Cecil Brown | |
---|---|
Born | Bolton, North Carolina, U.S. | July 3, 1943
Occupation | Writer and educator |
Period | 1969–present |
Cecil Brown (born July 3, 1943) [1] is an African-American writer and educator. He is a published novelist, short story writer, script writer, and college educator. His noted works include The Life and Loves of Mr. Jiveass Nigger (1969) and work on the 1977 Richard Pryor film Which Way Is Up? as a screenwriter.
Born in rural Bolton, North Carolina, [1] Brown attended North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University of Greensboro, North Carolina, where he earned his B.A. in English in 1966. He later attended Columbia University, and earned his M.A. degree from the University of Chicago in 1967. Brown while residing in Berkeley, California (to which he returned in the late 1980s and still lives and works), earned his Ph.D. in African American Studies, Folklore and Narrative in 1993. [2] He is a professor at UC Berkeley. [3]
Lee Shelton, popularly known as "Stagolee", "Stagger Lee", "Stack-O-Lee", and other variations, was an American criminal who became a figure of folklore after murdering Billy Lyons on December 25, 1895. The murder, reportedly motivated partially by the theft of Shelton's Stetson hat, made Shelton an icon of toughness and style in the minds of early folk and blues musicians, and inspired the popular folk song "Stagger Lee". The story endures in the many versions of the song that have circulated since the late 19th century.
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"Stagger Lee", also known as "Stagolee" and other variants, is a popular American folk song about the murder of Billy Lyons by "Stag" Lee Shelton, in St. Louis, Missouri, at Christmas 1895. The song was first published in 1911 and first recorded in 1923, by Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians, titled "Stack O' Lee Blues". A version by Lloyd Price reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1959.
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