Lead Belly

Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter is among the most important stylists and larger-than-life figures in folk and blues music history. His trademark songs—some original, some traditional—have become standards across numerous genres. Born in 1888 in Louisiana, Ledbetter learned his way around the guitar, accordion, harmonica, and bass before he was a teenager. He developed his abilities through performing in the red-light district while living in Shreveport in the early 1900s. Ledbetter arrived at his mature folk-blues style at the turn of the 1910s while palling around with fellow street musician Blind Lemon Jefferson in Dallas, where he focused his attention on accompanying himself on the 12-string guitar. Following this period, Ledbetter’s career was complicated by periods in and out of prison on murder and attempted murder charges. While serving time in the Louisiana State Penitentiary in the early 1930s, he was documented on recording for the first time by ethnomusicologists John and Alan Lomax. The singer and guitarist’s reputation grew after spending time in New York City during the late ’30s and early ’40s, as the young luminaries of the city’s folk scene—Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger among them—revered his lonesome singing voice and walking-bass-driven guitar parts (often played on down-tuned strings). During this time, he heightened his public profile through radio appearances and by making records for Asch, Folkways, and RCA. Ledbetter made one final big move in 1944—to Los Angeles, where he would track his final recordings after signing to Capitol Records. He passed away from ALS in 1948. In the decades following his death, Lead Belly’s songs would become hits or repertoire staples for folk revivalists (The Weavers), pop vocalists (Frank Sinatra), skiffle bands (Lonnie Donegan), and rock ’n’ rollers (Creedence Clearwater Revival, Nirvana), helping to deepen his legacy.