Its strikingly close to what actually happened, right down to the names of the principals and the caliber of the murder weapon. Enjoy our next guest, Billy Lyons. They were conspicuous for their strutting style and their flashy clothes. Billy Lyons is an actor, known for Treaty Live (2022). When I spied Billy de Lyon, he was lyin down on the floor Taking a knife from his pocket, he proclaimed, Im going to make you kill me!. Apparently, Billy was a Republican. Nick Cave release a song called "Stagger Lee" on an album titled "Murder Ballads" in February 1996 with explicit lyrics. [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. The North Carolina native has also served . It Takes a Lunatic is his first film. An 1896 Globe-Democrat article reveals an attitude among white St. Louisans toward the killing of Blacks that could fairly be called genocidal: Though the Morgue and the City Hospital are regularly supplied with subjects from [Curtiss saloon] it is generally conceded that he is acting as a public benefactor in allowing undesirable members of colored society to be dispatched in his place of business. The reason Shelton finally went to prison, in all likelihood, wasnt that hed killed a man but that hed killed the wrong man. Episode #17 of the Motorcycle Knuckle Busters podcast. [8], The song tradition embellishes the story with sometimes inaccurate or fantastic details. 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. Consisting of two novellas, the latter "My Heart Struck Sorrow" focuses in large part on a horrific mystery connected to varied acetate recordings made in the 1930s as well as the folklore surrounding "Stagger Lee."[18]. Lyons and Sheldon were friends and were talking together. Get the latest creative news from Blues Scene about music & art. Sacramento police Officer Billy Lyons, known for compassion for the down and out, dies By Sam Stanton. Lee Shelton may have had a wife of his own. Lyons refused, and Sheldon drew his revolver and shot Lyons in the abdomen. Here they tak. He owned one of the tenderloins more notorious nightspots, the Modern Horseshoe Club, and presumably used his job as carriage driver to direct white visitors emerging from Canal Streets Southern Railroad Station to his nightclub, the local bordellos, or directly to girls whose activities he personally oversaw. Billy Lyons actor at billy lyons Dublin e Regio. We know from these statements that Lyons left . Angela Discon. His doctor believed hed been exposed to it while doing fieldwork for his dissertation in the early 70s. He's very sick, cannot work, and really needs help with his bills and medical expenses. 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. In a typescript draft of Davids book, I found the following: Surviving documents record that two of the Lyons childrenFlorence and Mariewere already in St. Louis Colored Orphans Home by May of 1894 where they were baptized by Father Cassius Mason of All Saints Episcopal Church. He told me when we were young that some day he would be a Sac PD police officer just like his Dad. . In honor of Mantels enormous contributions to literature, dive back into her Tudor world with Penelope Rowlandss essay about one of the key power dynamics Mantel explored: that between Cromwell and Sir Thomas More. He was subsequently arrested and locked up at the Chestnut Street Station. Police officer, how can it be Lee Sheltons signature and fingerprint from his penitentiary records (from the papers of John Russell David), In the refrain of his definitive 1928 version, Mississippi John Hurt sings, That bad man, oh cruel Stack OLee. That the word bad is a versatile one, especially in African-American vernacular English, has allowed the tone of the songs to shift over the course of the 20th centuryfrom disapproving to approving of Stagoleewithout their essential vocabulary ever changing. Researchers have tended to write that off as a likely error, though, since he was single at the time of his incarceration, according to penitentiary records. [10], Last edited on 17 February 2023, at 12:46, List of number-one R&B singles of 1959 (U.S.), "Stacker Lee: A partial investigation into the historicity of a Negro murder ballad", "A Brief History of Stagger Lee and Billy Lyons", "Herb Wiedoeft's Cinderella Roof Orchestra", "19451946 Sidney Bechet | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic", "Billboard Hot 100 60th Anniversary Interactive Chart", "Largehearted Boy: Book Notes Derek McCulloch ("Stagger Lee")". Billy Lyons succumbed the next morning, one of