Stagger Lee

See also their version of Staggerlee

John Cephas and Phil Wiggins’s "Stack and the Devil" appears on their 2002 album Somebody Told the Truth. This album showcases the duo's mastery of the Piedmont blues tradition while exploring themes of love, loss, and moral complexity.

"Stack and the Devil" reinterprets the Stagger Lee narrative with a focus on storytelling and emotional depth. The track combines Cephas’s dexterous guitar work and Wiggins’s expressive harmonica to deliver a performance steeped in authenticity. Cephas’s fingerpicking technique is a hallmark of the Piedmont blues style, with its syncopated rhythms and melodic clarity. Wiggins’s harmonica lines are both mournful and evocative, adding a layer of tension and atmosphere to the song.

Somebody Told the Truth includes a mix of traditional blues songs, original compositions, and reinterpretations of folk tales like "Stack and the Devil." The song serves as an important contribution to the Stagger Lee mythos, viewed through the lens of Piedmont blues. Cephas and Wiggins's interpretation underscores their role as keepers of blues tradition, ensuring that stories like Stagger Lee continue to resonate with new generations.