Welcome to the nineteenth edition of Anthology Revisited, the song-by-song journey through the Anthology of American Folk Music, a collection of 84 recordings assembled by Harry Smith and released on Folkways Records in 1952 then reissued by Smithsonian Folkways in 1997.
In this installment, we’ve got “Stackalee”, as performed by Frank Hutchinson on January 28, 1927 in the studios of OKeh records in New York City, NY. This song is based on actual events from Christmas 1895, and more than 500 different artists have recorded songs based on these events.
NOTE: According to his death certificate and tombstone, this performer’s last name was Hutchinson, not Hutchison. While both spellings appear on images in this article, I have endeavored to stick with the spelling that appears on the tombstone throughout this text.
Our journey through the Anthology has seen some wild ups and downs. Our first five songs were Child ballads, and the next six songs covered themes of Courtship. After that, we started the Timeline theme, which ran from songs 12 through 17. Then, in the previous edition (“Gonna Die with My Hammer in My Hand”, Song 18), we stepped out of the timeline theme for a sidebar to clear up the John Hardy / John Henry controversy. This week, we’re back in the Timeline with a song about events from 1895.
Over the course of the past few songs, the tone has slowly shifted. For a period, there was room for humor, but that well has gone dry, and situations have become much more serious our journey through the heart of Volume One - Ballads has progressed. A few songs ago, Kelley Harrell was cracking (dark) jokes on “My Name is John Johanna”, but since then, there hasn’t been much to laugh about.
Most recently, we’ve had some upbeat songs on grim subjects. We saw one man hanged for the murder of a president, another hanged for killing a man in a craps game, and a third man who worked himself to death (but at least he beat the steam drill). With “Stackalee”, we have another dark story with an uptempo beat.
Before we get rolling, I need to mention that Harry Smith’s notes erroneously place the events of this song in Memphis circa 1900. The events actually took place in St. Louis, Missouri on Christmas Day, 1895.
Here’s Harry’s headline…
THEFT OF STETSON HAT CAUSES DEADLY DISPUTE. VICTIM IDENTIFIES SELF AS FAMILY MAN
Smith cuts to the chase with another pithy headline that gives us the skinny on this song. It’s brief, but accurate. Stackalee (the song’s titular character) killed Billy Lyons over John B. Stetson hat. Lyons was indeed the father of three children. Smith’s headline ignores Stackalee’s capture and guilty conscience.
Depending on how your tastes in music run, you may have heard a version of this story somewhere along the way, as the tale has been the subject of multiple songs, recordings of which span numerous genres.
The version of the story we’re examining comes from Frank Hutchinson, who was mentioned in the previous installment of this series because he was friends with the performers (Williamson Brothers and Curry) and helped secure their only recording session. This time, he’s alone in the studio, playing guitar and harmonica, and singing about that bad man, Stackalee. Without further ado, here is Frank Hutchinson performing “Stackalee” on January 28, 1927 for OKeh records in New York City.
Hawlin Alley, one dark and drizzly night. Billy Lyons and Stack A Lee had one terrible fight, All about, that John B. Stetson hat.
Stack A Lee walked to the barroom and called a glass of beer. He turned around to Billy Lyons, said "What are you doing here?" "Waiting for the train, please bring my woman home."
"Stack A Lee, O Stack A Lee, please don't take my life. I've got three little children and a weeping, loving wife." You're a bad man, bad man Stack A Lee
"God bless your children, I'll take care of your wife. You stole my John B. now I'm bound to take your life." All about, that John B. Stetson hat
Stack A Lee turned to Billy Lyons and he shot him right through the head. Only taken one shot, to kill Billy Lyons dead. All about, that John B. Stetson hat
Sent for the doctor, well the doctor he did come. Just pointed out to Stack A Lee, said "Now what have you done?" You're a bad man, bad man Stack A Lee
Six big horses and a rubber tired hack, They taken him to the cemetery, they failed to bring him back. All about, that John B. Stetson hat
Hawlin Alley, I thought I heard the bulldogs bark. It musta been old Stack A Lee stumblin' in the dark. He's a bad man, gonna land him right back in jail
High police walked on to Stack A Lee, he was lying fast asleep. High police catched Stack A Lee, and he jumped forty feet. He's a bad man, gonna land him right back in jail
Got old Stack A Lee, laid him right back in jail. Couldn't get a man around to go Stack A Lee's bail. All about, that John B. Stetson hat
Stack A Lee said to the jailer, "Jailer I can't sleep." 'Round my bedside Billy Lyons began to creep." All about, that John B. Stetson hat
The Song
This is a well-known story, and there are a lot of songs about William Lyons being murdered by Lee Shelton (aka Stack-a-Lee, Stagger Lee, Stag-O-Lee, Stacker Lee, Stag Lee, Stack Lee, etc.). Most of these songs play fast and loose with the facts, because that’s what songs do, and I’m not here to set the record straight for every single song that tells some version of this tale.
Instead, I’ll offer a high-level retelling of the events, with newspaper clippings and other supporting documents, and discuss how those events are represented in this particular song.
But there is much more to the story than what I provide, and the tale is far more complex than it appears on the surface. The Sources section of this article includes links to several resources which provide deeper insight into Stackalee legend and its place in popular culture. For the most comprehensive telling of the story , Cecil Brown’s 2003 book Stagolee Shot Billy has got you covered. (A sizable sample of the text is available at Google Books).
Prelude - Becoming Stack Lee
The details as to when, where, how, and why Shelton adopted the street name “Stack Lee” have been up in the air for years, but the two most prominent theories trace the name’s origin center around riverboats on the Mississippi River. During my research for this article, I found evidence that refutes one of these theories. This does not necessarily mean that the other theory is the indisputable truth of the matter, but I can say without question this new evidence has rendered one of the theories impossible.
The first theory as to the origin of Stack Lee’s street name suggests the moniker was taken from a riverboat, the Stacker Lee, a boat on the Lee Line of steamboats that traveled the Mississippi River. Allegedly, the Stacker Lee was the kind of riverboat upon which gentlemen could purchase the companionship of ladies for a brief period.
