the story of Stagger Lee in the track Folk Bloodbath on his 2010 album So Runs the World Away.
• The Black Keys song Stack Shot Billy from the album Rubber Factory is based on Stagger Lee and Billy Lyons.
• The Clash's 1979 album London Calling includes a cover of the song "Wrong 'Em Boyo" by the Jamaican rocksteady group the Rulers, in which Stagger Lee is explicitly the hero and Billy the villain.
• Nick Cave provides a graphic rendition of the viciousness of Lee Shelton in his song "Stagger Lee" off the 1996 album Murder Ballads
• The American blackwave band Lost Sounds mention Stagger Lee in their song "Energy drink & the Long walk home" at the line "I just keep on running, like/I'm Stagger Lee(...)".
• Eric Newman, better known by his stage name Stagga Lee, is an American rapper from Yonkers, New York.
• The Grateful Dead recorded a version of "Stagger Lee" on their 1978 album Shakedown Street, and performed the song live at many concerts
• Blues guitarist and singer Mississippi John Hurt also has recorded versions of the tale of Stagger Lee
• Modern Life is War, a hardcore band from Iowa has their own rendition of Stagger Lee.
• In the 2007 film Black Snake Moan, Samuel L. Jackson's character sings a boastful version of the song from Stagger Lee's perspective, titled "Stackolee". This version is based on R. L. Burnside's rendition which can be heard on the album Well, Well, Well.