Stagolee Shot Billy

By Cecil Brown,

Book cover of Stagolee Shot Billy

Book description

Although his story has been told countless times - by performers from Ma Rainey, Cab Calloway and the Isley brothers to Ike and Tina Turner, James Brown and Taj Mahal - no one seems to know who Stagolee really is. Stack Lee? Stagger Lee? He has gone by all these…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked Stagolee Shot Billy as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Stagolee, the bad man who will not back down, is an icon of African American mythology. His defining moment, the Christmas night murder of Billy Lyons is the subject of folk and blues songs from the turn of the twentieth century to the present day. Though many know the story, before Cecil Brown’s book, most did not realize that the story was true. On Christmas night, 1895, in St. Louis, “Stack” Lee Shelton shot Billy Lyons in a fight over a Stetson hat. Stagolee Shot Billy documents the events leading to the murder while shining a light on the culture,…

From Robert's list on murder in America’s Gilded Age.

Want books like Stagolee Shot Billy?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Stagolee Shot Billy.

Browse books like Stagolee Shot Billy

Book cover of The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America
Book cover of The Trial of Lizzie Borden
Book cover of Arsenic Under the Elms: Murder in Victorian New Haven

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,206

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in criminals, folklore, and African Americans?

Criminals 70 books
Folklore 380 books
African Americans 808 books