Biography

The embodiment of the link between folk and blues, Lousiana-born Leadbelly (Huddie Ledbetter) possessed a powerful voice and the creative fervor to fashion his observations and heartfelt passions into riveting songs. An itinerant singer/guitarist, he performed in between working odd jobs and spending time in prison for his violent outbursts. Twice he gained pardon from long prison sentences with his songs. After Leadbelly's second pardon, in 1934, the recordings folklorist Alan Lomax made of him brought the singer national success. Whether conscious of his influence or not, nearly all folk and blues singers can trace their musical lineage back to him. He's responsible for many songs that have become part of America's cultural heritage.

Top Tracks

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• (good Night) Irene

• Ain't Gonna Study War No More

• Alabama Bound

• Alberta

• Babylon Is Falling Down

• Backslider, Fare Thee Well

• Backwater Blues

• Big Bill Blues

• Big Fat Woman

• Billy In The Low Ground

• Black Betty

• Black Snake Moan

• Blind Lemon Blues

• Blue Tail Fly

• Boll Weevil

• Borrow Love And Go

• Bottle Up And Go

• Bourgeois Blues

• Bring Me A Li'l Water, Silvy

• Bring Me Li'l Water Silvy

• C.c. Rider

• Careless Love

• Corn Bread Rough

• Cotton Fields

• Daddy I'm Coming Back To You

• Dancing With Tears In My Eyes

• De Kalb Blues

• Death Letter Blues

• Death Letter Blues, Pt. 1

• Diggin' My Potatoes

• Easy Rider

• Ella Louise

• Fannin Street

• Fort Worth And Dallas Blues

• Gallis Pole

• Go Down Old Hannah

• Good Morning Blues

• Goodnight Irene

• Goodnight Irene (intro)

• Grasshoppers In My Pillow

• Grey Goose

• Gwine Dig A Hole To Put The Devil In

• Ha Ha This A-way

• Ham An' Eggs

• Hard Travelin'

• Hesitation Blues

• I Feel Like Ballin' The Jack

• If It Wasn't For Dicky

• I'm On My Last Go Round

• In New Orleans (house Of The Rising Sun)

• In New Orleans [house Of The Rising Sun]

• In The Evening (when The Sun Goes Down)

• Irene, Goodnight

• Jawbone Walk

• Jim Crow Blues

• John Hardy

• John Henry

• Leaving Blues

• Let It Shine On Me

• Mama Did You Bring Me Any Silver? (gallows Pole)

• Match Box Blues

• Matchbox Blues

• Meeting At The Building

• Midnight Special

• My Friend Blind Lemon

• Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen

• Packin' Trunk Blues

• Packing Trunk

• Pick A Bale Of Cotton

• Pig Meat Blues

• Pretty Boy Floyd

• Pretty Flowers In My Back Yard

• Raccoon Up The 'simmon Tree

• Red Cross Store Blues

• Red River

• Red River/in The Pines/you Don't Miss Your Water

• Roberta

• Roberta, Pt. 1

• Rock Island Line

• Sassy Mae

• Shine On Me

• Skip To My Lou

• Soon My Work Will All Be Done

• St. Louis Blues

• Starvation Blues

• Stewball

• Strange, Strange Feelin'

• T.b. Blues

• T.b. Woman Blues, Pt. 1

• Take A Whiff On Me

• Take This Hammer

• Tb Blues

• The Boureois Blues

• The Gallis Pole

• The Black Snake Moan

• The Boll Weevil

• The Boll Weevil Song

• The Bourgeois Blues

• The Gallis Pole

• The Grey Goose

• The Midnight Special

• Trouble In Mine

• Uncle Sam Says (bottle Up And Go)

• We Shall Be Free

• Went Out On The Mountain

• We're In The Same Boat, Brother

• When I Was A Cowboy

• When The Train Comes Along

• Where Did You Sleep Last Night

• Where Did You Sleep Last Night?

• Whoa Back Buck

• Whoe Back, Buck

• Worried Blues

• You Can't Lose Me, Charlie

• You Can't Lose Me, Cholly

• You Don't Know My Mind

Discography

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• Alabama Bound 1934-1945

  Vsom

  1990