Leadbelly

在30年代到40年代，Leadbelly陸續為民歌檔案處和東部的民歌唱片公司錄製了上百個樣帶（包括藍調、民謠、舞曲以及黑人民歌），都是由他那把十二弦吉他伴奏的。雖然他是美國民謠音樂的開創者，但是他於1949年死時卻相當窮困潦倒。他的少年時代也同當地的許多黑人一樣，是在窮困潦倒中度過的。1917年，他在一次囚徒暴動中，因殺人罪而被判處30年徒刑。陰暗的牢獄生活一直延續到30年代末，才由Lomax兄弟給它畫上句號。當時的Lomax父子正在南方作他們的棉田旅行和監獄採風，以記錄和收集黑人民間音樂中的典型元素。他們用原始的錄音設備錄下了Leadbelly粗啞的演唱和粗獷的吉它彈奏。這些錄音被製成唱片，後來成了“Houseof the Rising Sun” 、“Midnight　Speci al” 、 “John Haudy”和“Goodnight Ivene”等歌曲的原型。

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 (see below).

Although his most commonly-played instrument was 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.