olliestark, Sept. 18, 2009 -snip- Here's some information about the African American Blues singer/musician known as Taj Mahal from https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal_(musician) "Henry Saint Claire Fredericks, better known by the stage name Taj Mahal (born May 17, 1942), is an American blues musician. He has been performing and recording since 1964 and is still popular."...
**** Edited by Azizi Powell
This pancocojams post showcases two versions of Taj Mahal's 1972 Blues song "Cakewalk Into Town".
The Addendum of this post includes information about The Cakewalk dance.
The content of this post is presented for cultural, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
Thanks to Taj Mahal for his cultural legacy. Thanks to all other musicians who are featured on these recordings and thanks to all those who are quoted in this post. Thanks also to the publishers of these examples on YouTube.
***** SELECTED COMMENTS FROM SHOWCASE VIDEO #1 Here are some comments from this sound file's discussion thread, with numbers added for referencing purposes only:
**** ADDENDUM - INFORMATION ABOUT THE CAKEWALK From https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/12/23/256566647/the-extraordinary-story-of-why-a-cakewalk-wasnt-always-easy "The Extraordinary Story Of Why A 'Cakewalk' Wasn't Always
Easy" December 23, 2013 by Lakshmi Gandhi ..."The cakewalk was a pre-Civil War dance originally performed
by slaves on plantation grounds. The uniquely American dance was first known as
the "prize walk"; the prize was an elaborately decorated cake. Hence,
"prize walk" is the original source for the phrases "takes the
cake" and "cakewalk."
Here's how the dance worked: Couples would stand in a square
formation with men on the inside perimeter and then dance around the ballroom
"as if in mimicry of the white man's attitudes and manners,"
according to Richard Kislan. The steps included "a high-leg prance with a
backward tilt of the head, shoulders and upper torso."
Plantation owners served as judges for
these contests — and the slave owners might not have fully caught on that their
slaves might just have been mocking them during these highly elaborate dances.
In the 1912 novel The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored
Man, James Weldon Johnson has a character describe attending a cakewalk during the Reconstruction era:
"Then the floor was cleared for the cake-walk. A
half-dozen guests from some of the hotels took seats on the stage to act as
judges, and twelve or fourteen couples began to walk for a sure enough, highly
decorated cake, which was in plain evidence. The spectators crowded about the
space reserved for the contestants and watched them with interest and
excitement. The couples did not walk round in a circle, but in a square, with
the men on the inside. The fine points to be considered were the bearing of the
men, the precision with which they turned the corners, the grace of the women,
and the ease with which they swung around the pivots. The men walked with
stately and soldierly step, and the women with considerable grace." ".... -snip- Click http://pancocojams.blogspot.com/2020/09/information-about-cake-walk-with-1903.html for a 2020 pancocojams post entitled "Information About The Cake Walk (with a 1903 Library Of Congress film clip & a reprint from streetswing.com)."
[Most of the content of this post was published on pancocojams on November 30, 2012. Additional content in this post: song lyrics and one comment under Example #1]
This pancocojams post showcases sound files or videos of Mississippi John Hurt, Lloyd Price, Taj Mahal, and Wilson Pickett singing versions of the Blues/R&B classic "Stagger Lee".
Information about this song are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All rights remain with their owners.
Thanks to the composer/s of this song. Thanks also to the vocalists, and musicians featured in these sound files and this video. Thanks also to all those who are quoted in this post and thanks to the publishers of these sound files & video on YouTube.
****
INFORMATION ABOUT THE SONG "STAGGER LEE"
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stagger_Lee_(song)
" "Stagger Lee", also known as "Stagolee", "Stackerlee", "Stack O'Lee", "Stack-a-Lee" and several other variants, is a popular folk song based on the murder of William "Billy" Lyons by Stagger Lee Shelton...
The first published version of the song was by folklorist John Lomax in 1910. The song was well known in African American communities along the lower Mississippi River by the 1910s.
Before World War II, it was commonly known as "Stack O'Lee"... In Mississippi John Hurt's version, as in all such pieces, there are many (sometimes anachronistic) variants on the lyrics. Several older versions give Billy's last name as "De Lyons" or "Deslile".
-snip-
Warning: That Wikipedia page includes profanity.