five murder victims in St. Louis that Christmas Day. That bad man, oh cruel Stack O Lee, Gentlemans of the jury, what do you think of that? He wore gold rings on his fingers and carried a gold-headed cane. However, the definitive version of the song came out in 1959 when rhythm-and-blues singer Lloyd Price topped the charts with his snappy, horn-drenched version. Occupation. The disease had taken a terrible toll, and the unromantic truth is that by the time he died, the pimp, gambler, and murderer weighed only 102 pounds. A Brief History of Stagger Lee and Billy Lyons, The 28th Sandy Beaches Cruise to Set Sail in 2024 With Initial Lineup Announcement, An Q&A with Otis Taylor, New Album BANJO Out Now, Watch: Animated Video for John Lee Hooker Hit Boom Boom, River Crests in Memphis, Downstream Still Faces Dangers, Bluescentric.com the shop for Blues, Soul, and Rock n Roll, Mick Kolassa Announces Essentials Series, Kicks Off With Babys Got Another Lover, Listen: New Bob Corritore & Friends Single What Kind of Man is This ft. Koko Taylor. [15][16], Within thirty years of Shelton's death, Benjamin Botkin records stories among the superstitious of his having been born with a caul over his face (signifying one with the power to see spirits and destined for trouble), or of having sold his soul to the Devil (in exchange for the hat, said to be magic, over which he killed Billy Lyons). HarperCollins published "A Lush and Seething Hell" by John Horner Jacobs in 2019. This page was last edited on 17 February 2023, at 12:46. Add or change photo on IMDbPro Add to list More at IMDbPro Contact info Agent info Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy 1 win & 1 nomination total Known for Emmerdale Farm 4.8 TV Series [1]:2425 A story appearing in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat in 1895 read: William Lyons, 25, a levee hand, was shot in the abdomen yesterday evening at 10 o'clock in the saloon of Bill Curtis, at Eleventh and Morgan Streets, by Lee Sheldon [sic], a carriage driver. "It's Weill's money, but it's our history and this is the endgame here," said actor Billy Lyons, 29, assistant to acting coach Wynn Handman, who had worked from a Carnegie studio since the . According to the prison record, he had a face and torso that boasted several scars. In 1892, after he was detained for robbing a woman with whom hed been living, the Globe-Democrat called him notorious. The denizens of the Bloody Third probably just called him a bad man.. 1939 - John Amos, American actor 1943 - Cokie Roberts, American journalist 1944 - Mick Jones, English guitarist, and songwriter 1948 - Grard Depardieu, French-Russian actor . Upon Sheltons arrival in St. Louis he will at once report to Mr. James D. Anderson. It never came to that. Slums were the natural result, and by the 1890s, 85 percent of the citys black population occupied only 2 percent of its space. All of his Stagolee researchboxes of criminal complaints, prison records, clippings, correspondence, photographs, floppy disks, and audio tapeshad been sitting in a St. Louis basement ever since. Thats one detail that the songs, understandably, have tended to get wrong, insisting that the bad man went proudly to the gallows. Listen to a clip from John Russell Davids 1973 interview with Ed McKinney, and be sure to read Eric McHenrys annotation to the murder ballads oldest known lyrics. Apprised of Sheltons terminal condition, Missouri Governor Herbert S. Hadley had approved a mercy parole, upon condition, however, that he in the future conduct himself in all respects, as a law-abiding citizen. Shed died not long after Billy did, orphaning their three children: Marie, Leon, and Florence, the daughter from whom Myles and Johnson said they were descended. I think Bill's compassion came from his Mom. There can be no doubt that Susie Mae Myles and Arthur Buddy Johnson were the great-grandchildren of Billy Lyons. Click To Watch Free 'NAACP Image Awards 2023' Live Stream. Find the perfect Billy lyons stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360 image. Cedric is the grandson of legendary bluesman R.L. By signing up, you agree to the our terms and our Privacy Policy agreement. According to Cecil Brown, on the night Lee killed Billy Lyons, he wore a black dress coat, high-collar embroidered yellow shirt, elaborately patterned red velvet vest, and gray striped slacks. But long before rehabilitating Thomas Cromwells reputation, Mantel was unparalleled in her crystalline dissections of power, whether between girls at the University of