If the Stacker Lee was a vessel whereupon prostitution was available, it would be most fitting because Stack Lee was the kind of guy who, for a fee, could help another guy acquire the companionship of a lady, if you know what I mean. I really like this theory a lot, but there’s a small problem.
According to the Way's Packet Directory entry reproduced at LeeLiners.com, the Stacker Lee was not built until 1902, seven years after the events of this song took place. Below is the Way’s Packet Directory entry from LeeLiners.com, with emphasis added by this author.
STACKER LEE: Boat 5174 Way’s Packet Directory page 432. Stern Wheeler, Packet, wood hull, built by Howard Shipyard Jeffersonville Ind. 1902, 225.5 x 45 x 6.5. Engines 18’s – 8 ft. Three boilers each 44” x 24 ft. Owned by Lee Line. Crew October 1902, Capt. Shep Lightner; Pilots Luther Brasher and Charles B. Ziegler; Engineers William Brannon and Richard Fryer; Clerks John Hermann and Joe Tucker. Ran St. Louis – Memphis. Capt. Tom Greene (Anchor Line) once said that the name “STACKER LEE” sounded more “south” than any other steamboat’s name; which reminds us that Courtney M. Ellis who was an engineer for the Lee Line for a time recalled a sign over the crew’s table which warned NO STEAMBOATING AT MEALS. The STACKER LEE sank four miles above Memphis down-bound on October 21, 1916 at 11:00 PM. There was water up to the Texas. Purser Nick Jokerst gathered up money and papers and with second clerk Walter Jeffords rowed to Memphis in a yawl and got the tug BART TULLY to come up for the passengers. On the morning of the same day the CAPE GIRARDEAU sank off Fort Gage.
Stacker Lee ran aground in 1916 (Image Source LeeLiners.com)
While I really like the theory about Stack Lee taking his name from the steamboat, it doesn’t hold water because the boat was built long after Lee Shelton became Stack Lee.
The other main theory suggests that Stack Lee Shelton borrowed the name of riverboat captain Samuel Stacker Lee. This seems more probable, and since the riverboat theory has been disproven, I suspect this is the true source of Stack Lee’s street name. Captain Samuel Stacker Lee worked with the Lee Lines from 1873 until his death in 1890. Samuel Stacker Lee had a reputation as a ladies’ man, and it was for him that the 1902 riverboat was named.
The Lee Line riverboats were started by Samuel Stacker Lee’s father, Captain James Lee Sr. in 1866, and the young Stacker Lee grew up on the steamboats. Captain William Tippitt worked for the Lee Lines for many years and provided some first-hand accounts about the family. Below, you will find an image of Tippitt’s notes on Samuel Stacker Lee. The text beneath the image is the same as the text that appears on the image. Emphasis added by this author.
Capt. Samuel Stacker Lee
Stacker Lee, as he was known, the youngest son of Capt. James Lee, Sr., grew up on the steamers, he was by far the best of the lot as a steamboat man. He believed in steamboating 'In old way' and he frequently clashed with his brother Jim over his management.
He was the idol of every man, woman and child in the trade, a war hero, gallant, charming and one of best dressed steamboat man [sic] in Memphis. He was idolized by the negroes, when the Mate failed to get a crew during the cotton season Capt. Stacker would take his walnut cane and stroll up Beale street from the landing into the dives that lined the south side of Beale and roust out a crew for his boat. His favorite chant was, "The indter [sic] is long bellies will be empty, and there will be no food on the Lee boats for those who refuse to work." Food was always available to rousters who worked more or less regular on the Lee boats during the long winter months when business was light and small-crews were carried.
When the war erupted between the States, Capt. Stack Lee enlisted in 154th Tennessee Infantry. When this unit was disbanded he transfered [sic] to Forrest regiment and served with honor and distinction until the end of the war.
Capt. Stacker loved all the ladies, he was much sought after and a pain in neck to his father, for despite all the father's efforts he remained single until in 1874 on one memoriable [sic] trip on James Lee, he met a young flower of Memphis, Miss Lizzie Belle Yerger; who with some companions were making an outing trip on James. Lee.
A whirlwind courtship resulted and finally the beau-brummel of the Mississippi was caught in the net of matrimony. Note: I have been unable to find exact date of this marriage. The U.S. Census of 1880 reports that Samuel Stacker Lee, Jr., age 5, was born of this union.
Soon after his marriage Capt. Stacker Lee bought a house at 501 Main street in Memphis, previous to this he had roomed at the Lee residence at 140 and 115 Adams street.
An article on the Lee Line published in S&D Reflector History in June 2015 has been reproduced on the Lee Line Steamers website, and includes the following text about Samuel Stacker Lee. (Emphasis added by this author).
Samuel Stacker Lee was first recorded in Capt. Tippitt's history on March 16, 1873 as the "genial clerk" on the PHIL ALLIN. Stacker Lee was named for family friend Samuel Stacker who was in the iron business in the Dover, TN area in the 1820s, as was his father prior to leaving the iron business and becoming a life-long steamboat man. At age 16 Stacker enlisted in the Confederacy in 1864 and was captured six months later when General N.B. Forrest was surrounded and forced to surrender. Stacker most likely was pardoned due to his age and sent back to Memphis. His cavalry sword belongs to a family member. Stack, as he was affectionately called by his father, became captain of the IDLEWILD in 1876. Three years later he was captain on the GEO. W. CHEEK and in 1880 was master of the first JAMES LEE. Memphis City Directories listed him in that position through 1887. From 1888 until his death at the age of 42 on April 24, 1890, Stacker served as Vice President of the Lee Line. He was much admired by Lee Line rousters for his way with the ladies as well as his less than staid way of life (perhaps a better adjective describing Stacker would be the word rounder).
A little clarification here, “rousters” were longshoremen or deck hands. According to Green’s Dictionary of Slang, in the late 1890’s, the word “rounder” described a fashionable, playboy type of guy. Based on all of this evidence, it appears that “Stack Lee” Shelton’s street name was indeed taken from riverboat Captain Samuel Stacker Lee.
