Happy Birthday to Huddie Ledbetter, a.k.a. "Lead Belly," born today in 1888!

How many songwriters could say that their songs have been recorded by The Beach Boys, Frank Sinatra and Nirvana? Had he lived longer, Huddie William Ledbetter (1888-1949) could have. Ledbetter, known as Lead Belly, endured a difficult life – including various stays in jail – to introduce or adapt to the Great American Songbook tunes that are still well-known today such as “The Midnight Special,” “Goodnight, Irene,” “Black Betty” and “Cotton Fields.” On February 24, Smithsonian Folkways releases Lead Belly: The Smithsonian Folkways Collection, a 5-CD, large-format book-style box set celebrating its subject’s life and artistry.

Born in Louisiana in 1888 (some sources say 1889), Ledbetter took to music like a fish to water. By 1903, he was reportedly performing locally (in red light districts), and in 1912, by which time he’d relocated to Texas, he wrote his first song – “The Titanic,” inspired by the famous sinking of the great ship. He composed it on the 12-string guitar, which would become his signature instrument. An early brush with the law found Ledbetter jailed in 1915 for carrying a pistol; three years later he killed a relative in a dispute over a female’s affection. It was in prison that he likely first heard the traditional “Midnight Special,” which he would shape into the familiar song known today. Having met the requirements for good behavior, Ledbetter was pardoned in 1925 by Texas Governor Pat Morris Neff after writing the governor a song pleading for his freedom. One book claims the governor regularly brought guests to the prison just to hear Lead Belly perform! (It was likely in prison that Ledbetter got the nickname of Lead Belly.)

But Ledbetter ran afoul of the law again in 1930, this time for attempted homicide. While serving at Louisiana’s Angola Prison Farm, musicologists John and Alan Lomax discovered him performing. The Lomaxes recorded Ledbetter during his time in prison, preserving hundreds of his songs. In 1934, he was released – again having sent a special song to the state governor, this time on the flipside of a recording of “Goodnight, Irene.” (A prison official later wrote John Lomax to deny releasing Ledbetter because of his musical talents; he had again met the requirements for good behavior.)

Upon his release, Ledbetter was celebrated as “the singing convict” and came to the attention of print media (such as Time and Life magazines, the latter of which featured him in an impressive three-page article with the unfortunate title of “Bad N***er Makes Good Minstrel”) and even newsreels. On his way to becoming a folk hero and gaining popularity for both his topical songs and his children’s songs, he was jailed again in 1939 for assault. After his release in 1940 or 1941, he rejoined with Alan Lomax and became a fixture on New York’s growing folk music scene. He befriended Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger, recorded for labels including RCA, became a star in Europe, and had his own radio program. But he was stricken by ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and died in 1949 at the age of 61.

Folkways’ career-spanning retrospective box set for the 1988 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee includes five compact discs with 108 tracks (16 previously unreleased) totaling 5 hours of music. Pete Reiniger has restored and remastered all tracks. The 140-page booklet boasts historic photos and extensive notes by Jeff Place and Robert Santelli expected from the label that has presented similar packages for artists such as Woody Guthrie.

This project was produced in collaboration with the Lead Belly Estate, The John Reynolds Collection/Lead Belly Society, and the National Museum of African American History and Culture. It’s due from Smithsonian Folkways on February 24 and can be pre-ordered below!

Lead Belly, The Smithsonian Folkways Collection (Smithsonian Folkways, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

CD 1

1. Irene (Goodnight Irene)
2. The Bourgeois Blues
3. Fannin Street (Mister Tom Hughes Town)
4. The Midnight Special
5. John Henry
6. Black Girl (Where Did You Sleep Last Night)
7. Pick a Bale of Cotton
8. Take This Hammer
9. Cotton Fields
10. Old Riley
11. Rock Island Line
12. The Gallis Pole
13. Ha-Ha This a Way
14. Sukey Jump
15. Boll Weevil
16. Scottsboro Boys
17. Governor O.K. Allen
18. Governor Pat Neef
19. There's a Man Going Around Taking Names
20. On a Monday
21. You Can't Lose Me, Cholly
22. Keep Your Hands Off Her
23. We Shall Be Free

