GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Huddie Ledbetter, known as Lead Belly (or Leadbelly), grew up working as a farmhand in Louisiana and Texas. His musical career began in 1901 when he toured Shreveport and Dallas as a six-string guitar player in saloons and dance halls. In his early 20s he learned the twelve-string guitar, and his talents earned him a reputation as "king" of this instrument. He also had a reputation for his run-ins with the law, having been incarcerated for murder in Texas in 1918 (pardoned in 1925) and spending time in a Louisiana prison for assault in 1930.
Folklorists John and Alan Lomax met Lead Belly while he was serving time at the state prison in Angola, Louisiana and they recognized him as a valuable resource for their research on African American music history. He toured the country and influenced folk artists including Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. After living in New York City for nearly two decades Lead Belly died in December 1949. His musical impact continued after his death, in the work of artists including Janis Joplin and Pearl Jam.
Drawn from
- William Keyse Rudolph, DMA Label copy (1950.91), May 2006.
- "Huddie 'Lead Belly' Ledbetter", Lead Belly Foundation, http://www.leadbelly.org/re-homepage.html. Accessed 28 November 2014.
- Christine Hamm, "Ledbetter, Huddie [Leadbelly]," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fle10), accessed November 28, 2014. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Modified on September 12, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
NOTES
Consider name change (from Leadbelly to Lead Belly) to keep consistent across multiple pages? See Lead Belly Foundation online. Notation also made on the online object draft (1950.91) and the biographical artist chunk for Michael G. Owen Jr.
Consider rewriting rule to connect this content with the constituent rather than the object.
This note has not been pushed to Google Drive so I am removing the status tags and replacing them with draft and routed. When the note is updated in GDrive and the UMO is resolved, it can be tagged complete. 1/28/2017 Update- I am removing the routed tag and adding the completed tag. The GDoc has been moved to Queta's folders for review. 3/3/2017.
This image was cataloged in Piction 2/27/2017. I am removing the %pictionMW and %UMO pending tags.
VIDEO ASSETS
IMAGE ASSETS
265932885: UMO. [Caption] Leadbelly, the blues and folk singer, with an accordion circa 1942. Source: The Library of Congress Alan Lomax Collection, Wikimedia Commons, accessed July 13, 2016.
UMO tag added to note (EAS, 08/08/2016)
Image also used as CC illustration.
265932885: Image
WEB RESOURCES
Huddie Ledbetter (Leadbelly) and Martha Promise Ledbetter, Wilton, Conn. February 1935~See a photo of Leadbelly and his wife in the Lomax collection of photographs depicting folk musicians, primarily in the southern United States and the Bahamas, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C..
ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
TEACHING IDEAS
RULES
Apply to objects where number equals 1950.91
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General Description
Huddie Ledbetter, known as Lead Belly (or Leadbelly), grew up working as a farmhand in Louisiana and Texas. His musical career began in 1901 when he toured Shreveport and Dallas as a six-string guitar player in saloons and dance halls. In his early 20s he learned the twelve-string guitar, and his talents earned him a reputation as "king" of this instrument. He also had a reputation for his run-ins with the law, having been incarcerated for murder in Texas in 1918 (pardoned in 1925) and spending time in a Louisiana prison for assault in 1930.
Folklorists John and Alan Lomax met Lead Belly while he was serving time at the state prison in Angola, Louisiana and they recognized him as a valuable resource for their research on African American music history. He toured the country and influenced folk artists including Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. After living in New York City for nearly two decades Lead Belly died in December 1949. His musical impact continued after his death, in the work of artists including Janis Joplin and Pearl Jam.
Drawn from
- William Keyse Rudolph, DMA Label copy (1950.91), May 2006.
- "Huddie 'Lead Belly' Ledbetter", Lead Belly Foundation, http://www.leadbelly.org/re-homepage.html. Accessed 28 November 2014.
- Christine Hamm, "Ledbetter, Huddie [Leadbelly]," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fle10), accessed November 28, 2014. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Modified on September 12, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
Fun Facts
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Huddie Ledbetter (Leadbelly) and Martha Promise Ledbetter, Wilton, Conn. February 1935~See a photo of Leadbelly and his wife in the Lomax collection of photographs depicting folk musicians, primarily in the southern United States and the Bahamas, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division, Washington, D.C..
Notes
Consider name change (from Leadbelly to Lead Belly) to keep consistent across multiple pages? See Lead Belly Foundation online. Notation also made on the online object draft (1950.91) and the biographical artist chunk for Michael G. Owen Jr.
Consider rewriting rule to connect this content with the constituent rather than the object.
This note has not been pushed to Google Drive so I am removing the status tags and replacing them with draft and routed. When the note is updated in GDrive and the UMO is resolved, it can be tagged complete. 1/28/2017 Update- I am removing the routed tag and adding the completed tag. The GDoc has been moved to Queta's folders for review. 3/3/2017.
This image was cataloged in Piction 2/27/2017. I am removing the %pictionMW and %UMO pending tags.
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1950.91
source file
historical_figures-0007.xml.nores