Ga. Music Hall of Fame honors Stagger Lee

His name is Donald Paul Lee Jr., but most folks know him by his stage name, Stagger Lee, a name that’s traveled through the honky-tonks, bluegrass halls, and country airwaves of America.
He was born Jan. 26, 1952, at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Fla., and raised in the mountains of Beaver, West Virginia, where he first picked up a fiddle and started making music with his brother, Rodney, his sister, Diana, and his late brother, Dale. That family harmony laid the foundation for everything that followed.
By the early 1970s, he and Dale made history as part of Don Lee Jr. & Blue Country, playing the first-ever country/bluegrass show at the Empire State Building in New York City, sharing the stage with legends like David Allan Coe, Larry Gatlin, Buck Owens, and Jana Jae.
In the late ‘70s, he brought his fiddle down to Gilley’s in Pasadena, Texas – yes, that Gilley’s – where he wrote and recorded a regional #1 hit, Wacky Tobakky.”
The 1980s found him behind the mic as a DJ at KWKH in Shreveport, LA, the legendary home of the Louisiana Hayride. In 1982, he, Diana, Dale were honored with Entertainers of the Year on that very stage. Music has always taken him far and wide:
1998 – Won third place at the Florida State Fiddle Contest
2000s – Played with Georgia-based groups Showdown and Cheyenne, played fiddle with WWVA Jamboree host, Mac Wiseman.
2008 – Alongside Diana and his wife, Lori Lynn, earned second place in the National Traditional County Music Association’s Harmony Singing contest (Iowa).
Beyond the fiddle, he is a multi-instrumentalist – guitar, bass (both electric and doghouse), banjo, mandolin, and piano are all part of his musical toolbox.
For the last 32 years, Georgia has been home. Together with his wife, Lori Lynne Lee, they built Stagger Lee Music Park, a place where music and community come alive. It’s not just a music park – it’s also an RV park where folks can roll in, kick back, and enjoy live shows. The park is located at 902 Vernon Williams Rd., Hazlehurst.
He was recently presented Certificate of Award by the Georgia Country Music Hall of Fame for Songwriter and Fame.
And the music keeps going – his next big event is the Heading Home Bluegrass Festival, April 8-12, 2026 and Oct. 14-18, 2026. Come on down, bring your instrument, and be part of the story.