CD 2

1. Alabama Bound
2. Almost Day
3. Fiddler's Dram
4. Green Corn
5. Sally Walker
6. Bring Me a Little Water, Silvy
7. Julie Ann Johnson
8. Linin' Track
9. Whoa, Back, Buck
10. Shorty George
11. Ham and Eggs (Previously Unreleased)
12. Moanin'
13. Out On the Western Plain
14. Noted Rider
15. Meeting at the Building
16. Good, Good, Good (Talking, Preaching)/We Shall Walk Through the Valley
17. Ain't You Glad (The Blood Done Signed My Name)
18. I'm So Glad, I Done Got Over (Previously Unreleased)
19. The Hindenburg Disaster
20. Ella Speed
21. Haul Away Joe
22. Old Man
23. Sweet Jenny Lee
24. Jean Harlow
25. Laura
26. Queen Mary

CD 3

1. Good Morning Blues
2. Sail On, Little Girl
3. Easy Rider
4. Poor Howard
5. Duncan and Brady
6. How Long, How Long
7. T.B. Blues
8. Jim Crow Blues
9. Pigmeat
10. John Hardy
11. Outskirts of Town
12. 4, 5, and 9
13. In the Evening (When the Sun Goes Down)
14. Red Cross Store Blues
15. Diggin' My Potatoes
16. Blind Lemon
17. When a Man's a Long Way from Home
18. Alberta
19. Excerpt from The Lonesome Train
20. National Defense Blues
21. Hitler Song (Mr. Hitler)
22. Big Fat Woman
23. Been So Long - Bellevue Hospital Blues (Previously Unreleased Original Song)

CD 4

1. WNYC Folk Songs of America - Lead Belly (Previously Unreleased): a. Grey Goose, b. Boll Weevil, c. Yellow Gal, d. Ha-Ha This a Way, e. Leaving Blues, f. Irene (Outro)
2. WNYC Folk Songs of America - Lead Belly and the Oleander Quartet (Previously Unreleased): a. Almost Day, b. Blues in My Kitchen, Blues in My Dining Room, c. I Went Up on the Mountain, d. Good Morning Blues, e. Baby, Don t You Love Me No More, f. T.B. Blues, g. Irene (Outro)
3. If It Wasn't For Dicky (Previously Unreleased)
4. What's You Gonna Do When the World’s on Fire w/ Anne Graham (Previously Unreleased)
5. Rock Me - Hide Me in Thy Bosom w/ Anne Graham (Previously Unreleased)
6. Packin' Trunk Blues (Previously Unreleased)
7. Leaving Blues
8. How Come You Do Me Like You Do? (Previously Unreleased)
9. One Dime Blues (Previously Unreleased)
10. I'm Going to Buy You a Brand New Ford (Previously Unreleased Original Song)
11. Jail-House Blues
12. Shout On
13. Come and Sit Down Beside Me
14. Red River (Previously Unreleased)

CD 5

1. Yes, I Was Standing in the Bottom
2. Ain't Going Down to the Well No More (Version 2)
3. Everytime I Go Out (Previously Unreleased Original Song)
4. Go Down, Old Hannah
5. Black Betty
6. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out w/ Bessie Smith(Previously Unreleased)
7. Stewball
8. Ain't It a Shame to Go Fishin' on a Sunday
9. Relax Your Mind
10. Princess Elizabeth (Previously Unreleased Original Song)
11. Silver City Bound
12. The Titanic
13. House of the Rising Sun
14. It's Tight Like That
15. Diggin' My Potatoes
16. Springtime in the Rockies
17. Backwater Blues
18. Didn’t Old John Cross the Water
19. De Kalb Blues
20. They Hung Him on the Cross (Version 1)
21. They Hung Him on the Cross (Version 2)
22. In the World