Lead Belly

Lead Belly, a hand-drawn portrait of him holding one of his Stella twelve-string guitars, circa 1942, age 54.
This guitar had a slightly longer scale length than a standard guitar, slotted tuners, ladder bracing, and a trapeze-style tailpiece to resist bridge lifting.

Huddie William Ledbetter (January 20, 1888 – December 6, 1949) was an American folk and blues musician notable for his strong vocals, virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the folk standards he introduced,
like “Midnight Special” and “Goodnight, Irene”.

Though many releases credit him as “Leadbelly”, he himself wrote it as “Lead Belly”, which is also the spelling on his tombstone.

Lead Belly usually played a twelve-string guitar, but he also played the piano, mandolin, harmonica, violin, and accordion.

Lead Belly’s songs covered a wide range, including gospel music; blues about women, liquor, prison life, and racism; and folk songs about cowboys, prison, work, sailors, cattle herding, and dancing.

In January 1918 he was imprisoned at the Imperial Farm (now Central Unit) in Sugar Land, Texas, after killing one of his relatives, Will Stafford, in a fight over a woman.
He was pardoned in 1925, but had subsequent incarcerations and prison time until he was finally released during the Great Depression.

Out of prison, he began to sing and perform in bars around New York City.
He also appeared in nightclubs with Josh White, becoming a fixture in New York City’s surging folk music scene and befriending the likes of Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee, Woody Guthrie, and a young Pete Seeger.

Lead Belly played with finger picks much of the time, using a thumb pick to provide a walking bass line and occasionally to strum.
This technique, combined with low tunings and heavy strings, gives many of his recordings a piano-like sound.
His playing style was popularized by Pete Seeger, who adopted the twelve-string guitar in the 1950s.

Lead Belly died of Lou Gehrig’s Disease on December 6, 1949 (aged 61).

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1988.

#LeadBelly, #MusicArt, #PaulKing, #PaulKingArterks, PaulKingArt.com