London or Dantonists in the French Revolution. The folk versions are much more dramatic. He has been involved in controversial and politically influential motion pictures as One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest; The China Syndrome, Wall Street and Traffic, as well as such popular films as Romancing the Stone, Fatal Attraction and Marvel's Ant Man and Ant Man and the Wasp. Luxury The Future of Auctions Might Rely on . [8] The song was well known in African American communities along the lower Mississippi River by 1910. This did not impede him from building cribs in back of his house, where some of his girls conducted business under his watchful eye. So we're lucky to have a full cast, totaling 166 narrators (including stars like Ben Stiller, Keegan-Michael Key, Julianne Moore, and Don Cheadle), lending their talents to this paranormal historical tale. In Davids taped interviews, Myles and Johnson seem confident that their great-grandfather died in Curtiss saloon that Christmas night. Shelton is very popular with those of his class in the Third Police District, and is not without funds.. Billy grabbed Sheltons hat in anger, and when he refused to return it, Shelton shot Billy in the gut, picked up his hat, and left. That same night alone, five murders were committed in Saint Louis, but only one shot to world-wide infamy through a tangled web of politics, folklore, and raw persistence. Before World War II, the song was commonly known as "Stack O'Lee". at twelve oclock they killed him, theys all glad to see him die Whats dat he killed him wid? In this variation, he is the embodiment of a tough black man; one who is sly, streetwise, cool, lawless, amoral, potentially violent, and who defies white authority. The earliest versions were likely field hollers and other work songs performed by African American laborers. In John Russell Davids papers I found whats almost certainly the oldest published sheet musicStack-O-Lee (A True Story From Life), copyright 1910, by the cringe-worthily named Three White Kuhns. Lyons had good reason to think of this place as enemy territory. [14] Frontman Dan Auerbach drew inspiration from his heavy blues background, playing the song in open G tuning, finger plucking on an old telecaster. That bad man, oh, cruel Stack O Lee, Billy de Lyon told Stack O Lee, Please dont take my life, Lee hit him on the head with his pistol, which was actually a .44-caliber Smith & Wesson. In other words, there was a Black man named William Lyons with an adult stepdaughter named Estella living in central St. Louis around the time of the Stack Lee killing. With the growing flood of immigration of poor Southern blacks in the decades following the Civil War, the black sections of town quickly began to overflo . Heres a handwritten letter from Billy Lyonss sister and mother, pleading with the governor to deny Stack Lee a pardon. Billy Lyons is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Patsy Lucher. The Four Hundred Club presented itself in the strictest of moral tones and professed to advance the moral and physical culture of young colored men and to eschew all acts of violence. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globes including this year's Best Actor in comedy television series for The Kominsky Method, an Emmy and the AFI Life Achievement Award. A question that almost everyone who writes about Stagolee eventually takes up is, Why are we still talking about this particular murder? The historical Lee Shelton was an African American man born in 1865 in Texas. [16] 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. Copyright 2021 "Billy Lyons" redirects here. The William Lyons who failed to attend his kids baptism in 1894a year and a half before the Stack Lee murdermay have had the excuse of already being dead. [13], In 2004, The Black Keys recorded a song on their third album, Rubber Factory dubbed Stack Shot Billy, which tells the tale of the infamous murder. The real Billy Lyons was a bully who, it seems, all but had his fate coming. By the time he faced off with Billy Lyons the following Christmas, pistol-whipping had become his specialty; at the coroners inquest, three witnesses said that Shelton struck Lyons with the .44 before shooting him. According to the Globe-Democrat, his trial for Lyonss murder had to be pushed back because the two chief witnesses couldnt be found: Deputy Sheriff Ruler said he had reason to believe that [the witnesses] had been paid to leave the city. [6] Lyons died of his injuries, and Shelton was charged, tried, and convicted of the murder in 1897. It was a notorious red-light district, known as Deep Morgan. