Black History Month Music: Lead Belly

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A very happy howdy from Chuy’s! In Huntsville, Alabama. I love the fact that they’re a chain. I also love music, as you well know, and I’m happy to celebrate Black History Month with music. Here’s one of the most influential songwriters in music. Lead Belly Yesterday NJ Chic was complaining about the stage names for Bad Bunny and Jelly Roll. I’m pretty sure she won’t be too enthralled with Lead Belly, either. He was born on a plantation. He served on a chain gang. He served multiple prison sentences. Out of all of the pain came some of the most enduring songs in music: “Midnight Special,” “Cotton Fields” (both covered by Creedence Clearwater Revival), “Black Betty” (covered by Ram Jam and a Facebook meme favorite), “In the Pines” (or “Where Did You Sleep Last Night,” covered by acts as diverse as Bill Monroe and Nirvana), and “Goodnight Irene.” Alan and John Lomax, the legendary music historians, discovered Lead Belly in a prison, where they recorded him as one of their countless field recordings for the Library of Congress. After Lead Belly served his time, he continued recording for the Library of Congress, both his own songs and the countless spirituals and traditional folk songs he knew as a “walking encyclopedia” of music. Sadly, the same disease that ended Lou Gehrig’s baseball career — amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) — stopped Lead Belly’s career. He died of the disease at the relatively young age of 61. Right after his death, the “folk revival” began, utilizing a number of his songs. How important was Lead Belly? Consider this quote from George Harrison: “If there was no Lead Belly, there would have been no Lonnie Donegan; no Lonnie Donegan, no Beatles.“ So thanks, Lead Belly. Lead Belly Born Huddie William Leadbetter, January 23, 1888 (birth date and year disputed), Mooringsport, Louisiana Died December 6, 1949, New York City (ALS “Lou Gehrig’s Disease”) (age 61) HALLS OF FAME: Rock and Roll, 1988; Songwriters, 1970; Nashville Songwriters, 1980; Blues, 1986; Louisiana Music, 2008 Lead Belly singing “Goodnight Irene,” which was recorded by everyone from Bing Crosby to the Weavers: