Artist:Lloyd Price
Song:Stagger Lee
Album:Greatest Hits:The Original ABC-Paramount Recordings
Lloyd Price had some success in the 50s but he had even more success when he switched labels in the late 50s. He was born Mar. 9, 1933 in Kenner, LA. His mother ran a restaurant and he grew up listening to R & B on her jukebox. Lloyd formed a band as a teen and got the attention of legendary producer Dave Bartholomew and he got him a contract with Specialty Records. Price's 1952 version of Lawdy Miss Clawdy topped the R & B charts. He was drafted into the Army and after he came out of the service, he started his own record label. He got the attention of ABC-Paramount and they picked up distribution. Price's version of the folk song Stagger Lee topped the pop charts in 1958. The song is about a murderer so apparently Dick Clark insisted on a sanitized version for American Bandstand. Both versions are on this comp. Price had several more hits until he left Paramount to start his own label with partner Harold Logan. Price actually left the music business when Logan was murdered in 1969 and Price became known for hanging around boxing promoter Don King. He now works the oldies circuit. His music was fun back in the day. I was surprised there was no Lloyd Price video from the 50s but here he is performing Stagger Lee on a PBS special.
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