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk is a 2016 war drama film directed by Ang Lee and written by Jean-Christophe Castelli, based on the 2012 novel of the same name by Ben Fountain.The film stars Joe Alwyn, Garrett Hedlund, Kristen Stewart, Vin Diesel, Steve Martin, and Chris Tucker. A couple of summers ago, I started poking around in those collections, and once I started comparing what I thought I knew about the Stagolee legend with what I was seeing in the documentary record, I found that I couldnt stop. But maybe that was the error. And looking at the history of the man objectively, there is no reason to anticipate that it would. Im still awed and humbled, every time I pick through those boxes, by the artifacts he was able to unearth. In the summer of 2010, Stuke was featured on Celebrity MasterChef, where it was discovered that he was not a very good chef, despite his claim that he was. Phi Beta Kappa They both believe, for example, that Stack and Billy were fighting over a craps gamea canard that made its way into the songs after being falsely reported by the papers. Directed by Billy Lyons, Kim Ferraro and Seth Isler, this 2019 film splits its focus between Handman's work as artistic director there and as an acting teacher. It is unfathomable why the obscure murder of a levee hand in a red-light bar would attain such far-reaching notoriety, while songs about equally sordid killingsfact-based murder ballads such as Ella Speed and Duncan and Bradyare doomed to relative obscurity. David has maintained a good relation with several TV and movies star and according to them, David is very helpful and kind hearted guy. Nov 2020 - Present2 years 4 months. 133 followers 134 connections. As the oral legend spread of Stack Lee as a black man who would not back down, Billy Lyons turned into ''a small . The origins of this tale begin with a Christmas Eve bar fight in Saint Louis in 1895. As so many have already learned and been praying, my brother in law, Billy Coile, went fishing alone Saturday afternoon and has not returned. Billy "Spacey" Lyons is an Actor, Musician, Tattoo Artist and Motor. When little Lillie Sheldon she first heard the news In 1909, then-Missouri governor Joseph Wingate Folk gave Shelton a full pardon on Thanksgiving day. BY Billy Lyons. It is virtually impossible to predict what people or events will be caught up in the myth-making machine and what will simply fall by the way. Handman is survived by daughters Laura Handman and Liza . In their New Book of Rock Lists, Dave Marsh and James Bernard name 15 Sons of Stagger LeeRecords That Would Be Inconceivable Without Him, including the Geto Boys Mind of a Lunatic, Cypress Hills How I Could Just Kill a Man, and Ice Cubes The Na You Love to Hate.. As a born-and-bred Oklahoman, the scene immediately caught my attention. Lee Shelton himself, armed with a pistol and buoyed by drink on that Christmas night more than 120 years ago, certainly had no inkling that his rash act of violence would elevate him to the pantheon of mythical Americans. During his field recordings, John Lomax oftenrecordedthe Stagger Lee song by various groups in the American South, from Texas to theAppalachia, often times in prisons. He died in incarceration in 1912. Hi, my name is Billy. [12][4][1]:73 he is often said to have received a death sentence for his crime, which he accepts stoically. What about Stags bad man reputation and Billys wife and children, though? 1 mo. Keith's Cancer Fund. Bill, you will be missed, great man, great cop!! It may have seemed like providence when a Stagolee-struck researcher, also 47, showed up on her doorstep, hoping literally to carry out her late husbands work. [9], 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". The State of Missouri charged Lee Shelton, alias Stack Lee, with the murder of Williams Lyons (from the papers of John Russell David). Crowning it all was an expensive highroller, white Stetson, its hatband adorned with an embroidered image of his favorite girl, Lillie. He has touched so many lives. Sheltonalias Stack Leewould be memorialized in song, becoming perhaps the most significant figure in African-American folklore. Gentleman at all times! He is very active and popular in several social networking sites. I've heard of the Billy Lyons case. www.shodavision.com. Turn-of-the-century St. Louis was a shockingly violent place. However, practically all the various iterations of the song