-snip-
From http://reocities.com/SunsetStrip/stage/8376/stagger_lee_1.html
"The legend of Stagger Lee is one of the most important and enduring stories from American folklore. Although it has had some popularity with the white community, it is a story that comes from the African-American oral tradition. There are many different versions of the tale, but here is the general storyline. Stagger Lee (also known as Stagolee, Stackerlee, Stackalee etc.) gets into a dispute with a man named Billy DeLyon (also known as Billy the Lion or Billy Lyons) after losing his Stetson hat to Billy while gambling. Stagger Lee pulls a gun (sometimes identified as a .45, other times as a "smokeless .44") on Billy who then pleads to be spared for the sake of his wife and children. Showing no compassion at all, Stagger Lee cold-bloodedly shoots and kills his opponent."...
-snip-
Click http://www.planetslade.com/stagger-lee2.html for multiple pages of information about Stagger Lee Shelton, including the following theory:
"Shelton may have taken his 'Stack Lee' nickname from a white man called Stacker Lee, whose father owned the famous Lee Steam Line of riverboats...Travelling up and down the Mississippi between St Louis and New Orleans, he became well-known as a gambler, a hell-raiser and a ladies' man. He made a habit of fathering illegitimate children wherever his boat put in, often by black or mixed-race women.
It's very unlikely that Shelton was really Stacker Lee's son - the dates and locations are all wrong for that - but he may well have adopted his nickname to hint at that possibility. Shelton's light skin, described by Jefferson Penitentiary as a “mulatto complexion”, would have made it easy for people to believe he had a white father. Who could blame him for hinting that father was the glamorous son of a powerful, rich family?"
-snip-
Also, click http://www.stackolee.net/ for a list of hundreds of recordings of "Stagger Lee" ("Stack O Lee").
****
EXCERPT FROM WIKIPEDIA [added September 18, 2018]
From https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stagger_Lee
" "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 was first recorded in 1923 by Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians. A version by Lloyd Price reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959.
Background
The historical Stagger Lee was Lee Shelton, an African-American pimp living in St. Louis, Missouri in the late 19th century. He was nicknamed Stag Lee or Stack Lee, with a variety of explanations being given: he was given the nickname because he "went stag", meaning he was without friends; he took the nickname from a well-known riverboat captain called Stack Lee; or, according to John and Alan Lomax, he took the name from a riverboat owned by the Lee family of Memphis called the Stack Lee, which was known for its on-board prostitution.[2] He was well known locally as one of the Macks, a group of pimps who demanded attention through their flashy clothing and appearance.[3] In addition to these activities, he was the captain of a black Four Hundred Club, a social club with a dubious reputation.[4]
On Christmas night in 1895, Shelton and his acquaintance William "Billy" Lyons were drinking in the Bill Curtis Saloon. Lyons was also a member of St. Louis' underworld, and may have been a political and business rival to Shelton. Eventually, the two men got into a dispute, during which Lyons took Shelton's Stetson hat.[5] Subsequently, Shelton shot Lyons, recovered his hat, and left.[6] Lyons died of his injuries, and Shelton was charged, tried and convicted of the murder in 1897. He was paroled in 1909, but returned to prison in 1911 for assault and robbery. He died in incarceration in 1912.[7]
The crime quickly entered into American folklore and became the subject of song as well as folktales and toasts. The song's title comes from Shelton's nickname—Stag Lee or Stack Lee.[8] The name was quickly corrupted in the folk tradition; early versions were called "Stack-a-Lee" and "Stacker Lee"; "Stagolee" and "Stagger Lee" also became common. Other recorded variants include "Stackerlee", "Stack O'Lee", "Stackolee", "Stackalee", "Stagerlee", and "Stagalee".[9]
Early versions
A song called "Stack-a-Lee" was first mentioned in 1897, in the Kansas City Leavenworth Herald, as being performed by "Prof. Charlie Lee, the piano thumper."[10] The earliest versions were likely field hollers and other work songs performed by African-American laborers, and were well known along the lower Mississippi River by 1910. That year, musicologist John Lomax received a partial transcription of the song,[11] and in 1911 two versions were published in the Journal of American Folklore by the sociologist and historian Howard W. Odum.[12]
The song was first recorded by Waring's Pennsylvanians in 1923, and became a hit. Another version was recorded later that year by Frank Westphal & His Regal Novelty Orchestra, and Herb Wiedoeft and his band recorded the song in 1924.[13] Also in 1924, the first version with lyrics was recorded, as "Skeeg-a-Lee Blues", by Lovie Austin. Ma Rainey recorded the song the following year, with Louis Armstrong on cornet, and a version was recorded by Frank Hutchison in 1927.[10]
Before World War II, it was commonly known as "Stack O'Lee". W.C. Handy wrote that this probably was a nickname for a tall person, comparing him to the tall smokestack of the large steamboat Robert E. Lee.[14] By the time W.C. Handy wrote that explanation in the 1920s, "Stack O' Lee" was already familiar in United States popular culture, with recordings of the song made by such pop singers of the day as Cliff Edwards.