On April 3, 1890, Samuel Stacker Lee died from “an inflammation of the stomach” (gastritis). Below is an image of the newspaper article (retrieved from FindAGrave), followed by the text of the article.
Death of Capt. Stacker Lee Yesterday Morning at His Residence.
Capt. Stacker Lee, a retired steamboat commander, died at 3 o'clock yesterday morning of inflammation of the stomach, after a brief illness. Capt. Lee was one of the best-known marines in the South. He began life on the river soon after the war and remained until a few years ago, when bad health forced him to retire. Capt. Lee was a gallant Con-federate soldier and participated in several of the hardest battles. His last service on the river was as master of the steamer James Lee in the Memphis and Friars Point trade. At the time of his death he was vice-president of the Lee Line steamers; also held some of the stock. All steamers in port yesterday displayed their flags at half-mast out of respect to his memory. Services will be held at deceased's late residence, No. 501 Main street, this morning at 10 o'clock and the interment will be made in Elmwood Cemetery.
Samuel Stacker Lee was buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee. In the image below, the his tombstone is the one with the anchor at the foot of the grave. On a closer view (see source site), the initials S.S.L. can be seen on the stone.
Part One - Lee Shelton
“Stack Lee” Shelton was born somewhere in Texas, on March 16, 1865, and was among the tens of thousands who moved to St. Louis in the late 1800’s. In 1895, Shelton was a busy fellow. He was carriage driver, occasionally worked shifts at Bill Curtis’ saloon, and was the proprietor of a lid club called the Modern Horseshoe Club. What’s a “lid club”? According to Cecil Brown’s Stagolee Shot Billy, a lid club was “an underground establishment that kept a ‘lid’ on such criminal activities as gambling while serving as a front for other activities.”
As a carriage driver, Shelton was well-positioned to identify potential clients for his other business endeavors. When Stack Lee picked up visitors from the train depot or river port, he would engage them in conversation. If were seeking to whet their carnal appetites, then Shelton could refer them to his own Modern Horseshoe Club for drinking or gambling. He could also, for a fee, make arrangements for out-of-town visitors to spend some quality time with one of Shelton’s lady friends.
So yeah, Stack Lee was a pimp, and he wasn’t shy about it. He was one of a group of pimps called the “macks”, which were the kinds of pimps who dressed to the nines and put themselves on display. So, Stack Lee was a sharp dressed player, who strolled the streets of St. Louis in a dazzling outfit topped by a milky white Stetson hat.
Part Two - Billy Lyons
Born in 1864 in Missouri, very little is known about Lyons, and we don’t even know his parents’ names. We know that the newspaper reported he worked as a levee hand at the time of his death, and that Lyons had a sister named Eliza Bridgewater, and a stepmother named Marie Brown.
Marie Brown’s name is important here because in 1892, her son (and Billy Lyons’ stepbrother), Charles Brown, killed Harry Wilson, a friend of Lee Shelton, in the Bridgewater Saloon, an establishment owned by Henry Bridgewater, husband to Billy Lyons’ sister, Eliza.
Despite the song’s suggestion to the contrary, Billy Lyons was not married at the time of his death. He was, however, father to three young children; Florence, Marie, and Buddy.
Part Three - Christmas Night
On December 25, 1895, in the Bill Curtis Saloon at the corner of 11th and Morgan Streets in Saint Louis, Missouri, friends William Lyons and Shelton Lee were having drinks and laughing together at the bar. In time, the conversation turned to politics, and the joviality quickly soured. Heated words were exchanged, the argument escalated, and soon, the men began to strike at one another, landing blows on each other’s hats. Shelton snatched Lyon’s derby, and damaged it. Lyons demanded compensation for the damaged hat, grabbed the Stetson hat from Lee Shelton’s head, and refused to return it.
At this point, Stack Lee was done messing around. Games are not played with the Stetson. Shelton pulled out a .44 pistol and hit Lyons in the face with the gun, threatening to shoot him if he didn’t return the hat. Instead of returning the hat, Lyons allegedly reached into his pocket for a knife and said to Shelton, ”You cockeyed son of a bitch, I’m going to make you kill me”,
As the action intensified, the bar all but cleared out. Lyons reached for the gun, Shelton pulled the trigger and shot Billy Lyons.
Hutchinson's recording says that Stackalee shot Lyons in the head, and that’s called artistic license. When Lyons refused to return the hat, Shelton Lee shot William Lyons in the abdomen. Once Lyons hit the floor, Lee removed his Stetson from Lyons’ hand, and walked out of the bar into the December night.
After the shooting, William Lyons was taken to a nearby dispensary, (which, in the 19th century, referred to a medical establishment that provided services for the poor). He was later transferred to a hospital, but Billy Lyons’ life could not be saved. He died around 4:00AM on December 26, 1895, leaving his three children (Florence, Marie, and Buddy) fatherless. Lyons was buried in St. Peter’s Cemetery in Normandy, Missouri in the family plot owned by his sister’s husband.
Document identified as Lyons’ death certificate from Staggerlee.com (Source)
William Lyons’ grave site - The flowers on the left side of the frame are beside Lyons’ headstone. (Source)
Part Four - Back to Stack
Stackalee was a pimp with multiple places to hang his Stetson hat. His actual home was on 12th Street, but after killing Billy Lyons, Shelton didn’t go home. Instead, he visited a house on 6th Street to which he had free and ready access, handed his gun to the woman of the house, and went to bed.
It seems as it the local police were aware of Shelton’s possible hideouts, because Stack Lee Shelton was roused from his sleep by the local police, and arrested in the early hours of December 26th. He faced the judge and was arraigned for homicide on December 27th.
On January 3, 1896, Shelton’s bail was set at $4,000. On February 12, a Grand Jury indicted Shelton on first-degree murder. Contrary to Hutchison’s report, on June 25, Lee Shelton was released from jail after a pawnbroker Morris Smit put up the $3,000 bond.
