It was on the other side of a recording of his signature song, "Goodnight Irene". At the end of the month, John Lomax decided he could no longer work with Lead Belly and gave him and Martha money to go back to Louisiana by bus. In his Nobel Prize Lecture, Dylan said "somebody – somebody I’d never seen before – handed me a Lead Belly record with the song "Cotton Fields" on it. Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. In March 1935, Lead Belly accompanied John Lomax on a previously scheduled two-week lecture tour of colleges and universities in the Northeast, culminating at Harvard. [18] According to Charles K. Wolfe and Kip Lornell in their book The Life and Legend of Leadbelly (1999), Neff had regularly brought guests to the prison on Sunday picnics to hear Ledbetter perform. Leadbelly. / Other contributors: D.R. [2] In some of his recordings, he sang while clapping his hands or stomping his foot. In early 1924, only a few years into a 20-year sentence, Lead Belly sang for Texas governor Pat Neff a song in which he asked for a pardon. See who else started out in horror films. In fact, scholars have suggested much of his guitar playing was inspired equally by barrelhouse piano and the Mexican Bajo sexto, an instrument he encountered in Texas and Louisiana.[22]. His music still has a great … After he was released, he briefly worked with Woody Guthrie, Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, and others as the Headline Singers, performed on radio, and, in 1945, appeared in a short film. His rhythmic guitar playing and unique vocal tone made his body of work both instructive and compelling. Writer: J.Lomax / Composers: Ledbetter / Other contributors: LUDLOW Music, Death Letter Blues (Nothing But the Blues). He later escaped and found work in nearby Bowie County under the assumed name of Walter Boyd. In December 1917, Ledbetter was arrested and charged with murder and was found guilty. George Ezra developed his singing style from trying to sing like Lead Belly. Subject of the film Leadbelly (1976), directed by Gordon Parks. The life of Blues and folk singer Huddie Leadbetter, nicknamed Leadbelly is recounted. This article was most recently revised and updated by, Official Site of The Lead Belly Foundation, Texas State Historical Association - The Handbook of Texas Online - Biography of Huddie Ledbetter, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame - Biography of Lead Belly, Leadbelly - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). By his early twenties, having fathered at least two children, Ledbetter left home to make his living as a guitarist and occasional laborer. The Lead Belly Foundation gives January 20, 1889,[9] and his grave marker gives the year 1889. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. Brad Pitt and Keira Knightley both scored early roles in scary movies. The Library of Congress recordings, made by John and Alan Lomax from 1934 to 1943, were released in a six-volume series by Rounder Records: The Folkways recordings, done for Moses Asch from 1941 to 1947, were released in a three-volume series by Smithsonian Folkways: Smithsonian Folkways has released several other collections of his recordings: "Leadbelly" redirects here. Discover releases, reviews, credits, songs, and more about Leadbelly - Leadbelly at Discogs. There is uncertainty over his precise date and year of birth. © 2020 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. "I liked the idea of singing with a big voice, so I tried it, and I could. His parents had cohabited for several years, but they legally married on February 26, 1888. "[27] Dylan also pays homage to him in "Song to Woody" on his self-titled debut album. Lead Belly died later that year in New York City and was buried in the Shiloh Baptist Church cemetery, in Mooringsport, Louisiana, 8 miles (13 km) west of Blanchard, in Caddo Parish.
Leadbelly was born on January 29, 1885 in Louisiana, USA as Huddie William Ledbetter. Subsequently, the Lomaxes published 48 of his songs together with commentary (Negro Folk Songs as Sung by Lead Belly, 1936). It was a testament to his persuasive powers, as Neff had run for governor on a pledge not to issue pardons (the only recourse for prisoners, since in most Southern prisons there was no provision for parole). The books Blues: A Regional Experience by Eagle and LeBlanc and Encyclopedia of Louisiana Musicians by Tomko gives January 23, 1888,[1] [10] while the Encyclopedia of the Blues gives January 20, 1888.[11]. For even more, visit our Guide to Horror ... if you dare. While in prison, Lead Belly may have first heard the traditional prison song "Midnight Special". In his notebooks, Cobain listed Lead Belly's Last Session Vol. Lead Belly performed and recorded extensively. Others say he earned the name after being wounded in the stomach with buckshot. He was especially successful with his repertoire of children's game songs (as a younger man in Louisiana he had sung regularly at children's birthday parties in the black community). Bob Dylan credits Lead Belly for getting him into Folk music. He also recorded an album called The Midnight Special and Other Southern Prison Songs before moving to the West Coast a few years later. The younger of two children, Lead Belly was born Huddie William Ledbetter to Sallie Brown and Wesley Ledbetter on a plantation near Mooringsport, Louisiana. For the biographical film on this person, see. Lead Belly was a folk-blues singer, songwriter and guitarist whose ability to perform a vast repertoire of songs and notoriously violent life made him a legend. It was at this point that Ledbetter concentrated on what would become his signature instrument: the 12-string guitar. The article attributes both of his pardons to his singing of his petitions to the governors, who were so moved that they pardoned him. [6] He can be heard pronouncing his name this way both speaking at the beginning and singing toward the end on one of his recordings of "Boll Weevil".[7]. Lead Belly was imprisoned again, for attempted murder, in 1930. He later stated his regrets about his life choices in prison but was executed at San Quentin in 2005. Lead Belly was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame (1986) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1988).
