Lead Belly, who’s real name was Huddie Ledbetter, was a Louisiana music legend who wrote and recorded songs that influenced blues, folk, country and rock and roll. But his musical journey was filled with obstacles as he occasionally found himself on the wrong side of the law.
I met Louisiana blues musician and author Chris Thomas King at a recording studio where he played one of the many songs popularized by Lead Belly. An early 20th century singer, Lead Belly influenced musicians from Bob Dylan to the Carter Family and Led Zeppelin. King strums his 12-string guitar and sings, “Oh that Rock Island Line is a might good road, Oh that Rock Island Line is that road to ride…“.
Home in northwest louisiana
Ledbetter (Lead Belly) was born in the northwest Louisiana town of Mooringsport along Caddo Lake. You can find his grave in a cemetery behind the nearby Shiloh Baptist Church. The dark granite stone over the burial site is engraved with Lead Belly’s signature 12-string guitar.
Chris Thomas king’s history of the blues
Chris Thomas King has done extensive research and published his version of the history of the blues entitled, The Blues: The Authentic Narrative of My Music and Culture. He also portrayed Lead Belly on stage in a community play. King discussed Lead Belly, saying, “He was a person who came from an era where the Black man is not supposed to look you in the eye. He’s supposed to be a little bit more submissive.” But that wasn’t Lead Belly. According to King, “Lead Belly didn’t take no stuff”. And that got Lead Belly into trouble.
lead belly featured on tv
Lead Belly’s prison blues
Lead Belly was imprisoned in Texas for murder but was reportedly able to sing his way to freedom. “He wrote a song and sang to the governor of Texas…. asking the governor to pardon him,” King explains. Governor Pat Morris Neff, on his way out of office, gave Lead Belly a pardon. A scuffle years later landed Lead Belly in Louisiana’s Angola State Penitentiary. This is where the imprisoned musician met folklorist John Lomax, who recorded some of Lead Belly’s music. He was released after serving his minumum sentence. And Lomax recorded more of Lead Belly’s music and took him on tour to New York. King says that Lomax promoted Lead Belly as more of a spectacle than an artist. “Step right up and see the wild savage from Louisiana straight from Angola Prison”, King suggests. “So Lead Belly had to really work to show people that he’s an artist,” King adds.
death of a music legend
Ledbetter was diagnosed with ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, while he was on a European tour. Lead Belly died six months later in 1949. Some of the nation’s top music organizations honored Lead Belly after his death: The Songwriters Hall of Fame in New York, The Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Leave a Reply