On July 15, 1896, the trial began, with Shelton’s attorney arguing that his client acted in self-defense. Three days later, the jury returned, unable to reach a verdict. On August 26, 1897, Shelton’s attorney died, and was thus unable to represent him at the retrial. Although the date of the trial is not clear, it is stated that after two hours of deliberations, the jury returned a guilty verdict and Lee Shelton was sentenced to 25 years in prison. He arrived at Missouri State Penitentiary on October 7, 1897 to begin his sentence.
Part Five: More information
Above, I’ve provided the basic story, but there’s so much more to it, and the Sources at the end of this piece can fill in the numerous blanks my own account has left vacant. But I do want to share a few other bits of information to flesh out the tale a bit, and give you the contemporary take on the events.
Newspaper Clippings
First, here’s what the St. Louis Globe-Democrat, a local newspaper, had to say on the day after Lyons was shot. (NOTE: The quoted text beneath the image is the same as the text that appears in the image, but easier to read.)
Saint Louis Globe-Democrat Thursday, December 26, 1895 page 7
William Lyons, 25, colored, a levee hand, living at 1410 Morgan Street, 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] also colored. Both parties, it seems, had been drinking and were feeling in exuberant spirits. Lyons and Sheldon were friends and were talking together. The discussion drifted to politics and an argument was started, the conclusion of which was that Lyons snatched Sheldon's hat from his head. The latter indignantly demanded its return. Lyons refused, and Sheldon withdrew his revolver and shot Lyons in the abdomen. Lyons was taken to the Dispensary, where his wounds were pronounced serious. He was removed to the City Hospital. At the time of the shooting the saloon was crowded with negroes. Sheldon is a carriage driver and lives at 911 North Twelfth Street. When his victim fell to the floor Sheldon took his hat from the hand of the wounded man and coolly walked away.
He was subsequently arrested and locked up at the Chestnut Street Station.
The political dispute that was at the heart of the argument is a more complex matter that I won’t try to dissect. The gist of the dispute is that Lyons and the Bridgewaters were Republicans and Stack Lee was a Democrat and a leader of the "Four Hundred Club”, a civic organization that, among other things, encouraged people to vote Democratic. You can explore the politics on your own, but the key takeaway here is that the fight between Stack Lee and Billy Lyons was over politics, not a gambling incident, the reason cited by so many songs.
Previously, I mentioned that Billy Lyons’ stepbrother had murdered one of Stack Lee’s friends. Page 3 of the Friday, December 27, 1895 edition of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch included the following article (text is below image) which suggests that this killing may have been the cause of Shelton’s actions on Christmas 1895.
RESULT OF A FEUD.
Christmas Killing Said to Have "the Four Hundred's" Vengeance.
If information Imparted to Coroner Walt Friday is true the shooting of William Lyons by Lee Sheldon alias "Stack Lee" Christmas was deliberately planned and was the result of an old feud between two negro factions.
Lyons was a relative of Henry Bridgewater, who keeps a saloon at Eleventh and Lucas avenue, and a step-brother of Charles Brown who killed Charles Wilson in Bridgewater's resort about five years ago. Brown was acquitted. Wilson belonged to a club known as the "Four Hundred," which hangs out at Bill Curtis' saloon, Eleventh and Morgan streets. Lee Sheldon is President of the club.
On account of the killing of their associate, Wilson, the members of the "Four Hundred" are said to have sworn ven-geance against the Bridgewater crowd and the killing of Lyons is said to have been a direct result of this feud. Coroner Wait will give the matter a thorough investigation.
When Stack Lee was up for parole in 1909, Lyons’ sister Eliza and his stepmother Marie Brown wrote the following to the parole board:
…And in conjunction with my mother I hope and pray that you will never agree to let a man who never worked a day or earned an honest dollar be turned out to meet us face to face. As far as his character is concerned ask any officer on the police force from Captain down to patrolman. Again as a sister I beg you not to turn a man like him on the community at large. If justice had been done he would have hung. Just think he has not served half his term.
Yours respectfully,
Mrs. Henry Bridgewater, sister Marie Brown, mother
Part Six: The Death of Stack Lee
Despite the pleas of Eliza Bridgewater and Marie Brown, Lee Shelton was granted parole in 1909. This parole was revoked in 1911 after Shelton assaulted a man named William Akins in St. Louis, and robbed him of $60. Shelton returned to the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City, Missouri where he died of tuberculosis on March 11, 1912.
Stack Lee was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Hillsdale, Missouri. The tombstone above was installed at Shelton’s unmarked grave on April 14, 2013 by Killer Blues, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing gravesite markers for deceased musicians and historical figures who were buried in unmarked graves.
The Performance
In September 1926, Frank Hutchinson had his first recording session in New York City. He recorded two sides, and the folks at OKeh thought it might be worth calling him back for another session. Hutchinson returned to the studio on January 27, 1927, but “Gospel Ship”, the lone track recorded on that date, was never released. The following day, Hutchinson returned to the studio and recorded nine sides. “Stackalee” bookended the session as the first and last song recorded that day. The take from the beginning of the session remains unissued, so we’re discussing the final track recorded on January 28, 1927.
That this was the final side Hutchinson recorded during his first extended recording session may be one reason why this performance sounds so particularly wild. In my mind, I envision Hutchinson in the studio, he’s got one last song to do before heading back to West Virginia, and for some reason, he re-records “Stackalee”. Maybe he heard playback of the earlier take and was unhappy with it. Perhaps there was a technical difficulty. We’ll never know exactly what happened. We just know that Frank Hutchinson re-recorded the track, and the recording we hear is the result of that effort.
Hutchinson is loosened up and feeling good. The recording machine starts recording, and he tears out of the gate, never letting up until the song is finished. Has he been drinking? Maybe. Does it matter? Not really. Why do I even suggest this? Hutchinson has incredible swagger throughout this recording. From the start, it’s clear that Frank Hutchinson believes he is the man to best tell this tale.
