On Christmas Day 1895, Lee “Stack Lee” Shelton shot Billy Lyons dead in a St Louis bar. There have been over 400 versions of his story released on disc since then, portraying him always as the ultimate bad-ass killer, and making him a prototype for every gangsta rap antihero today. In this chapter from his acclaimed 2015 book Unprepared To Die, Paul Slade lays out the real story behind the killing and charts the increasing sadism of its treatments on disc. Includes an exclusive interview with The Bad Seeds’ Mick Harvey, who discusses his role in recording Nick Cave’s apocalyptic 1996 version of the song.
Praise for Unprepared To Die:
•“A dauntingly complete and fascinating piece of work.” – Greil Marcus
•“A brilliantly simple idea, and a simply brilliant book.” – Steve Hunt, fRoots
•“Captivating cultural history. As entertaining as it is educational.” – Alan Clayson, Record Collector.
•“Slade is a meticulous reporter. […] The pace of his narrative never falters.” – Nigel Williamson, Songlines
•“A major contribution to the annals of folk.” – Dave Thompson, Goldmine
•“Slade’s passion for the music and a grisly crime tale soaks every page.” – Spiral Earth.
•“Pick it up once and you’re hooked.” – Tim Carroll, Folkwords
•“A fascinating read from cover to cover.” – Neil King, Fatea
•“Delivers an emotional wallop.” – Mike Segretto, Psychobabble
•“Expertly researched” – Dai Jeffries, R2
Praise for Unprepared To Die:
•“A dauntingly complete and fascinating piece of work.” – Greil Marcus
•“A brilliantly simple idea, and a simply brilliant book.” – Steve Hunt, fRoots
•“Captivating cultural history. As entertaining as it is educational.” – Alan Clayson, Record Collector.
•“Slade is a meticulous reporter. […] The pace of his narrative never falters.” – Nigel Williamson, Songlines
•“A major contribution to the annals of folk.” – Dave Thompson, Goldmine
•“Slade’s passion for the music and a grisly crime tale soaks every page.” – Spiral Earth.
•“Pick it up once and you’re hooked.” – Tim Carroll, Folkwords
•“A fascinating read from cover to cover.” – Neil King, Fatea
•“Delivers an emotional wallop.” – Mike Segretto, Psychobabble
•“Expertly researched” – Dai Jeffries, R2
