Birthday Blips: Led Belly
PeetieWheatstrawHuddie William Ledbetter (aka Led Belly) was possibly born on January 20th, 1888 (some records have him born on the 23rd). An icon of old folk and blues, he was one of the many musicians discovered and recorded by Smithsonian folklorist Alan Lomax in the 1930s.
I came upon Led Belly through the contemporary artists that admired him and were inspired by him. I m sure I m in the majority of listeners from my generation that first heard Led Belly through Kurt Cobain's chilling vocals that closed Nirvana s MTV Unplugged set in 1993. In The Pines is a traditional folk song whose writer is unknown, but it is most frequently associated with Led Belly. Cobain attributes the song to Led Belly before he begins the tune, calling him his favorite performer . Other artists that covered his music include Johnny Cash, The Greatful Dead, The Doors, Tom Petty, and The White Stripes.
As my tastes expanded and I began digging into music from before my time, I picked up a few collections for Led Belly s music. He usually accompanies his deep haunting moan of a voice with his twelve-string guitar, and only after attempting to pick songs on my 12-string did I recognize just how much of a virtuoso Led Belly was on his. Much like the Lunch Break Blog, his songs cover a wide range of topics including politics and social issues, as well as tell interesting stories. Here is his Uncle Sam Says along with a solo acoustic version of Kurt Cobain playing In The Pines from 1989.
http://blip.fm/profile/PeetieWheatstraw/blip/61974535/Ledbelly
http://blip.fm/profile/PeetieWheatstraw/blip/61974792/Where+Did+You+Sleep+Last+Night
Reader Comments (2)
There is great new book out about Alan Lomax and his importance to American culture and world music called "The Man Who Recorded the World".
In this transcript from NPR they talk about the legend of Led Belly and one of myfavorite songs:
RAZ: One of the better-known musicians Alan Lomax and his father John are credited with discovering was somebody they found in a prison was Leadbelly. He eventually became very important in Lomax's life. Let's hear one of those recordings for a moment.
(Soundbite of song, "Midnight Special")
LEADBELLY (Singer): (Singing) Well, I'm calling that Captain. He turn a-loose my man. Let the midnight special shine her light on me.
RAZ: That's Leadbelly singing "Midnight Special." How did Alan and John Lomax come across him?
Mr. SZWED: They were in Angola Prison, which was not as full of singers as they thought they would find. And they ran into one guy who was singer par excellence. Everything about him radiated confidence, security in what he was doing.
(Soundbite of song, "Midnight Special")
LEADBELLY: (Singing) And if you say a thing about it, you have a trouble with the man. Let the midnight special...
Mr. SZWED: And...
RAZ: What was he in prison for?
Mr. SZWED: Murder and attempted murder. He had already gotten out of one prison by writing a song for the governor in Louisiana, and he thought this would work again and asked the Lomaxes to deliver one of his songs aimed to the governor to get him out. And he did get out, but it turns out not for that song but for good time. But it made a great story, and the press ate it up. Everywhere he went, there were stories about this. Some of them were brutal in their headlines, you know: Sings a Few Songs between Murders and that kind of thing.
(Soundbite of song, "Midnight Special")
Thanks for the blip
And we're upset that Brittany Spears didn't put her baby in a car seat. That book sounds great. Thanks, Dugan.