He announces his arrival with a high octane harmonica solo, then delivers his report on the events, hollering out the where of the story, before cramming the when into five words that barely fit the line. Hawlin Alley! Onedarkandrizzlynight
The second line comes in with the who and what, Billy Lyons and Stackalee had one terrible fight
Then we get the why, delivered with a peculiar, memorable internal rhythm, . All about… that John B Stet-son hat
The scene is set, and the exuberance keeps on going for eleven three-line verses.
I believe Hutchinson sounds loosened up, but not sloppy. He knows the song inside and out, and could probably sing it in his sleep. How can I tell he knows the song so well? The vocals fly from his mouth out in a rhythm that doesn’t necessarily follow the rhythm of his hands on the guitar, but it somehow works just the same.
A couple of times, Hutchinson assumes the roles of a reporter and interviewee, hollering out a question between verses, then answering his own question with the next verse.
His guitar and harmonica, like his vocals, have rapid fire delivery with quick shifts, and there are moments when it feels like the whole song is gonna fly off the rails, and become a pile of wreckage in the corner, but Hutchinson keeps it on track, all the way to the end.
The performance is wild, slippery, and done with abandon, but it’s not chaotic. It’s exhilarating. It’s intense, and it’s intentional.
Some artists who appear on the Anthology sound to me as if they were truly dynamic live performers, who knew how to work an audience. To my ear, Hutchinson is one such performer. Having spent time with Hutchinson’s other recordings as well, I am convinced that he was highly entertaining, and could put on an incredible show.
The Performer
Willis Franklin Hutchinson, later known as “The Pride of West Virginia”, was born on March 20, 1897 to 18 year old Frank Mankin and 16 year old Louvena Hutchinson in Beckley, Raleigh County, West Virginia. There are no records to suggest that Hutchinson’s parents were married, and his mother, Louvena married Robert Deskins on February 3, 1899.
Father killed by “cinnamon drops”
On November 2, 1899, Frank Mankin (Hutchinson’s father) and Wood Hutchison (Frank’s maternal grandfather’s brother) died after drinking poisoned “cinnamon drops”. Two other men were in critical condition from consuming this as well. This information comes from a newspaper clipping on Frank Mankin’s FindAGrave page.
As the clipping above indicates, Wood Hutchison’s autopsy revealed the presence of poison. The death register lists Wood Hutchison’s cause of death as “arsenical poisoning”. I don’t know what “drinking cinnamon drops” means exactly, but based on the phrase, the era, and the region in which the events took place, I suspect “cinnamon drops” were either a cinnamon flavored moonshine or some sort of patent medicine.
My first thought, and the one that seems most probable is that “cinnamon drops” refers to a cinnamon flavored moonshine. Arsenic poisoning through moonshine was a relatively common occurrence, and arsenic could contaminate the moonshine in one of two ways; either the metals used to build the still (the apparatus in which moonshine was made) contained arsenic, or the water used in making moonshine was contaminated with arsenic. The former is just as probable, but the latter seems most likely in this case because they lived near the marshes (and probably had a still in those nearby marshes). The runoff from coal mining and processing facilities would absolutely contain arsenic, and naturally flow downhill, straight into the marshes. Arsenic doesn’t go anywhere in the distilling process, so if water contaminated with arsenic is used to make moonshine, the resultant beverage could be toxic. Did they consume moonshine made with marsh water? Did they make the moonshine with parts that contained arsenic? I can’t say with any certainty, but to me, these seem to be the likeliest explanations.
Another possibility is that “cinnamon drops” were some form of patent medicine. Such medicines occasionally used cinnamon flavoring to mask the harsh taste, and sometimes included arsenic, which was used medicinally in small doses. Overconsumption of such a patent medicine could be deadly, and while it is possible that a patent medicine killed Hutchinson’s father and great uncle, I have my doubts that this is the case. First, I suspect it would require a relatively large quantity of patent medicine to kill two people and make two more critically ill from arsenic poisoning. Second, I can envision some guys sitting around drinking moonshine, but the idea of four guys sitting around drinking patent medicine to the point that two of them died is a bit of a stretch.
In my mind, what happened is that Hutchinson’s father and great uncle made some moonshine, tried it out, and shared it with some other guys who also tried it out. The guys who made the moonshine consumed more of the toxic concoction, and it killed them both. The two who weren’t involved in the production consumed less arsenic and managed to survive.
So yeah, I’m leaning strongly towards “cinnamon drops” being some form of moonshine, but since I have no way of knowing definitively, I wanted to provide the two possible explanations that came to my mind.
The Life of Hutchinson
By 1900, young Frank, his mother, stepfather, and infant half brother Moss moved to the Logan magisterial district of Logan County. Frank’s grandfather, Eldridge Hutchinson was a fiddler and banjo player and a regular performer in the Logan County area prior to the family’s relocation. Eldridge was killed in a mining accident in Mingoes County (Logan County’s neighbor to the southwest) in 1903. At around 8 years old, Hutchinson befriended a Black railroad worker named Bill Vaughn from whom he learned to play music.
Image Source (WV Music Hall of Fame Inductees 2018 - FamilySearch)
On April 21, 1917, Frank Hutchinson married Minnie Garrett in Logan, West Virginia. On June 5, 1917, Hutchinson’s World War I Draft Registration Card was completed, and indicates that he was a miner in the Fort Branch, West Virginia coal mine. According to Sherman Lawson, a fiddler from the area who appeared on 3 of Hutchinson’s 1928 recordings, while working in the coal mine, Hutchinson befriended Bill Hunt, a disabled Black musician who lived in hills above coal camps and played guitar. Hunt would come down to the coalfields on payday and play outside the pay shack, which is where one assumes Hutchinson first encountered him. He went on to spend quite a bit of time learning guitar from Hunt.
On January 7, 1920, when the 1920 U.S. Census takers came to call, Frank was still working in the mine, and he and Minnie lived in Logan County with their two daughters, Louise (22 months) and Kathleen (7 months).
Musical Career
Between the 1920 and 1930 Censuses, Frank Hutchinson worked for a spell as a professional musician. I’ve not found any records to indicate exactly how or when his performing career got started, but several sources indicate that Hutchinson performed with medicine shows during the 1920’s.