The version by Mississippi John Hurt, recorded in 1928, is regarded as definitive.[10] In his version, as in all such pieces, there are many (sometimes anachronistic) variants on the lyrics. Several older versions give Billy's last name as "De Lyons" or "Deslile". Other notable pre-war versions were by Duke Ellington (1927), Cab Calloway (1931), and Woody Guthrie (1941).[10]
Post-war versions
In 1950, a version of "Stack-a-Lee" by New Orleans pianist Archibald reached number 10 on the Billboard R&B chart.[15] Lloyd Price recorded the song as "Stagger Lee" in 1958, and it rose to the top of both the R&B and US pop charts in early 1959.[15] His version was ranked number 456 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list, and also reached number 7 on the UK singles chart. Price also recorded a toned-down version of the song that changed the shooting to an argument between two friends for his appearance on Dick Clark's American Bandstand."...
****
LYRICS: STACK O' LEE
[as sung by Mississippi John Hurt]
Police officer, how can it be?
You can 'rest everybody but cruel Stack O' Lee
That bad man, oh, cruel Stack O' Lee
Billy de Lyon told Stack O' Lee, "Please don't take my life
I got two little babies, and a darlin' lovin' wife"
That bad man, oh, cruel Stack O' Lee
"What I care about you little babies, your darlin' lovin' wife?
You done stole my Stetson1 hat, I'm bound to take your life"
That bad man, cruel Stack O' Lee
With the forty-four
When I spied Billy de Lyon, he was lyin' down on the floor
That bad man, oh cruel Stack O' Lee
"Gentleman's of the jury, what do you think of that?
Stack O' Lee killed Billy de Lyon about a five-dollar Stetson hat"
That bad man, oh, cruel Stack O' Lee
And all they gathered, hands way up high
At twelve o'clock they killed him, they's all glad to see him die
That bad man, oh, cruel Stack O' Lee
****
SHOWCASE EXAMPLES
Example #1: Mississippi John Hurt - The Ballad Of Stagger Lee
Uploaded by JTgrimteam on Jul 20, 2010
In My Opinion ; One Of the Best And Most Genuine Musical Pieces Ever Recorded. Mississippi John Was an Amazing Musician And Human Being.
-snip-
Here's a comment from this sound file's discussion thread:
Garett Russ, 2018
"It blows my mind how many racially-charged posts are derived from this music as I look through the comments.... The only thing that comes to mind is that if the shoe fits check yourself... You need to sit back take a deep breath and realize that you are smaller than what this man has done... Stop trying to build this imaginary Fortress of theology with your comments... And rather embrace the fact that amazing music came from a time of suffering.... bust the guitar out... try to jam along... and stop being a b** that is drowning in a time that wasn't even yours to drown in because you feel the need to be a voice for them.... Guess what!! These men and women were so strong they didn't need you... They use the strings (lightning Hopkins)... And they use their voice (Etta James)... Go ahead and pick up your pout box and take a walk home.... 😎"
-snip-
This comment is given as it was found in that discussion thread.
****
Example #2: Lloyd Price - Stagger Lee
Uploaded by RoverTCB on Apr 29, 2008
The first censored rock n roll record to be a n°1 hit
-snip-
The Wikipedia page whose link is given above includes information about how Dick Clark, the host of the television program "American Bandstand" made Lloyd Price change the lyrics of this song for that show's performance.
****
Example #3: STAGGER LEE (1969) by Taj Mahal
Uploaded by wilsonmcphert on Nov 5, 2009
...I have done a slideshow video for this song and to try and help tell the story.