have Stagger Lee executed for his crime: Judge stood in the courtroom, That year, musicologist John Lomax received a partial transcription of the song,[9] and in 1911 two versions were published in the Journal of American Folklore by the sociologist and historian Howard W. Billy died of his wound shortly thereafter, and Lee was sentenced to a twenty-five-year prison term. Sheltons case was retried in 1897, and Stagger Lee was found guilty of murder and sentenced to the notorious Jeffersonpenitentiary in Jefferson City, Missouri. Daniel Shor (born November 16, 1956) is an American actor, director, writer, and acting teacher with a career spanning over 40 years. Shelton was tried and convicted for the crime in 1897, and sentenced to 25 years in prison. The events that inspired the murder ballads Frankie and Johnny and Duncan and Brady occurred within a few years, and a few blocks, of the Stagolee killing. O how I wonder what theyll do 2023 Missouri Life Magazine. Myles and Johnson both died in the 80s, and neither had surviving children. 1895 - "Stag" Lee Sheldon killed his friend Billy Lyons over a drunken political argument. A graduate of Ithaca College (BFA Acting), Billy has performed both regionally and Off-Broadway at the Irish Rep. The murder received significant exposure and political scrutiny, and resulted in a hung jury trial, after Stagger Lee had hired one of the most prominent lawyers in the state. Danny Masterson, 44, was charged with three counts of rape by force or fear. The historical Stagger Lee was Lee Shelton, an African American pimp living in St. Louis, Missouri, in the late 19th century. William "Billy" Lyons April 18, 1946 - February 5, 2023 Sacramento, California - William (Billy) Lyons left us much too soon on February 5, 2023, surrounded by his adoring family. Billy Graham. He has also been a panellist on several episodes of the topical discussion series The Wright Stuff. In early 1897, a reporter for the Kansas City Star transcribed some songs often rendered by the negro prisoners of the city jail, including Stacka Lee, an importation from St. Louis: Stacka Lee, cant you see Keith has been like a brother to me for almost 40 years. Im talking about Paul Harvey, whose daily broadcast The Rest of the Story aired on more than 1,100 radio stations for thirty-plus years. He always addresses Stagolee, and its always some version of the same two-sentence appeal: Please dont take my life. It opened January 21, 2015 and featured Brandon Gill, J. Bernard Calloway, Tiffany Mann, Cedric Neal, and Saycon Sengbloh. Hi my name is Mindy Lyons. He was paroled in 1909, but returned to prison in 1911 for assault and robbery. [1]:102. The events of the murder were fairly commonplace; two friends, Billy Lyons and Stagger Lee Shelton, were drinking at Bill Curtiss saloon and became enthralled in a conversation about politics. [1]:35 The 1995 version by Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds paints Stagger Lee as a sociopathic, bisexual, sexual predator who forces a foe to perform fellatio on him before shooting the man to death. He was a native Sacramentan, born April 18, 1946, and son of Kenny and Catherine Lyons. Amazingly enough, the song may be the most re-recorded in history, with well over four hundred separate recordings to its name. [1]:37 He later worked as a carriage driver in St. Louis, Missouri, where he gained a reputation as a pimp and gambler, and evidently served as a captain in a black "Four Hundred Club," a political and social club with a dubious reputation. David Lyons has a weight of about 72 kg and his height is around 6 feet and 2 inches. The only remaining option for the deceased killer is hell, and again Stagger Lee asserts himself, this time for control over the Devils domain: Even in death, the larger-than-life figure of Stagger Lee triumphs. [2][1]:4243 He was not a common pimp as described by Cecil Brown, "Lee Shelton belonged to a group of pimps known in St. Louis as the 'Macks.' Interestingly, a single news item from 1896 includes the name of Stack Lees girlfriend, and its Lillie Moore. The songs play up the importance of Stagolee's Stetson hat as a symbol of manliness. In 1931, folk great Woodie Guthrie sang a rendition of the song, likely adapted from John Hurts version, as the lyrics are very similar. W.C. Several older versions give Billy's last name as "De Lyons" or "Deslile". Billy Lyons was the brother-in-law of Henry Bridgewater, an influential saloon owner and by some accounts the wealthiest Black man in St. Louis. In 2007, Samuel