Lead Belly
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Huddie Ledbetter, better known by the stage name Lead Belly, was an American folk and blues singer notable for his strong vocals, virtuosity on the twelve-string guitar, and the folk standards he intr
Ledbetter with a melodeon c. 1942
Lead Belly's draft registration card in 1942 (SERIAL NUMBER U2214 and address listed as 604 E 9TH ST., N.Y. N. Y.)
Ledbetter at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. between 1938 and 1948
Lead Belly and Martha Promise Ledbetter, Wilton, Connecticut, February 1935
Midnight Special (song)
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"Midnight Special" is a traditional folk song thought to have originated among prisoners in the American South. The song refers to the passenger train Midnight Special and its "ever-loving light."
Lead Belly
…of "In the Pines" (also known as "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" and “Black Girl”), "Pick a Bale of Cotton", "Goodnight, Irene", "Black Betty", "Midnight Special", "Cotton Fields", and "Boll Weevil". Ledbetter usually played a twelve-string guitar, but he also played the piano, mandolin, harmonica, violin, and…
Lead Belly, photographed by Alan Lomax in the 1940s
Creedence Clearwater Revival