Happy Birthday, “Mr. Personality” Lloyd Price

It’s the birthday of Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Lloyd Price (born in 1933- he died in 2021 at the age of 88!)

He moved into a rarified level of cultural status with his 1959 mega-hit “Personality” – which became one of those meta-hits, where singer became totally associated with said hit (“Mr. Personality” was his nickname). Singers go their whole careers without coming out with a single like that, where 40, 50 years later, when you’re still touring, people request it wherever you go.

His “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” is a classic. He recorded it in 1952 (Elvis, of course, was hugely inspired by it), and the recording has such a jangly propulsive energy – that piano!! – the sax! – it feels like it was recorded in a juke joint on Saturday night, the dance floor crowded with people having a blast. It’s ALIVE.

For me, though, when I think of Lloyd Price, I think of his version of “Stagger Lee”.

He didn’t write “Stagger Lee”, of course. Versions of it had been kicking around forever, from before the time of recorded music. “Stagger Lee” was a huge hit for Lloyd Price in 1959, selling over a million copies. His version sounds … triumphant, exultant, joyous, even though the lyrics are some seriously scary shit (this may be why it makes such an impression). There’s a chorus behind him, with sopranos shrieking “GO STAGGER LEE GO STAGGER LEE”, pushing Stagger on, cheering him on, and they sound like the wider population rooting for a criminal on the run, because the criminal is like them, comes from where they come from, represents something important. Criminal as celebrity. Those criminals who enter legendary status, like people “rooting” for John Dillinger, since who the hell wants to stick up for a BANK?

In re: “Stagger Lee,” I need to point to Greil Marcus’ classic, Mystery Train: Images of America in Rock ‘n’ Roll Music, which includes a small section about “Stagger Lee”, its history, its legacy, and all its permutations through the 20th century. It’s some of Marcus’ very best stuff as a writer and cultural critic and I couldn’t begin to approach what Marcus draws out, the connections he makes. Marcus says that Lloyd Price, in his version, got “caught up in the legend” … and he really does.

I love how Price fakes you out at the start of the song. “Stagger Lee” starts as a ballad, almost like “Gather around, kids, let me tell you a story” … it’s gentle. It pulls you in. This doesn’t last long. The second he starts the story … all hell breaks loose. The song EXPLODES. If it were a bedtime story, the kids would be lulled into a sense of safety with the opening, and by the end would be hiding under the covers, terrified and thrilled.

Price’s version is exuberance unleashed. Recorded in 1959, the song sounds as fresh as if it was released yesterday. Fresher, actually. Fresher than contemporary stuff. It LEAPS at you.