Stagger Lee

Beck says that his 1996 hit, "Devil's Haircut" was a rewrite of the Stagger Lee myth.
"I don't know if I ever HAD any youthful purity, but I can understand that you might be tempted to make commercial shit and compromise to do it. I try not to compromise on anything. I think we associate becoming an adult with compromise. Maybe that's what the devil is. In 'Devils Haircut' that was the scenario. I imagined Stagger Lee... I thought, what if this guy showed up now in 1996. The song had this Sixties grooviness, and I thought of using him as a Rumplestiltskin figure, this Lazarus figure to comment on where we've ended up as people. What would he make of materialism and greed and ideals of beauty and perfection? His reaction would be, 'Whoa, this is disturbing shit.'"

Beck recorded "Stagolee" in March 1994 at Sun Studios.

Avalon Blues - Tribute to Mississippi John Hurt
Label: Vanguard

Come and listen to our new group BERMUDA TRIANGEL. That's Claudia, Draga and Agnes who are all known to many people as background singers of various top stars. Claudia with her deep and dark voice is the group's "Black Lady." Draga, who could gather a lot of experience here and aboard, gives the group a romantic touch.
Last but not least there is Agnes who won a talent competition at the age of 8 and speaks various languages.
Here is BERMUDA TRIANGEL'S first single, entitled "Stagger Lee"...
BERMUDA TRIANGEL
c/o Froh
Celer Strasse 14
3000 Hannover 1/Germany
Telefon 05 11/319116

Love the intertubes

Library of Congress
Recorded by Alan Lomax 1937 Manchester, Kentucky