Leadbelly (1889–1949)

US blues and folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was a source of inspiration for the urban folk movement of the 1950s. He performed at rallies and union halls in support of left-wing causes with contemporaries Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger. Songs such as ‘Bourgeois Blues’ and ‘Scottsboro Boys’ carried strong political messages.

He was born in Mooringsport, Louisiana, but little is known about his early life. In 1917 he was sentenced to a 30-year prison term for murder at Huntsville. He was pardoned in 1925 after he composed and sang a tune for the prison governor pleading for freedom. In 1930 he was arrested again and sent to the Angola Prison Farm in Louisiana, where, in 1933, folklorists John Lomax (1875–1948) and his son Alan Lomax (1915– ) discovered him while recording folk songs sung by prisoners.They helped him begin a professional concert and recording career in 1934. Within a year he became a favourite among left-leaning folk singers. He secured his freedom in 1934 thanks to a petition from the Lomaxes.

From 1934 to his death, Leadbelly recorded for the Library of Congress and Folkways Records as well as other labels. Leadbelly classics, such as ‘Goodnight Irene’, ‘The Midnight Special’, ‘Rock Island Line’, and ‘Cotton Fields’, have been extensively recorded by other artists. He died in 1949 from Lou Gehrig's disease, a sickness that destroys the muscular system.