History we can’t forget: Lead Belly
From Wikipedia:
“Huddie William Ledbetter (January 23, 1888 - December 6, 1949) was an American folk and blues musician, notable for his clear and forceful singing, his virtuosity on the twelve string guitar, and the rich songbook of folk standards he introduced. He is best known as Leadbelly or Lead Belly.
Although he most commonly played the twelve string, he could also play the piano, mandolin, harmonica, violin, concertina, and accordion. In some of his recordings, such as in one of his versions of the folk ballad “John Hardy”, he performs on the accordion instead of the guitar.
The topics of Lead Belly’s music covered a wide range of subjects, including gospel songs, blues songs about women, liquor, racism, folk songs about cowboys, prison, work, sailors, cattle herding, dancing, and songs concerning the newsmakers of the day, such as President Franklin Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler, the Scottsboro Boys, and multi-millionaire Howard Hughes.
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Lead Belly’s boastful spirit and penchant for the occasional skirmish sometimes led him into trouble with the law, and in January 1918 he was thrown into a Dallas, Texas prison for the second time, this time after killing one of his relatives, Will Stafford, in a fight. It is said that he was released seven years into his twenty year sentence after writing a song appealing to Governor Pat Morris Neff for his freedom. Lead Belly had swayed governor Pat Neff by appealing to Neff’s strong religious values. That, dubbed in combination with good behavior (Including entertaining by playing for the guards and fellow prisoners), was Ledbetter’s ticket out of jail.” (more…)
Also check out the LeadBelly.org official website.
His songs could also be heard on chains gangs during that era.