****
Example #4: stagger lee - wilson picket
youknowstone, Uploaded on Mar 19, 2008
wicked live
-snip-
This singer's nickname was "The Wicked Wilson Pickett".
This post showcases videos & lyrics of two versions of the classic Blues song "Corrina Corrina".
The content of this post is presented for historical, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
All copyrights remain with their owners.
FEATURED VIDEO & LYRICS
Video #1: Muddy Waters - Corrine, Corrina (Chicago, 1979)
jcoxhill, Uploaded on Feb 3, 2011
A 1928's song, written by B. Chatmon, M. Parish and J. Mayo Williams. Here it lives with the dead Muddy Waters.
-snip-
Here’s a comment from this video’s viewer comment thread http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_aizPVTvoM
monkeytown1000, July 2012
“One of the writers of the song was Armenter Chatmon - better known as Bo Carter, one of the blues group the Mississippi Sheiks. They are best known for writing "Sitting On Top Of The World". For me, this as near as Muddy gets to singing country music.”
LYRICS - CORRINA CORRINA
(as sung by Muddy Waters in the above video)
(Spoken) Here's what you call "Corrina".
(Sung)
Corrina, Corrina, where ya been so long?
Tell me Corrina, where ya been so long?
I haven't had no lovin'
since you been gone.
I love Corrina, I tell the world I do.
Well, I love Corrina, I tell the world I do.
Well, I hope some day, Sugar,
She'll come to love me too.
Corrina, Corrina, where you stay last night?
Tell me Corrina, where you stayed last night?
You came home this mornin'
the sun was shinin' bright.
I left Corrina way across the sea.
I left Corrina way across the sea.
She wouldn't write me no letter.
She didn't care for me.
Bye-bye Corrina, I got to leave ya now.
Bye-bye Corrina, I got to leave ya now.
Well, I know you didn't mean me
no good, no how.
(Transcription by Azizi Powell from the video. Any additions and/or corrections are welcome.)
****
Video #2: Taj Mahal - Corrina, Corrina
dosmetrosdos,• Uploaded on Jul 19, 2009
The Taj Mahal Trio perform "Corrina, Corrina" at the 28th Annual Claremont Folk Music Festival on May 3rd 2008.
-snip-
This video's YouTube comment thread http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YfxoviTHO0 contains an interesting discussion about Taj Mahal and this song, including these two posts:
*Warning: Several other posts include profanity.
b3n2p1, 2010
"When I was a kid in a small town in northern Canada,this song by Taj made the local top ten.I guess in those days,DJ's in the boonies could play what they liked.White kids and Cree Indian kids loved it.They played at teen dances.It was my introduction to emotion and honesty in music.And girls."
-snip-
TheOldskier, 2011
"Corrina, I don't know who you are but you must be a FINE woman to inspire two blues songs so widely played. I LOVE Taj's version best."
LYRICS - CORRINA CORRINA
(as sung by Taj Mahal at the Claremont Folk Music Festival on May 3rd 2008)
(Spoken) This is a country Blues tune.
(Sung)
Got a bird what whistle.
Baby, got ah bird,
Honey got ah bird what sing.
Oh, Baby, got a bird
Honey, got a bird what sing.
Without my Corinna, sure don't mean
Sure don't mean ah natural thing.
Honey, I love to love you.
Oh, Baby, for I call
Honey for I call your name.
Baby, I gotta call your name.
Honey for I call your name.
Well, I love my money, Baby,
But Honey, you're my love life,
Baby, you're my love life flame.
Have mercy, have mercy,
Baby on my hard luck,
Honey, on my hard luck soul.
Ah, Baby on my hard luck,
Honey, on my hard luck soul.
Got a rainbow 'round my shoulder.
Look like silver, Baby.
Honey, shine like Klondike gold.
Tell me sweet sweet Corrina, Baby,
Where you stay last night?
Tell where you stayed
Honey, where you stay last night.
Oh, your shoes ain’t buttoned Baby.
Your dress, your dress ain’t lookin right.
Well I love Corrina.
Baby, I tell the world
Oh, Baby tell the world
Honey, tell the world I do.
Ain’t a woman in fourteen counties love me, Baby,
Honey, the way you do.
Well, you look like silver, Baby
Honey, shine like Klondike gold.
Oh, you look like silver
Honey, shine like Klondike gold.