It’s possible that someone from OKeh records heard Hutchinson in a medicine show and helped arrange for him to record a couple of sides in New York. (I only suggest this theory because Hutchinson appears on three sides of the six-sided release “Medicine Show Revue in Six Acts” that featured Hutchinson and other OKeh artists recorded as if they were in a medicine show.) It’s just as possible that Hutchinson went to New York on his own to see if he could be on a record. Either way, in 1926, Frank Hutchinson recorded two sides for OKeh records Worried Blues, and The Train that Carried the Girl from Town.
In January 1927, Hutchinson returned to the OKeh studios in New York City for a full session. I have no source to confirm this, but based on the career trajectories of other artists in the era, I’m inclined to think that Hutchinson did test recordings in 1926, and those records sold well enough to earn him a second session.
As heard on the recording of “Stackalee”, Hutchinson was a solid vocalist who was highly skilled at fingerpicking guitar and playing the harmonica. If you listen to his other recordings, you’ll discover that Hutchinson was quite versatile. His repertoire included not just ballads, but blues numbers, ragtime, dance tunes, and his own compositions, featuring guitar playing as varied as his songbook.
If you only plan on listening to a couple of tracks, I would definitely recommend this 1927 recording of “Worried Blues”. He recorded the song in 1926 as well, and though it’s quite cool to listen to the differences between the two recordings, if you only have time to listen to one recording, the quality of the audio from the 1927 recording is superior, and would be the logical choice.
The guitar playing on this track is quite different from that on Stackalee, but I promise, this is the same guy. On this recording, Hutchinson is using the slide to play guitar, and he was considered one of the first and finest “white country blues” performers to emerge in the 1920’s.
The photo of Hutchinson below shows him playing slide guitar, as heard on “Worried Blues”. I can’t tell exactly what he’s holding in his left hand, but he’s holding something that he used as a slide. In performance, he’d hold the slide with his left hand and move it up and down the fretboard as needed, while picking the strings with his right hand.
The Logan County coalfields had a solid music scene. Hutchinson was friends with the Williamson Brothers and Curry, who recorded the previous track on the Anthology, and helped them secure their lone recording session, and thus, their place in this overall conversation.
Virginia Myrtle Ellis was a Logan County banjoist better known as “Aunt Jenny Wilson” to whom Hutchinson once proposed marriage. In a 1984 interview indicated that Hutchinson and Dick Justice regularly played dances together until the wee hours of the morning. This doesn’t surprise me, and I’m sure (or at least, extremely hopeful) that there were occasions where the Williamson Brothers, Arnold Curry, Dick Justice, and Frank Hutchinson played together, which would’ve been serious fun. Maybe some other local performers like Aunt Jenny Wilson, Sherman Lawson, and Albert Kirk joined in as well.
In time, Frank Hutchinson became known as “The Pride of West Virginia”, and rightfully so. Recorded between 1926 and 1929, his 32 song discography (including three tracks with fiddler Sherman Lawson) is a delightful blend of styles that showcase the skill and versatility of this highly talented musician. His discography can be found at the end of this section, and is included in the playlist for this article on YouTube).
Hutchinson’s final recordings were made in September 1929, when he appeared on a six-side release called “The Medicine Show Revue in Six Acts” with other OKeh recording artists Fiddlin’ John Carson, Moonshine Kate (Rosa Lee Carson), Namour and Smith, the Black Brothers, Emmitt Miller, and Bud Blue The release was a medicine show format, that featured Martin Malloy as the master of ceremonies, and salesman of a cure-all elixir (called sunshine, even though it was made beneath the shine of the moon). Malloy introduced the acts who’d perform brief pieces of songs, and add cornball humor of their own. Hutchinson appears in Acts 2, 4, and 6 of the release.
Sadly, the Great Depression took hold, and brought an end to Hutchinson’s recording career (and the recording careers of many others).
After 1929
By 1930, the Hutchinson family had moved to Chapmanville, WV, which was still in Logan County, and Hutchinson remained in the mine. According to Hillbilly-Music.com, for a period during the Great Depression, Hutchinson moved briefly to Chesapeake, Ohio, where he worked as a musician on riverboats, but that fell through and he returned to Logan County.
By 1940, Hutchinson and Minnie were empty nesters in Lake, WV (another Logan County community), and Hutchinson was no longer in the mine. Instead, he was the manager of a grocery store and postmaster. His World War II Draft Registration Card was completed on February 16, 1942, and at the time, Hutchinson was listed as self-employed and working in Lake, West Virginia. He was 5’11” tall, weighed 170 pounds, with grey eyes, brown hair, and a light complexion.
In 1942, the Hutchinsons’ grocery store burned down and they lost practically everything. After the fire, they moved to Dayton, Ohio. Three years later, at 3:00AM on November 9, 1945 in St. Elizabeth hospital in Dayton, Ohio, Frank Hutchinson died from cirrhosis of the liver. Prior to his death, he lived at 19 Malcolm Drive in Dayton and his occupation was listed as a bartender. His remains were buried in the Richardson Cemetery in Lake, Logan County, West Virginia.
Hutchinson’s work gained renewed attention thanks to Harry Smith’s Anthology and the folk revival that it helped inspire. Unfortunately, by the time all this happened, Frank Hutchinson was no longer around.
In 2018, Frank Hutchinson was inducted into the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame. That organization created the outstanding short video below about Hutchinson’s life and music. It’s an exceptional piece, and I do hope you’ll take the time to watch.
