“It makes my heart beat faster with excitement; and my love for music has never changed! A high school dropout, Mr. Price started his first band, the Blue Boys, at age 18. After returning to civilian life in 1954, Mr. Price founded his own record company, KRC, with two partners. Mr. Price was then signed directly to ABC-Paramount and soon had his greatest success with the song “Stagger Lee.” His upbeat take on a folk song that had been recorded numerous times since the 1920s, it reached No. Dick Clark, the producer and host of the immensely popular television show “American Bandstand,” decided that the lyrics of “Stagger Lee,” which involved gambling and ended with a fatal barroom shooting, were too violent for his show.

Source: New York Times May 08, 2021 20:10 UTC