Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter

1888 – 1949

By Ben Sandmel

Huddie Ledbetter (circa 1888 – 1949), known professionally as Lead Belly, was a singer and multi-instrumentalist whose eclectic repertoire included blues, antebellum field hollers, prison songs, cowboy ballads, original songs of contemporary political commentary and more. Amidst Ledbetter’s vast range of material, much of which was quite worldly, children’s play songs and religious songs were particularly important to him.

Several numbers that Lead Belly helped popularize – including “Irene, Goodnight,” “The Midnight Special,” “Cotton Fields,” “The Rock Island Line,” “Black Betty,” and “Where Did You Sleep Last Night?” (a.k.a. “In The Pines”) – are still re-recorded frequently today. Such stylistic diversity has led some scholars to categorize Ledbetter as a “songster,” rather than the more narrow designation of “blues musician,” but Ledbetter is most frequently associated with the blues genre nonetheless. Within that category, he is best known for accompanying himself on the twelve-string guitar.

With his deft, dynamic and relentlessly rhythmic playing, matched by equally powerful vocals, Ledbetter performed solo with more intensity than most full, amplified bands with extensive instrumentation. In listening to Ledbetter’s solo recordings – with their powerful groove, to use musicians’ parlance – one can easily hear how the solo acoustic-guitar blues tradition morphed into electronically amplified rock music. (As George Harrison once succinctly observed, “No Lead Belly, no Beatles.”) Ledbetter also made some recordings playing piano, and accordion, and is said to have mastered the fiddle, mandolin, and harmonica. On some songs such as field hollers, Ledbetter performed a capella; he sang others without instrumentation per se but kept time with hand clapping and/or foot stomping.

Ledbetter was born in 1888 (possibly 1889, the records are unclear) near Mooringsport, in northeastern Louisiana. This part of the state is characterized by strong cultural commonality with neighboring Texas and Arkansas, far more than any similarity with the French/Afro-Caribbean culture of south Louisiana. As a teenager, Ledbetter began performing semi- professionally in nearby Shreveport, a city with a rich history in both African- and Anglo-American indigenous music. Several years later Ledbetter embarked on the life of a laborer who played music on the side. It is said that during this time he performed with the great Texas blues guitarist Blind Lemon Jefferson on the streets of Dallas. Playing on street corners and at barrelhouses, juke joints or house parties necessitated learning a wide range of material and possessing the ability to connect with a variety of audiences. The charismatic Ledbetter excelled at both of these skills.

In 1915, Ledbetter was incarcerated in Harrison County, TX, for carrying a pistol. Three years later, after allegedly killing a man in a fight, Ledbetter began serving a 7- to 35-year sentence at a Texas state prison in Sugarland. There, he earned the nickname Lead Belly, deriving from his surname and supposedly paying tribute to his prodigious physical strength. This explanation, however, like several others that have been proposed, may be apocryphal. The alternate spelling Leadbelly is often seen, as well, although Ledbetter’s heirs strongly prefer the former. What’s definite, however, is that Ledbetter gained a reputation as engaging performer by playing for the prisoners and prison staff at Sugarland. In 1925, Ledbetter cannily used such renown and talent to seek a pardon from the governor of Texas, Pat Neff, in the form of a song that Ledbetter wrote and played for Neff. The governor, a professed admirer of Ledbetter’s music, released him from Sugarland. Ledbetter went behind bars again in 1930, this time in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

In 1934, folklorists John and Alan Lomax came to Angola as part of an extended fieldwork recording trip funded by the Library of Congress. Impressed by Lead Belly’s great talent and incredibly rich repertoire, the Lomaxes petitioned Louisiana governor Oscar “O.K.” Allen to release him. Ledbetter soon left prison, although it is unclear whether the Lomaxes’ petition was effective or if Ledbetter had simply served out his sentence. In September of 1934, Ledbetter began working as John Lomax’s chauffeur on continued fieldwork trips. Ledbetter also accompanied Lomax to New York in 1934, looking to expand his music career. He recorded for a subsidiary of Columbia Records in 1935, but this endeavor didn’t bring any commercial success, possibly because it focused only on Ledbetter’s blues material. Ledbetter also received a lukewarm reception when he performed at New York’s Apollo Theater, then the ultimate cutting-edge venue for African-American popular music; the Apollo audience found his music somewhat old-fashioned and countrified.

Several months later, Ledbetter and John Lomax returned to the northeast for a tour of colleges that garnered Ledbetter considerable publicity. Unfortunately, much of this attention depicted him as a convicted murderer and a rural bumpkin, minimalizing his music talent and, in some cases, using blatantly racist language. Life magazine, for instance, ran an article entitled “Lead Belly – Bad Nigger Makes Good Minstrel.” Soon afterwards, John Lomax and Ledbetter parted on strained terms. Ledbetter maintained a relationship with Alan Lomax, however, which led to several documentary recording sessions for the Library of Congress and commercial sessions for the folk-revival producer Moses Asch. Movement in this milieu led to Ledbetter’s lionization in the left-wing music circles typified by Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie. As a result, Ledbetter was scrutinized for possible links with Communism although his own views were moderate.

Ledbetter’s most successful period as a performer and recording artist evolved when he moved to New York in 1935 up until his death in 1949. As with many traditional musicians, his highest acclaim was, sadly, posthumous. Today, he is deservedly lauded as an important and influential figure in both circles and in the broader field of American folk music. The Lead Belly Foundation (www.leadbelly.org) carries Ledbetter’s torch with the stated purpose: “To assure support and long term access to Huddie “Lead Belly” Ledbetter’s music collections, and other shared memories…. to continue to teach and influence Lead Belly’s style in blues and folk music…. Continual enhancement and maintenance of Lead Belly’s grave in Mooringsport, Louisiana… to establish a museum to exhibit Lead Belly archives and memorabilia to further expose the many facets of Huddie Ledbetter.”

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Ben Sandmel is a New Orleans-based journalist, folklorist, drummer, and producer. Sandmel is the author of “Ernie K-Doe: The R&B Emperor of New Orleans” and “Zydeco!”, a collaborative book with photographer Rick Olivier. Sandmel has produced and played on albums including the Grammy-nominated “Deep Water” by the Cajun/country band The Hackberry Ramblers.

Suggested reading:

Lornell, Kip and Wolfe, Charles K. The Life and Legend of Leadbelly. New York. DaCapo, 1999
.
Lornell, Kip and Laird, Tracey E. W., editors, Shreveport Sounds in Black and White. Jackson, MS. The University Press of Mississippi, 2008.

Robinson, Tiny and Reynolds, John, Lead Belly: A Life in Pictures. Gottingen, Germany. Steidl,
2008.