Discovering the blues - Leadbelly

The music known collectivelly as the blues is mostly new to me. Sure I knew and was somewhat familiar with the names that had crossed over into rock - people like Muddy Waters, B.B King and John Lee Hooker and I vaguely knew of the likes of Robert Johnson and Blind Boy Fuller but it wasn't until I started dabbling with jazz that I exposed myself to some of the harder blues. I plan to write of my discoveries from time to time but I'm a novice, so any blues experts to wander across these posts then please feel free to correct me.


Some of these guys and gals had lives every bit as hard as the subject of their songs - Leadbelly is a case in point. Born Huddie Ledbetter in Louisiana in 1888, earned his nickname Leadbelly in prison. He would spend much of his life in prison.

The boy who would become Leadbelly was musically gifted and could play the mandolin and accordion by the time he reached his teens. He took up guitar when he was fifteen and learned a lot from his uncle Bud Ledbetter.

The young Leadbelly was soon travelling around the country, earning what little money he could by busking on street corners. It was around this time the young blues man met Blind Lemon Jefferson and the two worked together as a duo in Texas. Up to that point Leadbelly was playing a mixture of folk and country but his deep, shouting blues style developed.

In 1915 Leadbelly moved back to his parents farm but he soon fell foul of the law. It is not clear what he did but there is little doubt that it was something violent as Leadbelly was known for having a fierce temper. He was sent to prison but while working on a chain gang he escaped and hid out in Texas but trouble was not far away and one day after an argument Leadbelly shot and killed his cousin, Will Stafford. Once more he was sent to prison and after a couple of escape attempts he was transferred to the tough Sugarland Prison Farm where he was to serve thirty years.

It was at Sugarland that he earned the name Leadbelly because of his toughness and it was this trait and his musical ability that gave him respect with fellow cons and the prison authorities. The Governor would often visit Leadbelly and aks him to play some of the songs in his sizable repertoire. Leadbelly even wrote a song for the governor, asking for a pardon. When the Governor retired one of his final acts was to pardon Leadbelly.

Leadbelly moved back to Louisiana and fought, strummed and drank his way trough life. Trouble was never too far away and one day he made the ultimate mistake of stabbing a white man. This led to a six year sentence in the harsh Angola Prison. Whilst in prison Leadbelly met and recorded for John Lomax who, working for the library of congress, was travelling America and recording the old blues, folk and country musicians. Leadbelly was eventually released from prison in 1934.


Leadbelly again met up with Lomax which led to him recording for the American Recording Company - the recordings didn't sell that well but Leadbelly enjoyed some success playing live in New York where he had been adopted as a kind of musical poster boy by the left wingers. However Leadbelly was soon back in prison after again stabbing someone.

Upon his eventual release Leadbelly found himself to be a superstar of sorts with the folk community and he played live shows on a regular basis, even at one point performing with Woody Guthrie.

Leadbelly died in 1949 and since his death he has become celebrated as one of the founders of the blues. In the UK his music was a major influence to Lonnie Donnigan and The Rolling Stones. And in the US artists as diverse as Kurt Cobain and Creedance Clearwater recorded his work.

Leadbelly's music is haunting and forceful - at times he seems to be screaming his lyric from deep within a guttural throat and at other times he can be as gentle as a spring breeze.

KEY CD'S: LEADBELLY: TAKE THIS HAMMER (KATCD229X)