Got a lien on my body
Got a mortgage on my very soul.
Got a bird, what whistle,
Baby, got ah bird,
Honey got ah bird what sing.
Baby, got ah bird,
Honey, got a bird what sing.
Without my Corinna,
Sure don't mean a natural thing,
Corinna, Oh Corinna
Corinna...
[continue this vamp]
(Transcription by Azizi Powell from the video. Additions and/or corrections are welcome.)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND THANKS
Thanks to the composers, and performers of this song. Thanks also to the uploaders of these videos & the video viewers whose comments I quoted.
This post showcases sound files or videos of Mississippi John Hurt, Lloyd Price, Taj Mahal, and Wilson Pickett singing versions of the Blues/R&B classic "Stagger Lee".
Information about this song are also included in this post.
The content of this post is presented for historical, folkloric, entertainment, and aesthetic purposes.
"Stagger Lee", also known as "Stagolee", "Stackerlee", "Stack O'Lee", "Stack-a-Lee" and several other variants, is a popular folk song based on the murder of William "Billy" Lyons by Stagger Lee Shelton...
The first published version of the song was by folklorist John Lomax in 1910. The song was well known in African American communities along the lower Mississippi River by the 1910s.
Before World War II, it was commonly known as "Stack O'Lee"... In Mississippi John Hurt's version, as in all such pieces, there are many (sometimes anachronistic) variants on the lyrics. Several older versions give Billy's last name as "De Lyons" or "Deslile".
The legend of Stagger Lee is one of the most important and enduring stories from American folklore. Although it has had some popularity with the white community, it is a story that comes from the African-American oral tradition. There are many different versions of the tale, but here is the general storyline. Stagger Lee (also known as Stagolee, Stackerlee, Stackalee etc.) gets into a dispute with a man named Billy DeLyon (also known as Billy the Lion or Billy Lyons) after losing his Stetson hat to Billy while gambling. Stagger Lee pulls a gun (sometimes identified as a .45, other times as a "smokeless .44") on Billy who then pleads to be spared for the sake of his wife and children. Showing no compassion at all, Stagger Lee cold-bloodedly shoots and kills his opponent...
"Shelton may have taken his 'Stack Lee' nickname from a white man called Stacker Lee, whose father owned the famous Lee Steam Line of riverboats...Travelling up and down the Mississippi between St Louis and New Orleans, he became well-known as a gambler, a hell-raiser and a ladies' man. He made a habit of fathering illegitimate children wherever his boat put in, often by black or mixed-race women.
It's very unlikely that Shelton was really Stacker Lee's son - the dates and locations are all wrong for that - but he may well have adopted his nickname to hint at that possibility. Shelton's light skin, described by Jefferson Penitentiary as a “mulatto complexion”, would have made it easy for people to believe he had a white father. Who could blame him for hinting that father was the glamorous son of a powerful, rich family?
-snip-
Also, click http://www.stackolee.net/ for a list of hundreds of recordings of "Stagger Lee" ("Stack O Lee").
FEATURED SONG EXAMPLES
Example #1: Mississippi John Hurt - The Ballad Of Stagger Lee
Uploaded by JTgrimteam on Jul 20, 2010
In My Opinion ; One Of the Best And Most Genuine Musical Pieces Ever Recorded. Mississippi John Was an Amazing Musician And Human Being.
****
Example #2: Lloyd Price - Stagger Lee
Uploaded by RoverTCB on Apr 29, 2008
The first censored rock n roll record to be a n°1 hit
-snip-
The Wikipedia page whose link is given above includes information about how Dick Clark, the host of the television program "American Bandstand" made Lloyd Price change the lyrics of this song for that show's performance.
****
Example #3: STAGGER LEE (1969) by Taj Mahal
Uploaded by wilsonmcphert on Nov 5, 2009
...I have done a slideshow video for this song and to try and help tell the story.
****
Example #4: stagger lee - wilson picket
youknowstone, Uploaded on Mar 19, 2008
wicked live
-snip-
This singer's nickname was "The Wicked Wilson Pickett".
****
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND THANKS
My thanks to the composer/s of this song. My thanks also to the vocalists, and musicians featured in these sound files and this video. Thanks also to the uploaders of these sound files & video, and to those whose comments are quoted in this post.
