Lead Belly
The deeply influential pioneer of American roots music.
Leadbelly
About The artist
"Somebody, somebody I’d never seen before, handed me a Lead Belly record with the song 'Cotton Fields' on it. And that record changed my life right then and there. Transported me into a world I’d never known. It was like an explosion went off. It was like somebody laid hands on me."
Bob Dylan
Did you know...
In 1918, he killed a man in a fight and was sentenced to thirty years in prison. In 1925, he wrote a song asking Texas Governor Pat Neff for a pardon. Neff, who had promised never to pardon a prisoner, broke his promise and set Huddie Ledbetter free.