L. Jackson played Stack-O-Lee in the movie Black Snake Moan, backed by Cedrick Burnside and Kenny Brown. When his victim fell to the floor Sheldon took his hat from the hand of the wounded man and coolly walked away. Nonetheless, Stagger Lee spread with extraordinary speed, beginning shortly after the actual killing. A version by Lloyd Price reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959. By this time, folk versions of the Stagger Lee song were cropping up all across the South. This set of lyrics circulated widely in the 20s and 30s, with the real Stagolees slightly misspelled surname hiding in plain sight for decades. Lee was arrested, tried, andafter two trialssentenced to twenty-five years in the Missouri State Penitentiary. In November 1894, he beat a man with a revolver, fracturing his skull and inflicting five severe scalp wounds. Less than two months later, he fired a shot without effect at Thomas Gibson. He then hit Gibson over the head with the butt of the gun. Christian evangelist, minister, and author Billy Graham may be best known for his large rallies, radio sermons, and television appearances. Type above and press Enter to search. I had to borrow cassette players from three different friends before I found one that would play the 90-minute Memorex, which is actually a dub of a reel-to-reel recording from 1973a 40-year-old copy of a 46-year-old conversation with an 88-year-old man. You can check Billy out in the film John Nieto: An American Spirit Walk, he also has a part in the new release "Rough Boys". For the Canadian professional wrestler, see, "Killer Blues to Install Headstones at the Graves of Stagger Lee, Milton Sparks This Weekend", Matt Marshall, "A Brief History of Stagger Lee and Billy Lyons,", Richard E. Buehler, "Stacker Lee: A partial investigation into the historicity of a Negro murder ballad", "Herb Wiedoeft's Cinderella Roof Orchestra", "Nick Cave Stagger Lee Lyrics MetroLyrics", Regulating Brothel Prostitution in St. Paul, 18651883, Commercial sexual exploitation of children, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lee_Shelton&oldid=1130579157, American people who died in prison custody, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2020, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Stagolee, Stagger Lee, Stack-O-Lee, Stag Lee, Lee Sheldon, This page was last edited on 30 December 2022, at 22:15. However, as raised up by more than a century of popular culture, the righteous killer Stagger Lee has become an icon to generations, who see in the folk character a defiance of authority, pride of self, and strength in the face of adversity. A brief search of the Stagger Lee name could reveal recordings from Mississippi John Hurt, Furry Lewis, Lloyd Price, Professor Longhair, The Black Keys, Samuel L. Jackson, The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Wilson Picket, Taj Mahal, Fats Domino, Bob Dylan, Beck, Elvis Presley, Ike Turner, and a great many others. . In 2006, he guest-starred in The Bill; his character (James Tennant) was involved in the storyline of missing child Amy Tennant. As Cecil Brown puts it in his book Stagolee Shot Billy, One reason Stagolee has survived so long is that any performance of it grants the participantsperformers and audience aliketime out from the pressures of life in a racist American society.. Following a breadcrumb trail of birth announcements and census records, I tracked down the children of their sister, the late Rosealee Johnson Pearson. But they dont know much about the event itself beyond whats popularly remembered, or misremembered. Billy "Spacey" Lyons is an Actor, Musician, Tattoo Artist and Motorcycle Enthusiast. I got two little babies, and a darlin lovin wife He will be missed! For example, Shelton had first crushed Lyons' Derby hat, after which Lyons grabbed Shelton's hat and demanded restitution; Shelton then drew his gun and smacked Lyons on the head with it. Billy, and I met in in high school in 1964 which would begin a life long close friendship. Lee threatened to shoot Billy unless he returned the hat forthwith: Billy refused. To be honest, though, I'd never read too much . William Lyons, 25, a levee hand, was shot in the abdomen yesterday evening at 10 o'clock in the saloon of Bill Curtis, at Eleventh and Morgan Streets, by Lee Sheldon [sic], a carriage driver. But over the past several years, through services like Newspapers.com and Ancestry.com, huge caches of relevant documents have become broadly availableand, crucially, keyword-searchablefor the first time.