7 Leadbelly 7

Leadbelly

(b. Jan. 21, 1885?, Jeter Plantation, near Mooringsport, La., U.S.—d.

Dec. 6, 1949, New York, N.Y.)

I

n conjunction with his notoriously violent life, the

ability of American folk-blues singer, songwriter, and

guitarist Huddie William Ledbetter—better known as

Leadbelly—to perform a vast repertoire of songs made

him a legend.

Musical from childhood, Leadbelly played accordion,

6 - and 12-string guitar, bass, and harmonica. He led a

wandering life, learning songs by absorbing oral tradition.

For a time he worked as an itinerant musician with Blind

Lemon Jefferson. In 1918 he was imprisoned in Texas for

murder. According to legend, he won his early release in

1925 by singing a song for the governor of Texas when he

visited the prison. “Please Pardon Me,” written and per-

formed by a repentant Leadbelly, undoubtedly helped, but

good behaviour throughout his sentence was certainly a

factor as well.

Resuming a life of drifting, Leadbelly was imprisoned

for attempted murder in 1930 in the Angola, La., prison

farm. There he was “discovered” by the folklorists John

Lomax and Alan Lomax, who were collecting songs for the

Library of Congress. A campaign spearheaded by the

Lomaxes secured his release in 1934, and he embarked

on a concert tour of eastern colleges. Subsequently he

published 48 songs and commentary (1936) about

Depression-era conditions of blacks and recorded exten-

sively. His first commercial recordings were made for

the American Record Corporation, which did not take

advantage of his huge folk repertory but rather encour-

aged him to sing blues. He settled in New York City in

1937, struggled to make enough money, and in 1939 –40 he