Episode #149- Who Was the Real Stagger Lee?

The character of Stagger Lee has been one of America’s most enduring folk heroes. There have been over 400 songs written about the swaggering, gun-toting, bad man. He has gone by many names: Stacks Lee, Stagolee, Staxs O’Lee. Sometimes he is presented as a malevolent villain, others a heroic defender of the oppressed. No matter the telling Stagger Lee is always a badass. Is this figure just a piece of fiction dreamt up by blues musicians and perpetuated by their rock’n’roll progeny, or was there a real man behind the murderous myth? Tune-in and find out how Biggie Smalls, 19th century fightin’ words, and a milk white stetson hat all play a role in the story.