Stagger Lee

Ma Rainey, often called the "Mother of the Blues," one of the first professional blues singers and one of the earliest to record blues music. Her powerful voice, stage presence, and ability to connect with audiences made her a major figure in the development of the genre.

Her recording of "Stack O' Lee Blues" in 1926 is a significant early version of this classic American ballad. Recorded with her Georgia Band, it is one of the earliest known recordings of the song. This makes it a valuable historical document for understanding the song's early forms and its transmission through oral tradition.

Her rendition is firmly rooted in the classic blues style of the 1920s, featuring a strong vocal performance with bluesy inflections and a relatively simple instrumental accompaniment.

Ma Rainey's recording was made during a period when the blues was rapidly gaining popularity, particularly among African American audiences. Her version of "Stack O' Lee Blues" contributed to the song's wider dissemination and its establishment as a standard in the blues repertoire.

Her recording, along with other early versions, helped shape the subsequent interpretations of "Stack O' Lee" by later artists across various genres.

Stack O'Lee was a bad man
Everybody knows
And when they see Stack O'Lee comin'
They'd give him the road
He was my man
But he done me wrong

Stack O'Lee, Stack O'Lee
Was short-tempered and bad
He'd take everything his women would bring
And everything they had
He was my man
But he done me wrong

Stack O'Lee's on the warpath
And you'd better run
'Cause Stack O'Lee [?] a bad man
And he'll kill you just for fun
He was my man
But he done you wrong

Stack O'Lee's in jail now
With his face turned to the wall
Pretty women and old corn whiskey
Was the cause of it all
He was my man
But he done you wrong

A hundred-dollar coffin
And a eighty-dollar hat
Carried him to the cemetery
But it did not bring him back
He was my man
But he done me wrong