Part 1", "The Unique Guitar Blog: The Stella 12 String Guitar", "12-String King:Lead Belly's Big-Bottom Blues", "The 100 Greatest Albums You've Never Heard", "Lead Belly has inspired a music generation", "On the Verge: George Ezra arrives by way of 'Budapest, "Lead Belly at 125: A Tribute to an American Songster | GRAMMY Museum", "Bourgeois Town: Lead Belly in Washington DC", Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" MP3 file on The Internet Archive, "Ledbetter, Huddie (Leadbelly)" in the Handbook of Texas Online, Recording of Lead Belly and Woody Guthrie live on WNYC Radio, Dec. 1940, Leadbelly and Lomax Together at the American Music Festival on WNYC, Lead Belly And The Lomaxes: Myths and Realities, Louisiana Music Hall of Fame Induction Page, Lead Belly: Entries|KnowLA, Encyclopedia of Louisiana, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lead_Belly&oldid=974647397, American people convicted of attempted murder, Disease-related deaths in New York (state), Find a Grave template with ID not in Wikidata, Wikipedia articles needing page number citations from September 2010, Wikipedia articles needing clarification from March 2017, Articles with unsourced statements from July 2019, Articles with unsourced statements from October 2012, Wikipedia external links cleanup from July 2019, Articles with Encyclopædia Britannica links, Wikipedia articles with MusicBrainz identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SELIBR identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SNAC-ID identifiers, Wikipedia articles with SUDOC identifiers, Wikipedia articles with Trove identifiers, Wikipedia articles with WorldCat identifiers, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. He died on December 6, 1949 in New York City, New York, USA. After his release, Lead Belly appeared on two radio series—"Folk Music of America" and "Back Where I Come From"—and landed his own short weekly radio show. American singer and guitarist Muddy Waters may have been born in Mississippi, but he defined Chicago blues with songs like "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man.". Lead Belly performing at a school in New York City. Later, in January 1918, he was imprisoned at the Imperial Farm (now Central Unit)[17] in Sugar Land, Texas, after killing one of his relatives, Will Stafford, in a fight over a woman. After Lead Belly’s death, the Weavers, a folk quartet sent “Good Night, Irene” to #1 on the charts, which became the most famous song in his repertoire. "Death Letter", also known as "Death Letter Blues", is the signature song of the Delta blues musician Son House. Though many releases credit him as "Leadbelly", he himself wrote it as "Lead Belly", which is also the spelling on his tombstone[3][4] and the spelling used by the Lead Belly Foundation. He led a wandering life, learning songs by absorbing oral tradition. Listen to Death Letter Blues Pt 1 by Leadbelly - Death Letter Blues (Nothing But the Blues). During the first half of the decade, he recorded for RCA, the Library of Congress, and Moe Asch (future founder of Folkways Records) and in 1944 went to California, where he recorded strong sessions for Capitol Records.
"On the back of the record, it said his voice was so big, you had to turn your record player down," Ezra says. [3] He is honored with a statue across from the Caddo Parish Courthouse, in Shreveport.
A year later, Neff pardoned Lead Belly and he was a free man.
His influence on later musicians—including Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, and Kurt Cobain—was immense. In December 1934, Lead Belly participated in a "smoker" (group sing) at a Modern Language Association meeting at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, where the senior Lomax had a prior lecturing engagement. Musical from childhood, Lead Belly played accordion, 6- and (more usually) 12-string guitar, bass, and harmonica. Lead Belly's playing style was popularized by Pete Seeger, who adopted the twelve-string guitar in the 1950s and released an instructional LP and book using Lead Belly as an exemplar of technique. …discovered the great blues singer Huddie Ledbetter (“Leadbelly”). However, he also wrote the song "Bourgeois Blues", which has radical or left-wing lyrics. Encyclopedia of the Blues. He performed for nearby Shreveport audiences in St. Paul's Bottoms, a notorious red-light district there. Between 1915 and 1939, Ledbetter served several prison and jail terms for a variety of criminal charges. Life magazine ran a three-page article titled "Lead Belly: Bad Nigger Makes Good Minstrel" in its issue of April 19, 1937. Alan Lomax, then 24, took him under his wing and helped raise money for his legal expenses, dropping out of graduate school to do so. Though many releases credit him as "Leadbelly", he himself wrote it as "Lead Belly", which is also the spelling on his tombstone and the spelling used by the Lead Belly Foundation. [19] Yet another theory is that it may be a corruption of his last name pronounced with a Southern accent. Unfortunately, in March 1939, Lead Belly was arrested in New York for stabbing a man and served an eight-month sentence.