September 10, 1928 - OKeh Records - New York City, NY Sherman Lawson - violin on all sides except “Boston Burglar” Cluck Old Hen (Unissued) Old Corn Liquor (Unissued) Sally Gooden (Unissued) Keldon’s Reel (Unissued) Boston Burglar (Unissued)
Fiddlin' John Carson (instrumentalist : violin, vocalist, speaker), Rosa Lee Carson (instrumentalist : guitar, vocalist, speaker) <<Rosa Lee Carson also identified as “Moonshine Kate”, instrumentalist; guitar>> Emmett Miller (speaker, vocalist), Narmour and Smith (Musical group) [W. T. Narmour (instrumentalist : violin), Shellie W. Smith (instrumentalist : guitar),], Black Brothers (Vocal group) [Frank Luther (speaker, vocalist : tenor vocal), Carson Robison (speaker, vocalist : tenor vocal)] Bud Blue (instrumentalist : piano, speaker), Frank Hutchison (instrumentalist : guitar, vocalist, speaker), Martin Malloy (speaker; emcee),
Connections
This song marks our return to the Timeline theme of songs based on real (or fictionalized) events arranged in the order in which the events were purported to have occurred. Here’s the timeline…
12 -- Peg And Awl (1801-1804) 13 – Ommie Wise (1807) 14 – My Name Is John Johanna (1870’s) 15 – Bandit Cole Younger (1870’s; key event - 1876) 16 – Charles Giteau (1881-1882) 17 – John Hardy Was A Desperate Little Man (1893-1894) SIDEBAR 18 - Gonna Die with My Hammer in My Hand (1870’s) 19 - Stackalee (1895)
Our previous song, “Gonna Die with My Hammer in My Hand” was a sidebar from the Timeline, one that concluded a two-part examination into the entangled legends of John Henry and John Hardy and introduced musicians from the southern West Virginia coalfields, an area this song’s performer also called home.
This is our fifth consecutive song to deal with real people in real situations, and our fifth consecutive song in which someone loses their life.
Other Interpretations
This section examines other recordings of this song and variants of the Stackalee ballads, performed by other artists. Whenever Smith’s notes include a Discography, this section is divided into two segments, “Discography”, which examines Smith’s selections, and “Further Interpretations”, wherein the selections are of this author’s choosing. Please note that these are not strict recreations of Frank Hutchinson’s recording by any stretch. Instead, they offer up a sample of the various flavors in which Stackalee appears.
Discography
Mississippi John Hurt - Stack O’ Lee - Mississippi John Hurt will appear a couple of times on the Anthology (once on Volume One - Ballads, and once on Volume Three - Songs), and before these 84 songs are done, you will have come to realize that while I have a deep affection for all of the music on this collection, the music of Mississippi John Hurt speaks to me in a way that few other things have. There ain’t nobody else quite like him, and for me, his music is what a smile sounds like. Now, I realize that sentence may not make a whole lot of sense, but it’s honestly how I feel about it. Here’s John Hurt’s take on this song, it’s completely different from Hutchinson’s approach.
Furry Lewis - Billy Lyons and Stack O’ Lee - Like Mississippi Hurt, Furry Lewis appears on the Anthology’s Volume One - Songs, as well. Here, Lewis places the events of the song in September, and gives a take on the events that provides another angle on the tale. “When you lose your money, learn to lose”.
Further Interpretations
Long Cleve Reed and Little Harvey Hull - The Original Stack O’Lee Blues - From 1927, we have another entirely different song. Familiar lines and themes appear in this recording, but the feel is completely different. Little Harvey Hull’s harmony vocals on the refrain give the whole thing a downright spooky vibe. I love it.
Archibald and his Orchestra - Stack-A’Lee (Parts 1 and 2) - New Orleans pianist and singer Leon Gross started out playing in brothels, which is where he picked up his singular stage name. After serving in World War II, Gross returned stateside, went back to making music, and recorded this swingin’ version of Stack-A’Lee in 1950. This version peaked at #10 on the R&B charts, making it the first song about Stack Lee Shelton to become a nationwide success.
Lloyd Price - Stagger Lee - In 1959, R&B singer Lloyd Price took his recording of “Stagger Lee” all the way to the top of the charts. This version obviously draws from Archibald and His Orchestra’s 1950 recording, but takes things a little bit farther.
Ike and Tina Turner - Stagger Lee and Billy - In 1965, Ike and Tina dropped yet another song about Stack and Billy. This one is a little different from the others, but that’s the whole point of sharing these, to give you an idea of the many ways in which this tale has been presented. Check it out!
James Brown and the Fabulous Flames - Stagger Lee - from 1967, the Godfather of Soul sings the granddaddy of R&B murder ballads.
Jerry Lee Lewis - Stagger Lee - (Live in Las Vegas, 1970), this outtake from the album Live at the International Hotel, features the killer singing about another killer.
Doc and Merle Watson - Stack O’lee - By now, you may be thinking Doc Watson did a version of pretty much every song on the Anthology. He didn’t, but I really wish he had. This recording from 1971 starts out quite like the one performed by Frank Hutchinson, but takes some different twists and along the way, ultimately landing somewhere different, but not at all unexpected.
Grateful Dead - Stagger Lee - (Live at Orchard Park, NY - July 4, 1989) Robert Hunter and Jerry Garcia of the Grateful Dead were both heavily influenced by Harry Smith’s Anthology, and Jerry Garcia will appear again in our journey. This version was written by Robert Hunter and offers a more-fictionalized-than-most retelling of the events. In this one, Billy’s wife takes revenge on Stagger Lee.
Bob Dylan - Stack A Lee - In the early 1990’s, Dylan released a couple of solo acoustic albums, “Good as I Been to You” (1992) and “World Gone Wrong” (1993), on which Dylan performed old folk and blues numbers. These are phenomenal and criminally underrated records that should’ve shaken the whole damn world, but whatever. “World Gone Wrong” contained liner notes written by Dylan, in which Dylan wrote a paragraph or two about each song. The liner notes proved to be a bit of foreshadowing to what would come nearly 30 years later with the release of Dylan’s 2022 book The Philosophy of Modern Song, But back to the point. Dylan’s observations on each song are… interesting. Here’s what he had to say about Stack-a-Lee, followed by the recording from that album.
