The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #168981   Message #4083142
Posted By: GUEST,Jim Hauser
12-Dec-20 - 02:00 PM
Thread Name: New article on Stagolee and John Henry
Subject: RE: New article on Stagolee and John Henry
Related to the question about Lloyd Price's "Stagger Lee" being banned, I found a webpage on songfacts.com which states:

Lloyd Price recorded two versions of this song. The first had Stagger Lee and Billy gambling (Stagger Lee shot Billy at the end), the second, rushed out by ABC-Paramount after hearing complaints from radio listeners, had Stagger Lee and Billy arguing over a girlfriend, who goes back to Stagger at the end.

Dick Clark thought Price's original version was too violent, so Price performed the tamer rendition for his appearance on Clark's American Bandstand.

https://www.songfacts.com/facts/lloyd-price/stagger-lee