Huddie Ledbetter (also known as Leadbelly or Lead Belly) was one of the most important figures in American Music. It was the folk recordings that he did with Musicologist John Lomax, and later his son Alan, that became the standards that the rock, blues, and country genres branches out of.
Although Leadbelly was incredibly important to modern music, much of his life is shadowed in rumor and legend. Below are ten facts detailing the life of Huddie Ledbetter.
Leadbelly the Folk and Blues Musician
1. Leadbelly was a muti-instrumentalist. Although known as the “King of the Twelve String Guitar,“ he could also play the piano, mandolin, harmonica, violin, concertina, and accordion. Leadbelly’s first instrument was the accordion.
2. Leadbelly named his 12 string guitar “Stella.” The 12 string was Lead Belly’s signature instrument, an uncommon instrument at the time. Ledbetter was largely responsible for popularizing it.
Lead Belly in Prison
3. Huddie Ledbetter did three long stints in prison before being “discovered.” The first time (for assault and carrying a pistol) he escaped. The second time was for shooting one of his relatives, Will Stafford, in a fight. He may have been wrongly convicted and received a full pardon after seven years.
Leadbelly’s third stint in prison was in 1930 for stabbing a white man in a fight. He was imprisoned in the notorious Louisiana state farm at Angola.
4. Leadbelly went to jail for a fourth time in 1939 and served an eight month sentence for stabbing a man in New York City. Musicologist Alan Lomax helped Leadbelly with his legal fees in exchange for being able to record an album of him.
5. Leadbelly was known for his physical toughness and resilience. According to lore, in prison Lead Belly was attacked by another inmate and stabbed in the neck. Leadbelly pulled the knife from his neck and returned the attack, almost killing his assailant.
Leadbelly and John and Alan Lomax
6. While at the state farm at Angola, Leadbelly was “discovered” by noted musicologists John Lomax and his son Alan. Working for the Library of Congress, they recorded several songs from Lead Belly. The Lomaxes may have had a hand in Leadbelly’s early release from prison in 1934, though this is denied by prison officials.
7. While traveling with John Lomax, Lead Belly often had to perform menial shoes for Lomax such as shining shoes and doing laundry. Lomax also took two thirds of Ledbetter’s earnings as his cut for managing and promoting him.
Death and Legacy of Huddie Ledbetter
8. Lead Belly died of ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) on Dec 6, 1949. One year later, his best known song “Goodnight Irene” became a number one hit for Pete Seeger’s band, the Weavers.
9. Some of Leadbelly’s most famous songs include:
- Goodnight, Irene
- Midnight Special
- Where Did You Sleep Last Night?
- The House of the Rising Sun
- Pick a Bale of Cotton
- Black Betty
10. Leadbelly is recognized as one of the patriarchs of American Folk Music and Blues. Many of his songs have become major hits for other musicians after his death, and they are still staples at Blues jams and coffee houses across the world.
 |