STACK A LEE is Frank Hutchinson's version. what does the song say exactly? it says no man gains immortality thru public acclaim. truth is shadowy. in the pre-postindustrial age, victims of violence were allowed (in fact it was their duty) to be judges over their offenders -- parents were punished for their children's crimes (we've come a long way since then) the song says that a man's hat is his crown. futurologists would insist it's a matter of taste. they say "let's sleep on it" but theory already living in the sanitarium. No Rights Without Duty is the name of the game & fame is a trick. playing for time is only horsing around. Stack's in a cell, no wall phone. he is not some egotistical degraded existentialist dionysian idiot, neither does he represent any alternative lifestyle scam (give me a thousand acres of tractable land & all the gang members that exist & you'll see the Authentic alternative lifestyle, the Agrarian one) Billy didn't have an insurance plan, didn't get airsick yet his ghost is more real & genuine than all the dead souls on the boob tube -- a monumental epic of blunder & misunderstanding. a romance tale without the cupidity
Black Keys - Stack Shot Billy - On their 2015 album, Rubber Factory, the Black Keys delivered yet another brand new take on the old story.
Samuel L. Jackson - Stackolee - [EXPLICIT] we’re gonna close it out with this one from the soundtrack of the 2008 film “Black Snake Moan”. Samuel L. Jackson isn’t exactly known as a singer, but he delivers the goods here. This isn’t a normal take on the Stack-a-Lee tale, but it’s definitely worth inclusion. CAVEAT: This is Samuel L. Jackson, and, this song contains multiple F-bombs. If you’re not a fan of such language (or are around ears that should not (or would rather not) be exposed to such language), then ya might not wanna crank this up.
Conclusion
Thanks for joining me for this examination of “Stackalee” by Frank Hutchinson. This has been an extensive piece, but there’s lots more that could be said about Billy Lyons and Lee Shelton and the multitude of songs that have emerged about this event. If you want to learn more about the tale of Lyons and Shelton, copious resources are available online and are clearly delineated in the Sources below. Folks who just wanna know more about the hundreds of versions of Stackalee songs can head over to StaggerLee.com and check out The List of recordings of songs about Stack Lee. It’s thorough, and contains a lot of names you may not recognize and some that you will. For those seeking the authoritative analysis of the story and its role in popular culture, I would direct you to Cecil Brown’s book Stagolee Shot Billy.
Typing the final paragraphs of this piece, I realize that this has been a rather breathless journey through the whole story. I do hope you’ve gotten something of value from it, and as always, none of this stuff came from the top of my head. It was all thoroughly researched, and my work is simply building upon the work of others. To learn more about any of the topics discussed in this installment of Anthology Revisited, the sources I consulted when writing this piece are below, and they should serve as a great starting point for your own journey.
Sources
The Story Behind the Song
Stagolee Shot Billy Cecil Brown Harvard University Press Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2003 ISBN 0674028902, 9780674028906
Wood Hutchins | West Virginia, Deaths, 1804-1999 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N94F-STP "West Virginia, Deaths, 1804-1999," , FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N94F-STP : 10 March 2018), Wood Hutchins, 02 Nov 1899; citing Lester, Raleigh, West Virginia, County Records, v 2 p 20, county courthouses, West Virginia; FHL microfilm 598,426.
Robert Deskins and Veanie Deskins, | United States Census, 1900. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9CR-XSP?lang=en "United States, Census, 1900", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M9CR-XSG : Tue Jun 03 17:51:10 UTC 2025), Entry for Robert Deskins and Veanie Deskins, 1900.
Frank Hutchison and Minnie Garett | West Virginia, Marriages, 1780-1970 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FRBB-HLX West Virginia, Marriages, 1780-1970, , FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FRBB-HLX : 29 November 2018), Frank Hutchison and Minnie Garett, 1917; citing Marriage, Logan, West Virginia, United States, county clerks, West Virginia; FHL microfilm .
Frank Hutchison | United States, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7YP3-FLT2 "United States, World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:7YP3-FLT2 : Tue Apr 29 00:02:16 UTC 2025), Entry for Frank Hutchison, from 1917 to 1918.
Frank and Minnie Hutchison | United States Census, 1920 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MN2F-QN6 "United States, Census, 1920", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MN2F-QN6 : Tue Jan 14 17:58:34 UTC 2025), Entry for Frank Hutchinson and Minnie Hutchinson, 1920.
Frank and Minnie Hutchison | United States Census, 1930 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XMHQ-LJM "United States, Census, 1930", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XMHQ-LJM : Sat Mar 09 14:47:35 UTC 2024), Entry for Frank Hutchison and Minnie Hutchison, 1930.
Frank and Minnie Hutchison | United States Census, 1940 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K7C5-DRV "United States, Census, 1940", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K7C5-DRV : Sat Mar 09 15:56:21 UTC 2024), Entry for Frank Hutchinson and Minnie Hutchinson, 1940.
Willis Franklin Hutchinson | West Virginia, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2CY-X3CN "West Virginia, World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1940-1945", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q2CY-X3CN : Tue Apr 29 19:41:24 UTC 2025), Entry for Willis Franklin Hutchinson and Minnie Hutchinson, 16 Feb 1942.
Frank Hutchison | Ohio Deaths 1908-1953 https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X6N4-PY8 "Ohio, Deaths, 1908-1953", FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:X6N4-PY8 : Sun Jan 19 02:30:35 UTC 2025), Entry for Frank Hutchinson and Frank Mankin, 9 Nov 1945.
This was a PHENOMENAL read, really well done! I went on a bit of a dive on this song last year but the articles I read were nowhere near this comprehensive. Loved finding out that Stack and Billy were actually friends and what the fight was actually about. Also the background on not only Stack & Billy but Frank Hutchinson and his family was really great. I've heard so many different versions of this song but reading your piece really paints it in a whole new light. Amazing stuff man!
Really great read - I was riveted the whole way through and can’t wait to delve deeper into your previous posts!
This was a PHENOMENAL read, really well done! I went on a bit of a dive on this song last year but the articles I read were nowhere near this comprehensive. Loved finding out that Stack and Billy were actually friends and what the fight was actually about. Also the background on not only Stack & Billy but Frank Hutchinson and his family was really great. I've heard so many different versions of this song but reading your piece really paints it in a whole new light. Amazing stuff man!